Graham Platner’s exit in Maine: 5 lessons Democrats could learn

Democrats say there are lessons to be learned from Graham Platner’s rapid rise and quick demise in the Maine Senate race. 

In their search to run someone “different” as part of their rebuilding efforts following significant losses in the 2024 election, Democrats found Platner, a plainspoken oyster farmer with a military background who could speak about real world problems embraced by everyday voters. 

But in their rush to embrace a so-called outsider, Platner’s advocates looked past blatant warning signs.

“The whole thing is just regrettable,” said Democratic strategist Steve Schale, summing up how most Democrats feel on the heels of Platner suspending his campaign. 

Now as Democrats scramble to find a replacement for November’s must-win election, they are trying to take lessons from the implosion of Platner’s campaign.  

The vetting was “absolutely atrocious” 

Operatives, journalists and voters alike said one didn’t have to look far to realize that Platner was a flawed candidate.

“He was as flawed as they come,” said one Democratic strategist. “And the vetting was absolutely atrocious. Those two things compounded.” 

From the start, there were Reddit posts about cops and criticisms of rural white Americans.

There were complaints from ex-girlfriends on social media posts.  

Platner also had a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, which he inevitably had covered up. And that was before the complaints by women accusing him of being a bad boyfriend — and then much worse, with this week’s accusation of rape. Platner has denied all allegations of rape and sexual assault, while suggesting political opponents were out to bring him down.

“Deep vetting is only as good as the candidate is willing to be honest,” Schale said. “You have to realize there’s not a secret that’s not going to come out … The thing that kills campaigns is when they learn about information about their candidate in real time.”

Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons agreed: “I always counsel candidates to do their........

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