All eyes are on Maine. Well. The right ones anyway. Political operatives in the Trump orbit tell Inner Loop they’re hoping Graham Platner—the Democrat nominated for Senate—sticks around as long as possible. Why? Chaos. It helps Republicans.
Platner is a US Marine vet. He won the Democratic primary easily. Controversy followed. A lot of it. Now he’s supposed to face Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November. One of the most watched races in the country. But Democratic officials want him gone. Now.
Monday brought new trouble. A woman in Maine accused Platner of forced sex. She told Politico he ignored her objections. His campaign stayed silent when asked again, though they’ve denied similar claims before.
This isn’t the first time. Accusations of mistreating women. A covered-up Nazi tattoo. Offensive online comments linking him to darker circles. Senator Bernie Sanders? Calling for his resignation. Senator Chuck Schumer? Same.
Operatives in Trumpworld are delighted.
“Platner should stay in and Fight the liberal lobbyist establishment!”
One strategist said this, joking, of course. They spoke on background because anonymity preserves careers. The logic is simple: Platner is toxic. He’s making enemies. His fundraising is crumbling.
The money is the real problem.
The DSCC (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) won’t fund him. No party dollars. So he has to hustle for small donations. A fervent base doesn’t pay for national TV ads. The Boston media market is expensive. Maine watches TV. The price tag? Tens of millions. Platner doesn’t have it.
Does stepping aside help? Republicans think no.
Even if Platner drops out, the race tilts to Susan Collins. Democrats have until July 13 to find a replacement. July 27 is the hard deadline for the ballot. They might squeeze it in over the weekend of July 25. Local Dems say so.
But who replaces him?
Governor Janet Mills dropped out earlier. She’s an option. But her profile matches Collins’. Operatives think Collins wins regardless. Especially after bucking Joe Biden in the primary. She survived the Biden drubbing. That makes her tough.
Then there’s Troy Jackson. A former state senator. Longtime GOP strategists doubt voters will look past the “Platner baggage” attached to any Democratic name right now.
“Democrats have to run a perfect race to beat Collins. They haven’t,” one strategist said.
Collins remains the least offensive Republican Senate candidate. To them. The safest bet.
Still, the fight will be ugly. Millions in ads. Millions more for consultants. It won’t be clean. Trumpworld expects Collins to win, but they know it’s tight.
They’ve already bought the graham crackers.
What happens when the ballots drop? We’ll see. Or maybe we won’t, if the chaos drags on too long.
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