Political watchers expected this fall’s Maine Senate contest to emerge as the main event in the midterms as Democrats try to unseat five-term Sen.Susan Collins (R-Maine).Again.It is said that as Maine goes, so goes the nation.
And this year, Maine could dictate how the Senate goes.But Democrats are facing trouble in the Pine Tree State. Progressives thought they discovered a pearl of a candidate in waterman Graham Platner and his oyster enterprise. Graham Platner, Democratic US Senate candidate for Maine, during a primary election night event at the Blue Hill YMCA in Blue Hill, Maine, US, on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)But the party has now shucked Platner and is diving to find a replacement by July 27th.For Democrats, defeating Collins is like the pursuit of the Great White Whale in Moby Dick.
Potentially in their grasp.Yet elusive.
Republicans aren’t concerned about the veteran GOPer."There's a reason that she's been a United States Senator for Maine since God was a baby," said Sen.John Kennedy (R-La.) on Fox.
"People like her."The Democratic Party was fractured before as its "mainstream middle" scraps with progressives. However, the Platner debacle may have underscored what made the schism worse.MILLIONS IN DEM AD MONEY VANISHED FROM PLATNER RACE DAYS BEFORE RAPE ALLEGATION DOOMED SENATE BIDThe Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) will soon release their long-term platform.The DSA wants to eliminate the Senate.
Expand the House.Pack the Supreme Court? How about having the House pick the Court instead?The DSA pushes a 32-hour workweek without changes to pay or benefits. And then there are older suggestions like Medicare for all and guaranteed minimum wages.Some Democrats are asking how Platner got this far – unvetted.
That’s to say nothing of some Democrats looking past his awful text messages and Nazi-themed tattoo. All in the name of trying to defeat Collins."I told you so" is essentially the mantra of ...