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The Graham Platner Hostage Crisis

The left’s ongoing Platner nightmare reveals all too many of the Democrats’ blind spots—not only offering limitless chances to a white dude with personal issues and Nazi ink, but pinning so many national political hopes on the non-diverse, Berniecratic state of Maine.

Graham Platner
Democratic Senate candidate, Graham Platner Photo: Laura Brett / Getty Images
Peter Hamby
July 8, 2026

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By the time you’re reading this, Graham Platner may or may not have finally abandoned his calamitous campaign for Maine’s open Senate seat. As of Wednesday, Platner was still in, with his team demanding a say in who should replace him on the ballot—even as he faces a serious rape allegation and an endless trail of scandals that might’ve single-handedly derailed Democrats’ chances of taking back the Senate in November. “The arrogance and privilege of this guy,” said Quentin Fulks, the former deputy campaign manager for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.