Maine provides a glimpse into the much bigger leftist split that is likely to occur in the very near future
Democrats have been so desperate to make gains with male voters that they nominated a ticking time-bomb to take on the most moderate of all moderates, Susan Collins, in a must-win Senate race this year. And you’d better believe it, the bill is coming due.
What they saw in Graham Platner was a rugged military veteran who is an oyster farmer (actually, gives oysters to his mother’s restaurant as a hobby) with natural ties to the state’s working-class population. He would provide the necessary boost in this magnificent sliver of a 2026 midterm to finally oust the only Republican in all of Congress. What they actually got was something much different:
- An actual Nazi with a Totenkopf tattoo (hence “Oystergruppenführer)
- Self-described “communist” positions
- Hatred for all law enforcement and mockery of wounded soldiers
- No real job
- Bizarre online behavior and description of his personal behaviors
- Past with women that would make Bill Clinton blush
Monday is also when the latest Platner allegations and horror stories dropped, and they were along the lines of everything that came out against Eric Swalwell ahead of California primary when the Democrat machine needed to get rid of a candidate seen as a threat to the brand. In the case of Maine, it’s Platner’s inevitable loss to Susan Collins forcing the party to Biden him after he just won their primary last month. You can see, even in rigged polling, that Platner’s lead is gone:
Last month, I did the math on why Collins is on pace for a victory against Platner based on how she does against polling and voter registration historically.
Before I go any further, I must be honest. The tactics being used by the Democrats to push Platner out the door give me cause for concern. Based on what I know about this guy, and what many people have corroborated, I suspect the allegations against him are true, or mostly true. The trouble here is that we are getting to the point in which anyone can make an allegation against any candidate and that candidate will be pressured to drop out. Remember when we were one Jeff Flake decision away, during the Kavanaugh hearing, from having every male in this country potentially branded a sexual abuser just because someone said so?
Anyway, it’s high noon for Democrats in Maine and they have until Monday, July 13, to replace him if he withdraws. Unfortunately for Maine Democrats, who attempted to lay down the law yesterday, Platner holds the cards. As of this morning, there is talk on the street that Platner is negotiating his exit, but nothing concrete.
Here are the three main takeaways of Platner-gate (the efforts to remove Platner as Senate nominee):
I. Back to the Well
It has never been lost on me how ironic it is that the “Democratic Party” is uniquely undemocratic. In 2016, they rigged their presidential primary using superdelegates to ensure Hillary Clinton fended off a threat from her political left (Bernie Sanders). In 2020, the Democrats forced everyone except for Joe Biden to drop out in order to create a head-to-head with Bernie Sanders on Super Tuesday as he was threatening once again to take their nomination. In 2024, Biden was forced out and Kamala Harris was crowned nominee after having never even made it to the Iowa Caucus in her ill-fated 2020 campaign.
Now, the Democrats are looking to invalidate their June Senate primary in Maine, in which more than 200,000 Mainers voted. Here is the Executive Director of the Maine Democratic Party laying down the law on Platner, who is the party’s nominee:
“Update from Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson on the Maine Senate race.” — Maine Democrats (@MaineDems), July 7, 2026
This is why my friend Larry Schweikart, the esteemed historian, maintains the Democrats have never been about anything but consolidating power. Their positions will be whatever they must be, and if they need to cancel the primaries, then they will. Biden’s 2024 removal and the soft rigging of the two preceding presidential primaries have only made it certain that they will use all power possible to cherry-pick candidates as necessary. Their current behavior is not based on any sort of moral compass, but rather their own understanding that I’ve been right this whole time in assessing Collins as having always been the favorite in this race.
II. The Platner Base
Platner is giving all the signs that he may be willing to drop out of the race, but I also think he legitimately believes in his whacked-out mission and has too much willpower to just quit and let the machine take it away from him. Remember all the talk about the Republicans replacing Trump after the “Access Hollywood” tape dropped less than a month from the 2016 election?
It would have been a bloodbath for the GOP, and Mike Pence would have lost every single battleground state and maybe even some standard red states had Trump been removed from the ticket in 2016. The same is true of Platner. He has his own unique base, certainly made up of low-propensity socialists and communists who have been waiting for an ideal candidate to come along. Governor Janet Mills had suspended her campaign two months before the primary, so I was not exactly impressed with Platner’s 71.9% share given no real competition, but he still had 154,058 votes with a lot of the dirt on him already out there:
He was already the underdog. Now imagine a hand-picked Democrat candidate if even 10% of Platner’s primary voters sat it out, or worse, crossed over to vote for Collins out of spite? Collins only won by 70,422 votes in 2020. 15,000 disenfranchised Platner fans can deal massive damage, and I can assure you they aren’t going to be equally motivated to back Janet Mills, Shenna Bellows, or Troy Jackson (who is the best choice).
III. Shifting Electoral Math
Platner holds the cards, and he is the guy who has to drop out. He cannot simply be forced out because the Democrats want him out. Now, that doesn’t mean they won’t employ extreme measures (do you want to live?) to push him out, but if he wants to, he can remain the party’s nominee. The Democrats would then be forced to run an “independent” candidate or attempt a write-in campaign. Both of those are doomed causes:
“In this situation Collins would win something along the lines of 56 R/30 D/ 14 I” — Seth Keshel (@RealSKeshel), July 7, 2026
The Democrats are already the underdogs. Splitting the ticket makes it inevitable that Collins would win in such an overwhelming fashion that the funds dedicated to her race could be spent elsewhere.
Conclusion
The chickens are coming home to roost, and the Democrats have their backs against the wall in a must-win race. They have no viable path to a Senate majority without kicking Collins to the curb, and now their lab-grown man of the people is unelectable. Expect this situation to deteriorate further; if Platner is axed, there may be a radical left-wing revolution in the streets and a massive split in the Democrat factions that will benefit Republicans for decades.
Seth Keshel, MBA is a Fellow at the Gold Institute for International Strategy and a retired Army Captain. He publishes Captain K’s Corner on Substack.
