Axios
Graham Platner , a scandal-plagued Marine combat veteran, won Maine's Democratic Senate primary Tuesday in a race that's seen as the party's best Senate pickup opportunity in November. Why it matters: Many Democratic strategists and elected officials worry that Platner has too much baggage to defeat Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) — and that his candidacy will doom the party's chances of retaking the Senate in the 2026 midterms. Controversies that have swirled around his campaign include a Nazi-linked tattoo that he's since covered up, allegations that he sent sexual text messages to women outside of his marriage, and contentious social media posts . Driving the news: But the drip-drip-drip of negative news stories about Platner — even in the final weeks of the race — didn't stop him from capturing his party's nomination. The AP called the election in favor of Platner about an hour and a half after polls closed Tuesday. He faced only nominal competition: Maine Gov. Janet Mills , a top party recruit, suspended her campaign a little over a month ago as he pulled far ahead in polling and fundraising. Zoom in: Platner's rise suggests that the Democratic Party may be entering a new era , in which its rank-and-file voters have a higher tolerance for personal scandal after watching President Trump shatter political norms. Platner, a progressive with no prior experience running for political office, has attracted large crowds in Maine and gone viral on social media while promising to "topple the oligarchy." Even as many Democratic insiders fret about his chances, left-wing supporters such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and California Rep. Ro Khanna have stood by him. Some traditional Democrats have thrown him a life raft, too. "Graham Platner is gonna win because he has connected with Mainers on what they really care about: How this country can work for them, not just the wealthy," Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) wrote on X this week. What's next: Other Democrats are still holding out hope that Platner will succumb to pressure and drop out of the race so that he can be replaced with what they see as a more electable candidate on the November ballot. But he has repeatedly said he has no interest in doing so. Republicans are already off to the races, with a pro-Collins super PAC airing ads slamming Platner's old posts on Reddit , including those in which he criticized police officers and said rural white Americans "actually are" stupid and racist. Platner has disavowed the comments. The bottom line: Both parties view Maine as one of the cycle's most consequential battlegrounds. To flip the Senate, Democrats likely need to win the state. The party faces a challenging Senate map this year, with other competitive contests focused in purple and red states like North Carolina, Ohio and Iowa. Conversely, Collins is the only Senate Republican up for reelection this year in a state that supported Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.
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