THE HALFAX HEIMDALL AUGUR

The Democrats' Platner Problem - TIME Graham Platner was always a risk for the Democrats. The Maine Senate candidate’s supporters shrugged off the Nazi tattoo and the mountain of old incendiary Reddit posts, drawn to his charisma and ready to believe in his redemption arc. Putting real people in Washington, they argued, meant accepting the real-life baggage that came with it, even if it might get exposed in the gauntlet of the campaign. But now the party is confronting the potential costs of that risk. In the last two weeks, revelations that Platner sexted women early in his marriage and accusations from an ex-girlfriend that he was physically threatening have disturbed national Democrats and raised questions about what other damaging revelations might drop between now and November. On the eve of Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Maine, Democrats desperate to defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November face a conundrum. Platner is the party’s de facto nominee. He has denied acting violently toward an ex-girlfriend and says he won’t quit the race. Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who suspended her Senate campaign in April as Platner rolled to a wide lead, put out a statement reminding vo…

Platner wins the Democratic primary for US Senate in Maine, will face ... PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Graham Platner won the Maine Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, setting up a high-stakes race against Republican Sen.Susan Collins. Platner, an oyster farmer and former chair of the planning board in the small town of Sullivan, has little political experience but has drawn hundreds of people to rallies around the state. He also has faced with astring of controversiesthat have been the focus of attacks from his rivals. As polls closed, Platner was making his final pitch to voters to win the Democratic nomination to face Collins, a contest that Democrats see as a must-win as the party tries to claim control of the Senate in November. “We’re going to change the world,” Platner said in a video posted on social media ahead of polls closing. “We. All of us.” Democrats see Maine as a top opportunity to flip a GOP-held seat. It is the only state with a competitive Senate race where voters supported Democrat Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in 2024. Collins is the only Republican senator from New England. Platner, a progressive who had early support from Sen. Bernie Sanders, has…

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, join hands at an event in Orono, Maine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner stands on stage during a primary election night watch party after winning the Democratic nomination Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Blue Hill, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Maine Bernie Sanders 1 of 2 Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, join hands at an event in Orono, Maine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) WASHINGTON (AP) — Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith came to the Senate at a very different moment for Democrats. Appointed in late 2017 to replace Sen. Al Franken after fellow Democrats demanded his resignation amid allegations of unwanted touching and kissing, Smith entered Washington during the height of the #MeToo movement. Democrats were pushing members from office and contrasting their approach with Republicans’ willingness to stand by Donald Trump through scandal and controversy. Nearly a decade later, Smith says D…

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, join hands at an event in Orono, Maine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner stands on stage during a primary election night watch party after winning the Democratic nomination Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Blue Hill, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Maine Bernie Sanders 1 of 2 Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, join hands at an event in Orono, Maine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) WASHINGTON (AP) — Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith came to the Senate at a very different moment for Democrats. Appointed in late 2017 to replace Sen. Al Franken after fellow Democrats demanded his resignation amid allegations of unwanted touching and kissing, Smith entered Washington during the height of the #MeToo movement. Democrats were pushing members from office and contrasting their approach with Republicans’ willingness to stand by Donald Trump through scandal and controversy. Nearly a decade later, Smith says D…

WASHINGTON — Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith came to the Senate at a very different moment for Democrats. Appointed in late 2017 to replace Sen. Al Franken after fellow Democrats demanded his resignation amid allegations of unwanted touching and kissing, Smith entered Washington during the height of the #MeToo movement. Democrats were pushing members from office and contrasting their approach with Republicans' willingness to stand by Donald Trump through scandal and controversy. Nearly a decade later, Smith says Democrats are focused on something simpler. “Democrats want to win,” she said. As the party aims to flip both chambers of Congress in the midterms, Smith and other Democrats have backed Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner despite a growing list of controversies, including a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol , sexting with other women shortly after he married and allegations , which Platner denies, that he locked an ex-girlfriend in a room and forcefully twisted her arm. Platner cruised to victory in this week's primary after Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign. The support for Platner is about more than one candidate. It reflects a Democratic Party increasingly willin…

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, join hands at an event in Orono, Maine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner stands on stage during a primary election night watch party after winning the Democratic nomination Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Blue Hill, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Maine Bernie Sanders 1 of 2 Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, join hands at an event in Orono, Maine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) WASHINGTON (AP) — Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith came to the Senate at a very different moment for Democrats. Appointed in late 2017 to replace Sen. Al Franken after fellow Democrats demanded his resignation amid allegations of unwanted touching and kissing, Smith entered Washington during the height of the #MeToo movement. Democrats were pushing members from office and contrasting their approach with Republicans’ willingness to stand by Donald Trump through scandal and controversy. Nearly a decade later, Smith says D…

Graham Platner's Next Fight Is Even More Consequential Maine Governor Janet Mills’s decision to suspend her U.S. Senate campaign and effectively concede to upstart Graham Platner is a huge temporary victory for progressive Democrats in their ongoing fight with the party’s center-left establishment wing. But it will only be a true victory for progressives if Planter wins in November. And the left will be diminished if the untested Platner loses the general election because of baggage from his past or political inexperience—the unknowns that left many party insiders preferring Mills. The media, the parties, activists, and even average voters across the country have been captivated by Mills vs. Platner in part because the Maine election is one of the most important contests of this year’s midterms. Democrats must flip four seats this November to gain control of the Senate. Maine is their most obvious target because incumbent Susan Collins is the only Senate Republican up for reelection in a state Kamala Harris carried in 2024 . There is almost no path for a Democratic Senate majority that doesn’t involve the Pine Tree State. But this race is also a proxy for broader tensions within t…

WASHINGTON — Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith came to the Senate at a very different moment for Democrats. Appointed in late 2017 to replace Sen. Al Franken after fellow Democrats demanded his resignation amid allegations of unwanted touching and kissing, Smith entered Washington during the height of the #MeToo movement. Democrats were pushing members from office and contrasting their approach with Republicans' willingness to stand by Donald Trump through scandal and controversy. Nearly a decade later, Smith says Democrats are focused on something simpler. “Democrats want to win,” she said. As the party aims to flip both chambers of Congress in the midterms, Smith and other Democrats have backed Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner despite a growing list of controversies, including a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol , sexting with other women shortly after he married and allegations , which Platner denies, that he locked an ex-girlfriend in a room and forcefully twisted her arm. Platner cruised to victory in this week's primary after Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign. The support for Platner is about more than one candidate. It reflects a Democratic Party increasingly willin…

Two Maine Polls Just Dropped. Is It Time to Fret About Graham Platner ... Two major polls of the Maine Senate race dropped this week, and they told the same story: The race is incredibly close, and Democrat Graham Platner has real work to do among the working class. He’s running an aggressively left-populist, antiestablishment campaign targeting the billionaire class—and boasts lots of blue-collar appeal—but GOP Senator Susan Collins is way ahead among those voters. Why? The surveys—one from The New York Times and the other from Fox News—offer good and bad news for Platner. But they’re worrying some Democrats because a loss here deeply complicates the path to Senate control. Without Maine—which voted against Donald Trump by seven points in 2024—Democrats probably must win four out of five seats in Ohio, Texas, Alaska, Iowa, and North Carolina. Trump won all five states—most by lopsided margins—and now Democrats lead in the last but are tied or a bit behind in the others. The Times survey has Platner up two among likely voters overall, 49–47, and the Fox poll has Collins up three, 50–47. It’s a dead heat —it’s winnable, but he should probably be leading by more given the state’s De…

Platner Wins Maine Senate Primary, Putting NH Democrats on the Spot Graham Platner, the scandal-plagued progressive with a Nazi tattoo, survived weeks of negative headlines and political hand-wringing to handily win Maine’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary. As of midnight Tuesday, he had more than 70 percent of the vote. Platner’s victory sets up a high-profile November fight with Maine moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins and creates potential headaches for Democrats next door in New Hampshire. Platner, a Marine veteran and self-styled “oyster farmer,” defeated his Democratic rivals despite a series of controversies involving past online comments, allegations from former girlfriends, sexually explicit messages, and a tattoo of the Nazi SS Totenkopf symbol. In his victory speech Tuesday night, Platner attempted to turn the controversies into a message of redemption. “Redemption is not just some simple or easy destination. It’s a journey,” Platner said. “I’ve made mistakes in my life. Mistakes that I regret, that I live with, and that I continue to learn from. And I’m still far from perfect. But every day I wake up, and I try to be a little bit better and a little bit kinder than I…

At left, Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., speaks June 26, 2026, in Washington, and at right, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., speaks in Washington, July 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta and J. Scott Applewhite) By Associated Press PUBLISHED: July 7, 2026 at 1:32 PM EDT | UPDATED: July 7, 2026 at 3:23 PM EDT Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By BILL BARROW and MIKE CATALINI A new accusation that Graham Platner once sexually assaulted a woman he was dating has rocked the U.S. Senate race in Maine and cast fresh doubt on Democrats’ path to a Senate majority. Republicans currently have a 53-47 advantage in the Senate, and Maine is viewed as a necessary win for Democrats to gain the minimum of four new Senate seats. But now there’s a question of whether Platner, who denied the allegation, will remain on the ballot and, if he does, whether he can defeat five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Here’s a closer look at the top races that Democrats are targeting. At left, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in Washington, June 17, 2026, and at right, Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks June 9, 2026, in Blue Hill, Maine. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite and) Robert F. Bukaty Democrats se…

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, join hands at an event in Orono, Maine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner stands on stage during a primary election night watch party after winning the Democratic nomination Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Blue Hill, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Maine Bernie Sanders 1 of 2 Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, join hands at an event in Orono, Maine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) WASHINGTON (AP) — Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith came to the Senate at a very different moment for Democrats. Appointed in late 2017 to replace Sen. Al Franken after fellow Democrats demanded his resignation amid allegations of unwanted touching and kissing, Smith entered Washington during the height of the #MeToo movement. Democrats were pushing members from office and contrasting their approach with Republicans’ willingness to stand by Donald Trump through scandal and controversy. Nearly a decade later, Smith says D…

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, join hands at an event in Orono, Maine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner stands on stage during a primary election night watch party after winning the Democratic nomination Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Blue Hill, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Maine Bernie Sanders 1 of 2 Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, join hands at an event in Orono, Maine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) WASHINGTON (AP) — Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith came to the Senate at a very different moment for Democrats. Appointed in late 2017 to replace Sen. Al Franken after fellow Democrats demanded his resignation amid allegations of unwanted touching and kissing, Smith entered Washington during the height of the #MeToo movement. Democrats were pushing members from office and contrasting their approach with Republicans’ willingness to stand by Donald Trump through scandal and controversy. Nearly a decade later, Smith says D…

Democrats’ predicament with Graham Platner is one of the party’s own making <p>Platner’s long road ahead shows how Democrats may have fumbled the bag in Maine</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/14/maine-graham-platner-democrats">Continue reading...</a>

Key takeaways from Tuesday's primaries: Platner wins, but now faces ... Trump candidate advances in South Carolina while one who defied him doesn't. Closely watchedprimariesin four states on Tuesday showed a resounding victory for a Democrat who was facing some controversies but amassed much popular support, the continued strength of President Donald Trump’s endorsement, and set up a key governor’s race in November. Here are some takeaways from Tuesday's primaries: Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and military veteran, is slated to take on longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November’s general election for the U.S. Senate in Maine,romping to victory in the primaryeven amid multiple controversies. That included a late-breaking controversy from a New York Times report last Thursday that some of the Army veteran's former girlfriends said that his actions could be "intimidating and disturbing." Platner denied allegations of being physically intimidating towards former partners, and said after the story broke that he had beenopen to Mainers about his past, and that it had never crossed his mind to drop out of the race. Tuesday night’s results showed Maine Democrats rallying…

Democratic strategist says transparency is Platner's 'only path forward' NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Democratic strategist Joel Payne about prominent Democrats on the national and state level urging Graham Platner to withdraw from the Maine Senate race.

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, join hands at an event in Orono, Maine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner stands on stage during a primary election night watch party after winning the Democratic nomination Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Blue Hill, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Maine Bernie Sanders 1 of 2 Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, join hands at an event in Orono, Maine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) WASHINGTON (AP) — Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith came to the Senate at a very different moment for Democrats. Appointed in late 2017 to replace Sen. Al Franken after fellow Democrats demanded his resignation amid allegations of unwanted touching and kissing, Smith entered Washington during the height of the #MeToo movement. Democrats were pushing members from office and contrasting their approach with Republicans’ willingness to stand by Donald Trump through scandal and controversy. Nearly a decade later, Smith says D…

Graham Platner's Collapse Is a 'Reckoning' for Political Vetting 2026 Election The Maine candidate rose on his outsider persona. His fall has Democrats questioning the baggage nontraditional candidates bring with them. Some old-guard Democrats are using Graham Platner’s fall from grace to hit outsider campaigns beyond Maine.Robert F. Bukaty/AP ByEmily Kennard July 9, 202605:13 AM Graham Platner’s implosion in Maine is driving an intense debate among Democrats over how they wound up in this mess — and if the progressive, populist push for more “outsider” candidates has come at the expense of rigorous candidate vetting. “People have overcorrected. … We do need more candidates from different backgrounds. We do need people who bring real-world perspective to our politics,” said Caitlin Legacki, a Democratic strategist who was publicly critical of Platner and his campaign. “But there is a reason that party committees do vet their candidates, and they do the research typically before these candidates launch.” She added that this campaign should “serve as a cautionary tale.” Some old-guard Democrats are using Platner’s fall from grace to hit outsider campaigns beyond Maine. “Say…