How Do Democrats Solve A Problem Like Graham Platner?

How Do Democrats Solve A Problem Like Graham Platner?

From GD POLITICS by Galen Druke

June 10, 2026 · 13 min

About this episode

Nate Silver joins Galen Druke to discuss the Maine Senate race and the implications of the war in Iran on the upcoming midterms.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.gdpolitics.com The full episode is available to paid subscribers. Once you become a paid subscriber, you can connect your account to your preferred podcast player here . On today’s podcast, Nate Silver joins me to talk about the Maine Senate race, the political fallout of the war in Iran, and much more. Nate had some spicy takes, as you’ll hear. The Maine primary is now completed, and with 80 percent of the expected vote tallied, Platner received 72 percent of the vote. Although Janet Mills had already dropped out of the race, her name remained on the ballot and she received 20 percent. Call it a protest vote. On paper, Maine should be one of Democrats’ best Senate pickup opportunities this cycle. It’s a blue-leaning state in a Democratic-leaning national environment. But after a series of personal controversies, Platner’s campaign has become something more complicated: a test of how much candidate quality and character matter in an era of strong partisanship. Nate makes the case that, for the good of the Democratic Party, Platner should drop out. I play devil’s advocate and ask whether Democrats are likely to…

People in this episode

Host: Galen Druke

Guest: Nate Silver

Topics covered

  • Maine Senate race
  • political fallout
  • candidate quality
  • partisanship
  • midterms
  • inflation

Keywords

  • Maine Senate race
  • Graham Platner
  • Nate Silver
  • Janet Mills
  • political fallout
  • midterms
  • inflation

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Maine, Iran

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