The persistent question since the 2024 presidential election has been whether Democrats learned anything from the failures that handed Donald Trump a second term. A year and a half later, and just months before the midterm elections, the answer seems to be a resounding no.
Look no further than Maine, where the Democratic Party just watched its latest progressive darling implode in spectacular, if entirely foreseeable, fashion. Until a few weeks ago, leading Democrats were still backing U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, ignoring red flags they should have caught early. He was billed as the party's best shot in years at flipping the seat from longtime moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins, bringing relative youth, political newcomer appeal and a beard.
Now Platner is out after serious allegations of sexual assault – and intense pressure from fellow Democrats, including some who had enthusiastically backed him.
Democrats settled on a replacement fast. Former state lawmaker Troy Jackson appears to have coalesced the support of Maine Democrats, who will vote July 25 at a party convention on who replaces Platner on the November ballot. Some outlets are already calling Jackson’s rise a “coronation.”
Who is he?
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