Graham Platner Survives Major Test in Maine Senate Primary (original) (raw)

Graham Platner celebrating his big primary win.Photo: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg/Getty Images

When Maine governor Janet Mills suspended her U.S. Senate candidacy in April, it looked like Graham Platner would be the Democratic nominee. Defeating incumbent Republican Susan Collins could be crucial to Democrats’ goal of retaking the Senate, and the progressive “outsider” seemed like he had a good shot. Yes, all sorts of unsettling details about Platner’s psychological and behavioral issues (ranging from obnoxious social-media posts to a certain Nazi-adjacent tattoo) during and after his military service had come out, to the joy of his detractors in both parties. But it all seemed like ancient history, given his impressive communications skills and freedom from Democratic Establishment baggage. Polls showed him crushing Mills (which precipitated her departure from the race) and handily beating Collins.

In Tuesday’s primary, Platner did manage to secure his status as the Democrats’ Senate nominee. But his campaign took a huge hit in recent days. Last week, panic broke out among Democrats when several new stories detailed much more recent Platner transgressions involving women: Several former girlfriends described “unsettling” and “toxic” behavior, and it emerged that Platner had “sexted” with other women while married to his wife. It occurred to everyone that Mills was still on the ballot, despite having suspending her campaign, and that there also might be a brief window where Platner could be replaced even after a primary if he voluntarily withdrew. So suddenly, Platner’s all-but-unopposed cakewalk to the November ballot began to look complicated.

If this was the supreme test for the charismatic but controversial populist oysterman, he passed it, winning 72 percent of the primary vote amid very high turnout that belied any idea that Democrats were nominating him without enthusiasm. Mills won 19 percent, but name ID and respect for a sitting governor probably accounted for that limited showing. The post-primary consensus in both Maine and D.C. is now that Platner isn’t going anywhere before November. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who had earlier lobbied Mills into the race, clearly threw in the towel as the votes rolled in from Maine, as Politico reported:

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who had recruited Gov. Janet Mills for the must-win Senate race — only to watch her drop out in April after trailing Platner in polls and fundraising — expressed confidence in the oysterman’s candidacy Tuesday. …

“Susan Collins has never been more vulnerable after she voted with Trump 96 percent of the time, confirmed his far-right judicial nominees, and took millions from special interests while voting to rip health care away from Mainers,” Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand said in a statement. “In November, Maine voters will elect Graham Platner, and we will win a Senate majority.”

Senate Majority PAC, the super PAC aligned with Democratic leadership, similarly sought to draw contrast between Platner and Collins.

But make no mistake: Party centrists were more or less forced to get behind Platner by the strength he showed back home. There’s also a more general feeling among Democrats that the most recent revelations about Platner, bad as they were, may have shown the worst is over. Future opposition-research gleanings about Platner are inevitable, but so long as they don’t show previously undisclosed levels of violence or depravity, they may not matter to a midterm Maine electorate eager to embrace change.

Once Platner is safely past the July 13 deadline for voluntary withdrawal from the general election (a move he has never once considered publicly or privately so far as we can tell), he will benefit from a unified Democratic Party anxious to take down the one Republican incumbent running in a state carried by Kamala Harris in 2024. But it won’t be easy: Collins has won five general elections in Maine, mostly recently in 2020, when she ran far ahead of Donald Trump and also did much better than polls predicted. She, too, will benefit from a united party that is willing to overlook her past heresies (most notably voting to convict Trump of impeachable offenses in his second impeachment trial). The national GOP will pour vast resources into reminding Mainers of her prowess in bringing home the bacon as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, while inflating every bit of negative information or gossip about Platner. His task now is to give swing voters reasons to vote for him that transcend his status as the only Democrat standing.

Graham Platner Survives Major Test in Maine Senate Primary Your product is saved! You’ll receive emails when your saved products go on sale. Manage preferences.