Graham Platner was a horrible candidate for Senate in Maine on every level, from terrible policies to rape allegations. It was just stunning that Democrats would hook themselves to such a problematic person.
But now that I've seen the alternatives in action in Thursday night's debate, I understand it to some degree, and I find myself asking: Is every Democrat politician in Maine a train wreck? And yes, that's rhetorical.
It's been a festival of championing every extremist leftist idea, without any of the smoothness of Platner. Even the New York Times acknowledged the problem.
The implosion of Mr. Platner, who dropped out days after being accused of rape, has left Maine Democrats choosing from a sparse buffet of candidates who either lost primaries for other offices this year or lack any traditional résumé to run for the Senate.
Note the "sparse" field and losers. The Times did not sound encouraged. Nor should they be.
The moderators split the debate into two hours with four people each. The first was with people who received more than 20 percent in their respective primaries in June: Shenna Bellows (current Secretary of State), Troy Jackson (former state Senate President), Nirav Shah (former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention), and Jordan Wood (former congressional aide). Wood ran for the U.S. House, while the other three ran for governor in June. The second set included Elizabeth Dickerson (former state representative), David Costello (who formerly worked in Maryland government and for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)), Dan Kleban (Maine Beer Company co-founder), and Ashley Webb (who writes songs and books). Kleban and Costello ran in the Senate primary, but Costello only got 8 percent, and Kleban dropped out. The other two didn't run for anything in June.
It was problematic from the outset, just identifying why folks should vote for them.
They all were for Medicare for All and for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Here's Webb talking about writing songs and books.
MODERATOR: "What qualifications do you have to serve in the U.S. Senate?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 17, 2026
Maine Democrat Ashley Webb: "I'm a songwriter and I write my own books." pic.twitter.com/csMIFkmt4Q
Experience with brewing equipment is a qualifier?
MODERATOR: What experience do you have in defense and national security?
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 17, 2026
KLEBAN: President Trump...
MODERATOR: The question was "what is your experience?"
KLEBAN: Well I wasn't in the military pic.twitter.com/glktL0LYZC
Then there's the person interested in "climate."
Maine Democrat Elizabeth Dickerson says she is running for Senate because she is "very interested in climate." pic.twitter.com/nrl6kPrrKM
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 17, 2026
Bellows wanted to let you know that she had the experience of running against Republican Sen. Susan Collins before.
She lost by 37 whole points! 🤡 https://t.co/EVBaRwOh8w
— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) July 16, 2026
She did — when she lost by 37 points in 2014. She probably shouldn't even have brought that up. She's also the one who infamously tried to keep President Donald Trump off the Maine ballot. She couldn't even clearly state what she thought about Daylight Saving Time. Please pick her; she probably did the worst on the night.
Starting to feel bad for these Maine Democrats 😬
— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) July 17, 2026
SHENNA BELLOWS: "I have many ideas on this one."
MODERATOR: "Give me an example..."
BELLOWS: *buffers* pic.twitter.com/ifdM00tTWl
READ MORE: Maine Election Official So Desperate to Keep Trump off Ballot She's Appealing
They largely had no idea what they were talking about.
Jackson, who socialists have endorsed and has gotten the most buzz, claimed ICE wasn't "law enforcement."
Maine Democrat Troy Jackson - who is endorsed by Socialists - slanders ICE officers as "not law enforcement." pic.twitter.com/GUTwqLl3HM
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 16, 2026
He also pushed taxing the rich more and said, "None of us knows the right way" when it came to dealing with the budget.
Troy Jackson - who is endorsed by Socialists - stumbles when asked about how to reduce the budget deficit.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 16, 2026
JACKSON: "I've been involved in doing a a bunch of balanced budgets...if we want to balance the federal budget...none of us know the right way. This is insane." pic.twitter.com/wfYqhorRAA
The rich already pay the most, and Elon Musk has probably paid more taxes than anyone in history.
As for Nirav Shah, as the NY Times notes:
[T]he moderators twice clarified his assertions related to Ms. Collins. In one instance, Dr. Shah suggested that she had been a rubber stamp for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — whose confirmation, a moderator noted, Ms. Collins had in fact opposed.
He also helped out Collins.
WOW! Maine Democrat Nirav Shah thanks Susan Collins for securing over $300 million in critical funding for projects across Maine.
— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) July 16, 2026
(It's actually nearly $1.5 BILLION, but thank you anyways!) pic.twitter.com/7I3R9WlO0j
But...but just remember, according to Ashley Webb, too much "pork bellying" is bad!
Checking in on the Maine Senate Debate:
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) July 17, 2026
“I believe they called it pork bellying by cutting out the pork belly from all the bills, sure that would save a lot of money as well…” pic.twitter.com/Gv66Ks43rh
Maine debate commentator torches the Democrat candidates for their lukewarm personalities.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 17, 2026
"When it comes to charisma Platner had a lot of advantages... I don't think that any of those people that we saw just now have that card to play." pic.twitter.com/AELic1y9S9
The candidate is going to be picked at a convention by 600 delegates, not more broadly by the people. So we see the problem once again of the Democrat Party — the "democracy defenders" — not exactly being "democratic."
"The reputation of the Democratic Party is in the toilet," Kleban said.
Maine Democrat Dan Kleban: "The reputation of the Democratic Party is is in the toilet." pic.twitter.com/SaT78IcUHg
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 17, 2026
You got that part right.
I'd have to say the prospects for November are looking good for Collins.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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