An ex-girlfriend just told the Washington Post that Graham Platner used to remove condoms during sex without consent. Yesterday, Politico reported a credible accusation of sexual assault. This is on top of his Tottenkomp tattoo, history of infidelity, and troubling online comments.
How could Maine Democrats not vet such a troubled candidate? Why did Mainers decide to go for Platner over Janet Mills? Was there anyone else in Maine who could have run except these two? Who is to blame?
If you’re the Democratic Establishment, then the clear villain is anyone who is “the left” or “progressive, because they certainly have never backed compromised candidates or lost numerous winnable elections. For many progressives, they are blindsided by the sexual assault allegations, assuming that the NYT story was truly the last skeleton in Platner’s closet.
Mainers, however, revealed they are sick and tired of the status quo and were willing to back a candidate with numerous red flags if he committed to shaking up the system. For better - and worse - this is the stage of American politics in 2026 when a convicted criminal, rapist, and violent insurrectionist could ascend to the White House a second time without accountability. People are willing to look over many sins if it means the candidate will champion a populist agenda and fight the Epstein Class that is drinking their milkshake.
Thankfully, sexual assault is still a bridge too far for Democrats. Platner is deciding his next moves, but there’s a stable bench of Maine Dems who can step in and still defeat Collins. The fight remains for the soul of the party that is seen as weak, feckless, and lost. The major bellwether will be Michigan, where Abdul El-Sayed still hasn’t received the establishment support despite leading in the polls and being very competitive against Republican Mike Rogers.
I get into all of this with Adam Green, co-founder of Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and Bhavik Latia, a progressive consultant from Michigan who worked on the 2024 Harris campaign.
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