How will Democrats fight Trump after dumping their candidate Graham Platner in Maine?

How will Democrats fight Trump after dumping their candidate Graham Platner in Maine?

July 8, 2026 · 30 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the Democratic Party's search for a new Senate candidate in Maine after Graham Platner lost support due to serious allegations, and the implications for upcoming elections.

Top Democrats are urgently searching for a new senate candidate in Maine. Graham Platner, the former marine and oyster farmer, lost his party’s support after serious allegations of rape and sexual assault, which he denies. Winning Maine is pivotal to the Democrats’ chances of gaining back control of the Senate in this November’s midterm elections. Now the party is scrambling for alternative candidates, with questions around they type of candidate the party should choose, and how the Democrats will choose to fight Trump. Before these allegations emerged, Graham Platner was heralded as a non establishment candidate with a ‘chequered’ past who ordinary voters could relate to. In this episode, Anthony and Sumi also discuss the wider consequences for the Democrats as they choose candidates in other states going into this November’s midterms and the presidential election in 2028. HOSTS: • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent • Sumi Somaskanda, Chief Anchor, BBC News GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email Americast@bbc.co.uk • Or use #Americast This episode was made by…

People in this episode

Hosts: Anthony Zurcher, Sumi Somaskanda

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC News, Democrats

Places: Maine

More episodes of Americast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Americast podcast page.