For a moment, it looked like Maine Democrats had it all set.
Marine veteran and oyster farmer Graham Platner jumped in U.S. Senate race in August to unseat Republican incumbent Susan Collins. Then Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, twice elected statewide,decided to run awaytoo much.
What started out as a promising field quickly became a clash of generations and ideologies. Platner delivered a populist, anti-billionaire message that galvanized progressives and earned an early nod Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont. Some even nicknamed him “Mamdani of Maine” (Depending on who's saying it, this could be a compliment.)
Meanwhile, Mills became an establishment favorite. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and National Democrats aggressively recruited she, believing that her moderate record and broad appeal made her the one who could finally unseat Collins. On paper, Mills looked like the ideal recruit for one of the few Senate seats Democrats can realistically win next year. (They'll need four for most.)
So how did Maine Democrats blow things up so quickly?
Seat considered a toss-up could easily remain red – and mainly because Democrats can't seem to get out of their way.
One problem is Collins. She succeeded overcome electoral obstacles What overthrew other Republicans. To win, Democrats need an unusually strong candidate.
Mills is not a weak man. Despite her overall progressive recordingher recruitment by Schumer and other national leaders instantly branded her a “centrist” in a race with a far-left opponent.
But if elected, she will begin her six-year Senate term at age 79. serve only single term.
Mills also took positions that irritated progressives. She recently told reporters she supports keeping the filibuster in place, breaking with much of the Democratic caucus in the Senate.
“I would certainly like to keep the filibuster,” Mills said recently, according to the Bangor Daily News. “When it comes to Trump appointing 200 judges with very questionable qualifications, I would like, for example, to have a say in those positions,” she added, apparently unaware that the filibuster basically non-existent for judicial candidates.
Some Democrats are also quietly fuming about the Schumer-Mills dynamic. The image of the 74-year-old Senate minority leader cajoling the 77-year-old governor into running has prompted inevitable comparisons with President Joe Biden's 2024 race — and raised questions about staying power, optics and how much appetite voters have left for another older candidate.
But Platner's candidacy is now shrouded in scandals.
When he entered the race, his rugged resume — Marine veteran, oyster farmer, outsider — helped spark his fire. His left-wing populism and focus on cost of living issues in Maine. fueled more than $4 million in fundraising big crowds throughout the state and approval from progressive groups and trade unions. He quickly gained a reputation as a rebellious everyman—everything Mills is not.
Then came the luggage. KFile CNN disclosed a series of inflammatory Reddit posts made in Platner's pre-political days, mostly between 2020 and 2021.
In now-deleted comments, he wrote: “I've gotten older and become a communist” and said that “all” cops are bastards. Elsewhere in response to a thread titled “White People Are Not As Racist and Stupid as Trump Thinks” he answered“Living in white, rural America, I'm afraid to tell you that this is actually true.”
Then his scandals became even worse.
In 2007, on a night while he was driving and serving in the Marine Corps, Platner got a tattoo that resembles a famous Nazi emblem. After history is brokenPlatner hastily covered it with another tattoo. He claims that until recently he did not know about the connection of the original tattoo with the Nazis.
Shortly after the tattoo became known, The Advocate discovered more of Platner's posts on Redditwhich featured anti-LGBTQ+ stories and homophobic slurs.
He apologized for all of this, insisting that these comments do not reflect who he is now.
“It was like I was fucking on the Internet,” he told CNN regarding the Reddit posts. “I don't want people to see me as I was in my worst internet comment, or even, frankly, as I was in my best internet comment… I don't think any of that is indicative of who I am today, really.”
The consequences were swift. Platner's political director, former state Rep. Genevieve McDonald, resigned last weekby writing this his remarks “Were not known to me when I agreed to join the campaign, and these are not words or values I would espouse in a candidate.”
All this gives Mills' campaign some breathing room, although questions about her age and electability remain. If she had beaten both Platner and Collins, she would have become oldest freshman senator in US history.
After the presidential elections determined by concerns about age and fitnessMills will have to prove that she served in the Senate for six years – and that her often divided party can still rally behind a candidate strong enough to unseat Collins.
At the moment this remains an open question.
New University of New Hampshire Poll released on Thursday shows Platner leading the primary 58% to 24%. The poll was conducted October 16-21 and only partially matches early reports of his scandals.
Whether Platner can hold on to that lead depends on how well he weathers the backlash—and whether he's still waiting to surface, which seems like a worthy bet.
Maine Democrats face tough choices. And for a party that desperately needs a win, it's not good for one of their best opportunities to slip through their fingers again.
