Democrats’ predicament with Graham Platner is one of the party’s own making

Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks after winning the Democratic primary on 9 June, in Blue Hill, Maine. Photograph: Robert F Bukaty/AP View image in fullscreen Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks after winning the Democratic primary on 9 June, in Blue Hill, Maine. Photograph: Robert F Bukaty/AP Analysis Democrats’ predicament with Graham Platner is one of the party’s own making Shrai Popat Platner’s long road ahead shows how Democrats may have fumbled the bag in Maine The Democratic establishment’s early bet on Janet Mills, as its best hope to pick up a coveted Senate seat in Maine , now looks like a clear miscalculation – one that has left the party boxed into a far riskier general election fight than it ever anticipated. By rallying behind the septuagenarian governor, and sidelining Graham Platner for months, party leaders helped create the very predicament they face. Platner’s primary victory on Tuesday now means the closely-watched race will be a test of fortitude for Democrats in the long road to November. One where either outcome has wide-ranging implications for the party. Graham Platner shrugs off scandals to win Maine Democratic Senate primary Read more The turbulence starts with Democrats having to look past the 41-year-old’s myriad scandals: problematic online posts, a covered-up tattoo that looks like a Nazi symbol, sexting women outside his marriage, and allegations of violent behavior in past relationships that he has denied. The party apparatus, including several progressive lawmakers, will also have to square their endorsements of Platner at the same time as excoriating Republicans for overlooking Donald Trump’s own decades of indiscretions. Looming over all of this is the expectation of more opposition research, which could test Maine voters’ resolve and undermine faith in Platner’s ability to actually beat Republican incumbent Susan Collins as she seeks a sixth-term in office. But Platner’s rise didn’t happen in a vacuum. Plain-spoken and unvarnished, his brand of populism initially looked like the perfect salve for the perennial identity crisis Democrats have been wrestling with since 2024. Platner’s appeal only grew when Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and other top brass threw their weight behind Mills, leaving the political newcomer less vetted and tested than a typical party-backed candidate. In many ways Platner is the perfect anti-establishment vessel for Democrats in a state where Trump lost the last three elections, and voters appear to be frustrated with Collins’ brand of moderation that still sees the senator back several of the president’s priorities. Platner has captivated crowds by skewering career politicians from both sides of the aisle – blasting their rote platitudes as self-serving and out-of-touch, while focusing on Mainers who can’t afford healthcare, gas, groceries and housing during Trump’s second stint in the White House. “Susan Collins has never met a war she didn’t like,” the former marine s