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Maine Votes as Graham Platner’s Past Poses New Conundrums

38 minutes | Tuesday, 9 June 2026

On Tuesday, Maine will vote in a high-stakes primary contest for a Senate seat that Democrats think they can win back from Republicans for the first time in decades. Democrats are pinning their hopes on Graham Platner, a progressive who has faced a string of scandals.
Today, Lisa Lerer and Katie Glueck discuss what this race means for Maine and for the prospects of the Democratic Party.
Guest: 

Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.
Katie Glueck, a political reporter at The New York Times.

Background reading: 

Several women who dated Mr. Platner recall “unsettling” behavior.
Politicians, officials and strategists have wrestled with how to respond to new reporting on Mr. Platner’s past behavior.

Photo: Amanda Sabga/Reuters
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Maine Votes as Graham Platner’s Past Poses New Conundrums
The Daily

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