The Don Jones Index, 7/10/26

the DON JONES INDEX…
	GAINS POSTED in GREEN LOSSES POSTED in RED 7/10/26... 15,926.96 standard - 14,296.75 reconfigured 7/3/26... 16,022.83 standard – 15,029.54 reconfigured 6/27/13... 15,000.00
*(THE DOW* JONES INDEX: 7/10/26...52,487.41; 7/3/26...52,900.07; 6/27/13… 15,000.00)**

LESSON for FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2026 – “DJI’s MAINE MAN!”

The midterm elections, individually and collectively, are going to be close. Very close. And the implications – personal for the few, political for the many and, even global – are about as critical as critical can be.

President Donald Trump (who orated on America’s 250^th) may, for example, be enthroned as America’s first Dictator. Or first Chief Executive to go to jail. A third of the Senate and four hundred – some Congressthings will face the music, which will be sweet and tinkly in most of America’s gerrymandered states, leaving control to a few purplish regions where viable campaigns will make a difference. The difference might boil down to a few thousand (or dozen) votes in states like Ohio, Virginia... even New York and Texas.

Or Maine.

Incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins has not been the most loyal supporter of Djonald DeRanged – as he cuts taxes for the rich, cuts services for the rest, prosecutes a war of choice edging ever close to the nuclear and commands a Cabinet of Curiosities whose artifacts are making the world safe for polio again and prosecuting His enemies for seashells. Her frequent traitorous remarks and votes have enraged the enranged President, but he can do the math – and if keeping his Senate majority means sucking it in and, at least, not burning the witch. The alternatives are worse.

It’s an America out of a comic film or novel... something Mel Brooks might have envisioned had he been taking stronger drugs back in the day. But in Maine, the fine and popular arts do not lend themselves to levity. They evoke emotions that are... otherly.

And Collins’ Democratic opponent, Graham Platner – an oyster farmer with no political experience but, rather, an abundance of spleen, directed at the incumbents (Presidential or Senatorial) seemed to be riding high on the blue waves of disdain and disgust for Team Trump... until a report from Politico revealed the accusation from Jenny Racicot, Platner’s former girlfriend, who alleged Platner sexually assaulted her five years ago.

The prime directive of 2026... don’t throw your own prospects away... went into the crapper as Maine’s Democrats did just that as more girls from out of the past lined up to also accuse Platner of euphemistic indecencies that boiled down to... well... violent rape. He denied all charges, contending them political swatting, and marshaled defenders like Zorro in New York and The Bern in neighboring Vermont but the accusations kept coming – as did media focus on his anti-Semitic postings and Nazi tattoos. People began to ask questions. Prominent supporters (and donors) started to waffle like the Belgian soccer team while media muckaluks dragged out the legalities.

If Platner suspends his campaign before 5 p.m. Monday, July 13, the Maine Democratic Party will be able to replace him on the general election ballot with another candidate from the party, whom they would need to select by July 27. Pundits and gamblers began drawing up lists of prospective replacements, should the candidate realize that November was not his oyster and go back to his boat and his nets.

A growing list of wannabee replacements... a Leviathan of losers are now crawling over and under one another... wiggling and jiggling like the “green-lipped mussels” that the merchers are grinding into pills for the healthy and wealhy to pop and maybe live a little bit longer. There are State Senator and anti-gay activist Troy Jackson, brewer Dan Kleban, Maine Covid Czar Nirav Shah, last place Congressional candidate Paige Loud and, before he dropped out. “Doctor Dreamy” actor Patrick Dempsey... but, truth be told, the DJI posits that there is only one Maine Man who can step up, clean the plate and probably flip the Senate – and, all the while, ratched up the Congressional clown show to new heights (or depths) of depravity.

We’re talking the King, here.

Stephen King.

The author of “Misery”, “Carrie” and “It” is uniquely qualified to tackle the Senate; a body infected with lesser partisan parasites as polls repeatedly show.

And, by showing up on the Capitol floor on January 3rd – clothed, of course, in full Evil Clown raiments, Senator Pennywhistle will set America to rights; win our wars, pay off our debts and uphold Truth, Justice and the AmeriClown way...

Stephen “Pennywise” King will make the Senate behave.

Or else!

THE PLATNER PARTICULATES...

Today, Platner officially withdrew from the Senate race after several days of waffling. (NBC: ATTACHMENT ONE)

The Friday filing put an end to fears among Democrats that he might reverse his decision or fail to file the papers by the July 13 deadline and ultimately stay in the race.

The filing triggers a process where the Maine Democratic Party can replace him on the ballot. Under state law, they have until July 27 at 5 p.m. ET to submit a new nominee.

Maine’s Democratic Party said it will hold a convention on July 25 where candidates can seek the nomination from 601 delegates.

“The convention will be fair, representative, and as transparent as possible, as we all come together in service of our ultimate goal, defeating Susan Collins and winning this Senate seat,” MDP Chair Charlie Dingman said in a video.

The winner of the shortened campaign will face Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November in one of the nation’s most competitive Senate races, one that could decide control of the chamber. Candidates must formally declare by Wednesday, July 15 at 5 p.m.

Candidates began jockeying to replace Platner last week, even before he announced his exit following a new sexual assault allegation against him made by a former girlfriend. The woman, Jenny Racicot, told Politico and CNN that he forced her to have sex with him in 2021, a claim he has rebuffed as “categorically false.”

At least half a dozen candidates have already jumped into the contest to replace Platner — including several who ran, and lost, in the state’s gubernatorial and Senate primaries this year, and one person who ran — and lost — to Collins in 2014.

With no formal process enumerated in the group’s bylaws for how to replace a Democratic statewide nominee, the Maine Democratic Party is scrambling to set up a nominating convention that will take place before the July 27 deadline to place someone on the ballot.

Among Platner supporters disappointed by the turn of events was author Stephen King – who recently deleted a series of social media posts defending Platner after Platner’s former girlfriend accused him of a 2021 rape. King initially hoped Platner would stay in the race, prompting severe online backlash. King subsequently clarified he was not defending Platner and stated that if the rape allegations are true, Platner "should bow out”. Other supporters, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Representative Ro Khanna agreed. (AI Overview, ATTACHMENT TWO)

THE COLLAPSE

A WikiBio of the now-ex-candidate (fingered for deletion or, at least, revision in the near future) describes Platner as a working man, the son and grandson of working folk, born September 1, 1984 in coastal Maine. (ATTACHMENT THREE)

He served eight years in the Marines, including three combat tours in Iraq as a Marine and one in Afghanistan, and then found a career in oyster farming (or, more accurately, extraction) and told the Wiksters that the trade “does not make much money, and his mother's restaurant is his biggest customer” and that he supplements his income with benefits he earns as a 100% disabled veteran.

The Wikis described his rise through local gumment as a “progressive populist” – sometimes conflicting with discordant social media posts, a strange attraction to Nazis and violence against woman before his 2023 marriage. Now married, he denied allegations of the latter until this week, having easily won his Democratic primary race.

His progressive policies include support for Ukraine but opposition to the Iran war and Israel’s campaign in Gaza, leading to accusations of anti-Semitism (below).

The Washington Monthly (ATTACHMENT FOUR, July 10^th) called the collapse of his campaign “a cautionary tale about polling” – citing two polls sampling Maine Democratic Senate primary voters were released which told completely different stories.

The University of New Hampshire poll, taken largely before the Nazi tattoo news broke, “had the rookie candidate Platner leading the incumbent Governor Janet Mills by an astounding 34 points. Yet SoCal Strategies, in a poll taken just after the tattoo news, had Mills up by only 5 points.”

The tattoo scandal, WashMonthly gleaned from from yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, caused “an immediate drop in fundraising … with donations falling to less than half of what the campaign had been averaging daily.”

What helped steady the campaign ship was the next poll, conducted by the Maine People’s Resource Center [MPRC] from October 26 to 29 and released on November 12. Not only did the survey show Platner edging incumbent Governor Janet Mills in the primary by 2 points, but it was also the first poll to project that Platner would defeat the incumbent Republican, Senator Susan Collins. And it had Mills losing to Collins by the same margin Platner was winning: 4 points. “The presumption of who was the most electable option was being flipped.”

Describing some of the pros and cons of polling, WashMonthly cited other instances in other states like Michigan where “spin polling” from campaigns borders on the fraudulent.

They didn’t exactly accuse the PlatPeople of fraud, but did note that sudden, inexplicable events can have an outsized influence on elections.

THE CHEERLEADERS

Also out of Washington, an AI Overview called "Platner cheerleaders" a phrase used to describe the “prominent politicians and progressive figures who strongly backed former Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner during his campaign.”

The term gained traction in political commentary (such as in an opinion piece by the Washington Post) to identify early supporters who continued to champion him or initially stood by his campaign even as he faced mounting controversies and sexual assault allegations. (ATTACHMENT FIVE)

Key figures frequently associated with this label include Khanna, Warren and the Bern and King (above) who deleted his posts defending Platner once the heat got hotter.

THE DEPARTED

So then, there were none.

No more defenders of the realm and the reign and the Oysterman.

No Bern. No Zorro. No King.

The immiserated author of “Carrie” and “Misery” and “It” threw in the bloody towel after a report from Politico published Monday the 6^th - revealing the accusation from Jenny Racicot, Platner’s former girlfriend, who alleged Platner sexually assaulted her five years ago.

King had posted twice – the first comparing accusations to the allegations against President Trump (“the Abuser in Chief”); the second quoting the riposte from Jesus (“Let him without sin cast the first stone”).

MAGA went ballistic (see the snark, below). Even old rightists like Jonah Goldberg weighed in...

“So because we don’t know about hypothetical rapey legislators we should forgive the ones we do know about.”

“Not defending Graham Platner. If he committed rape, he should bow out,” King said... joining Republican traitor MTG turned Platner traitor and many more. (The Hill, ATTACHMENT SIX)

Politico reported that Racicot met Platner on the dating app Bumble in 2019 and, in 2021, Platner drunkenly entered her home uninvited and sexually assaulted her. She said she did not come forward initially out of fear of retaliation and because she wanted a Democrat to defeat incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.

“He does love a horror story,” Primetimer (Today, ATTACHMENT SEVEN) referenced King.

WMTW of Bangor, Maine reported that King was “clarifying” pro-Platner posts (July 7, ATTACHMENT EIGHT) while also calling out the President and waffling on Jesus.

King clarified in another post that he wasn't "defending Platner" and was "just making a comparison."

"If he committed rape, he should bow out," King posted – WMTW contending that he was joining Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Rep. Ro Khanna of California and the Bern (who’d pointed to the U.S. Capitol building and asked: “Is (Platner) a saint? I guess not. I don't know too many saints here."

Rival Bangor station WJCL also covered the King pivot (July 7, ATTACHMENT NINE) and that of the Bern amidst a “flood of calls from Democratic leadership in Maine and D.C. to end (Platner’s) campaign.

And, on Wednesday, the Fox also reported on the Platner pivots – and reactions to the pivots by right-wing feminist wokesters Kevin Dalton, Paul Thacker and podcast host Alec Lace who added that King was OK with the “Nazi Totenkopf tattoo Graham having Rape fantasies His Sexting & predator platform activity." (July 8, ATTACHMENT TEN)

Fox explained the Democrat dilemma as requiring Platner to drop out before 5 p.m. next Monday, July 13, the Maine Democratic Party will be able to replace him on the general election ballot with another candidate from the party, whom they would need to select by July 27. The article was comparatively measured, but the Peanuts in the Fox Gallery were not... calling the author “demented” and “deplorable”.

The MAGAverse then swept in.

The New York Post’s Tim Rice (Monday July 6, ATTACHMENT ELEVEN) called King a cocaine addict and kiddie group sex groomer.

Add to rapo the anti-Semitic charges posted against Platner, King and the rest of the PlatKids... dropped out or not... by the Times of Israel (July 8^th, ATTACHMENT TWELVE) which contended that Platner had told Politico that any “accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue.” He said in a video posted to social media on Monday that he is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.”

Platner did not respond to a request for comment from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. But he also said his Republican rival, Susan Collins, was “bought and paid for by Benjamin Netanyahu” due to her support from AIPAC — a comment that drew accusations of antisemitism.

The Republicans at Breitbart (Tuesday, July 7, ATTACHMENT THIRTEEN) referred to King as an “unabashed Republican foe” before the Platner plummet... citing his posts on Trump and Jesus and the condemnation for “his Nazi chest tattoo, sexting with women while married, mocking a military Purple Heart recipient, disparaging groups of people, and a host of other scandals - many reported by Politico on Monday.

The lunar lunatics at the Washington Times collected and enhanced the conservative outrage against Platner and King on Wednesday reiterating the venerable Goldberg’s writing that King’s logic “amounted to forgiving known wrongdoing because other, unproven wrongdoing might exist elsewhere,” while Free Press writer Kat Rosenfield suggested Mr. King’s defense “had crossed a line the public wouldn’t tolerate.”

They added that Platner’s campaign said in a statement that the accusation was “coached and coordinated by out of state establishment operatives” and noted it surfaced just a week before Maine’s July 13 deadline for swapping out a nominee.

(They also contended that an American conquest of Greenland could “strengthen Europe”.)

And, on Tuesday another Post Toasted Oat, Patrick Reilly called the novelist a “rabid lefty” after King excused the oysterman “because everyone on Capitol Hill has skeletons in their closets” – and who knows skeletons better than the “Shining” novelist.

“‘Who among us hasn’t done a little rape???’ -Stephen King, basically,” conservative commentator Sara Gonzales posted in response.

Reilly (ATTACHMENT FIFTEEN) suggested the allegations “could finally sink Platner’s grassroots lefty campaign, which has miraculously survived a litany of other scandals including extramarital sexting, his alleged “unsettling” behavior toward past girlfriends, a tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol, his incendiary Reddit history, and more.”

THE REPLACEMENT FILLERS

With Platner on the ropes... then through them... speculations wandered to potential replacements for the Democratic nomination.

After The Bern told Platner to “step aside”, Politico (July 7, ATTACHMENT SIXTEEN) re[prted that “(n)umerous other former supporters of Platner, from progressive commentators to elected officials, (had) called on him to end his campaign on Monday and Tuesday.”

Our Revolution, an organization that grew out of Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, called on Platner to end his candidacy before the senator joined in. And they are calling for the Democratic Party not to choose an establishment candidate if he were to be replaced.

“To the Democratic establishment: this is not your opening,” Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese said in a statement. “Whoever leads this movement forward must be someone who has actually lived the fight Graham Platner ran on: a record with working people, with unions, against corporate money, already tested and trusted by the same base that delivered this result.”

And who might that be?

There are plenty of wannabees...

Another Politico report (July 8, updated 9^th ATTACHMENT SEVENTEEN) surmised that the steady loss of support and financial backing for Platner’s campaign — which denied the allegation — had given several progressives an opening to start their preparations.

Politico’s list of “officially running” replacements now included...

TROY JACKSON who was a Platner ally before calling on him to step aside Monday...

DAN KLEBAN, the 49-year-old founder of Maine Beer Company who’d dropped out of the Democratic Senate primary earlier this year and threw his weight behind establishment-backed loser Gov. Janet Mills...

NIRAV SHAH, a former public health official who oversaw the state’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. “He mounted his first run for public office earlier this year, finishing second in Maine’s gubernatorial primary.”

JORDAN WOOD, a former Senate candidate, he switched to running for the state’s 2nd District after Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) decided he wouldn’t attempt reelection. He finished third.

Maine secretary of state SHENNA BELLOWS, a loser in the gubernatorial primary officially launched her Senate bid to replace Graham Platner on Thursday afternoon.

Politico also added a list of those “considering running” including losers PAIGE LOUD and SARA GIDEON, 70 year old VALLI GEIGER, write-in candidate ANDREA LAFLAMME, Rep. CHELLIE PINGREE and state House Speaker Ryan FECTEAU.

The New York Times list of wannabees (July 9, ATTACHMENT EIGHTEEN) included several of the above... their Peanut Gallery included a Platner die-hard who said the “Schumer gang” want(s) to “throw out a democratic primary and install someone voters would never pick. It’s just how they do business.”

CNN listed its list of replacements (ATTACHMENT NINETEEN) allowed as to how some of the declared and potential contenders — “Georgia immigrant” Nirav Shah, “brash” Troy Jackson and “populist” Shenna Bellows — are eyeing the Senate race fresh off their own failed gubernatorial bids. Jackson, a former state senator, and Bellows, the current Maine secretary of state, have described themselves as progressive populists, while Shah, a former high-ranking state and federal health official, is considered more moderate, with possible bipartisan appeal. Several others were noted.

GUK (ATTACHMENT TWENTY) opined that crushed loser Gov. Mills would not be “viable” but might change its mind. Geiger said Platner asked her to be his replacement and David Costello, a former Maryland state official who placed third in the June Senate primary, wrote on Facebook that he was “back in” the race if Platner withdrew.

PBS (ATTACHMENT TWENTY ONE) listed Jackson a favorite who said he’s Platner’s choice; Our Revolution, the organization founded by Sanders, has since said it would back him. Trailing were Shah, Kleban, Bellows, Wood, Loud and Geiger.

For the gamblers, Newsweek ranked the wannabees as follows...

Jackson: Kalshi gave him a 45% chance of being the replacement nominee; Polymarket gave him 54%.

Bellows: Kalshi 31%, Polymarket 30%.

Shah: Kalshi 15%, Polymarket 13%.

Mills: Kalshi 2%, Polymarket 3%

Kleban: Kalshi 6%, Polymarket 2%.

Gideon: Kalshi 2%, Polymarket zilch.

Geiger: Kalshi 2%, Polymarket 2%.

Wood: Kalshi zero, Polymarket 1%.

Aaron Frey: Kalshi zero, Polymarket 1%.

David Costello and the rest: odds not available

To some of the accusations that the author himself was a rapist, an AI Overview (ATTACHMENT TWENTY TWO) said “not true.”

The fact-checkers at SNOPES (ATTACHMENT TWENTY THREE) stated that Stephen King was not a rapist, but concluded that King had, indeed, writ what he’d wrote about Trump and Jesus.

Snopes also verified the June NewYork Times interviews with other Platner playpals... specifically a woman named Lindsey Fifield, who also dated Platner. Fifield contradicted Platner's campaign's assertion that he did not know a tattoo on his chest was a skull-and-crossbones "totenkopf" — German for "death's head" — known to be a symbol of the Nazi Reich's Schutzstaffel. Fifield said he knew what the tattoo meant, the Times reported.

Fifield’s story was expanded in the Irish Times (via MSN – ATTACHMENT TWENTY FOUR) to include allegations that he allegedly removed condoms during sex without her consent.

In a statement to The Washington Post, Platner’s campaign called the allegation “categorically false and politically motivated.”

The Irish reiterated statements against the candidate and the horror novelist by Kevin Dalton and by Jonah Goldberg (Hill, Attachment Six above). And the aptly named Slay News (July 8 ATTACHMENT TWENTY FIVE) concluded reportage on the snark adding accusations regarding the candidate’s activity on Kik, an app critics have described as dangerous for minors.

King eventually said Platner should drop out if he “committed rape.”

But by then, the damage had already been done.

The Slayboy’s deleted post “showed how quickly partisan loyalty can collide with the standards Democrats claim to hold when allegations hit one of their own candidates.”

UPDATE

Stephen King’s webmaster Jordan M. Hahn replied: To quote Stephen, "if nominated I will not run, and if elected, I will not serve. I think somebody famous said that."

So – no Senator King, no Senator Pennywhistle (except if the actor Bill Skarsgard steps in). Looks like Maine is down to its dozen depressos – perhaps adding the miserable lady with the axe or one of the horrorshow extras… Jason, Chucky, Chuck-E-Cheese? Some K-Pop anime (if Tillie Norwood can act, maybe the Dragon Fighter may go to the Capitol). Or maybe Hannibal Lecter – if he wants to be a secret agent for Iran, he might not only kill but eat the President – Trump’s liver is probably big and healthy.

IN the NEWS: JULY 3, 2026 TO JULY 9, 2026

Friday, July 3, 2026

Dow: Closed for 4^th of July

Holiday heat wave brings 11 states to over 100° records. Fear of failed power grids spkes as do cancelled celebrations in Philly, DC and local parades all over America.

Air travel up despite rising fares; highways also clogged. Oil is down to $70/barrel but average gas prices still $3.84 – leading President Trump to denounce (but not punish) gougers.

Gamblers briefly turn away from FIFA to lay their money down on particulars of the wedding of Travis Kelcey andTaylor Swift – expected any day (or hour). Bettors especially concerned about fashion – who will design the bridal gown?

Besides the gamblers, the foodies are preparing for their Fourth of July barbecues (unless cancelled by heat, rain or both). Burgets are up 11% over 2025, so the proles are turning to chicken (down 1% after the recovery from Bird Flu), cheese (down 4%) and potatoes (also 4%). But the bad weather out west send prices for tomatoes up 46% and strawberries up 8%. At least ice cream is down too – 6%.

Saturday, July 4, 2026

Dow: Closed for the 250th

America is 250!

There are tributes from allies, enemies and all four living Presidents, A time capsult is buried under the sun in Philadelphia that will not be dug up until 2276 (if humanity reaches that era).

The fun and fireworks compete with fascination over the Big Wedding, which finally takes place in nearly empty Madison Square Garden, but the lucky attendees are the cream of the crop – celebrities like Selena Gomez. J-Lo, Brad Pitt, footballer Tom Brady and lateniter Conan O’Brien.

The wedding, food (Joey Chestnutt wins his 18^th consecutive hot dog eating championship, but with only 66 sausages, compared to his own record 83) and fireworks overshadow President Trump’s long and undercovered speech... blacked out on network TV (not even Fox, which runs baseball games... Trump’s new faves at CBS travelling around Small Town America; NBC parties on the Queen Mary in NY – and fireworks glitch sets the Brooklyn Bridge on fire – while CBS boogies down in Nashville). At least parts of the speech did appear... not for Americans, but for the aliens... on Telemundo.

While celebrants eat (fewer) hot dogs, hot dogs are called endangered by TV-vets at Chewy.com – not only do they need water – dog walking on hot asphalt burns their paws.

Iran sends its message to Americ by presenting a two week funeral for slaughtered Supreme Leader Khameini attended by millions. This might change America’s mind about bombing civilians in Teheran when the world goes back to work...

Sunday, July 5, 2026

Dow: Closed

...but not yet: it’s Sunday the Fifth. Instead, we talk – and are talked at.

The talking class is divided over whether President Trump had a good, bad or mixed week. On the down side, he lost another E. Jean Carroll appeal. He fails to win Supreme justice on birthright citizenship but scores a big win for the donor class as campaign finance rules are tweaked to favor what critics are calling more corruption while his crypto dealings are called “reprehensible”.

Sunday Roundtabler Maggie Haberman (author of “Regime Change”) says POTUS is making money on something he has regulatory power over while perennials (RINO Chris Christie and donkey-girl Donna Brazile) are saying that voters are starting to “catch up” with MAGA... Christie calls the Prez “Putinesque” while Brazile points out that he’s holding the bipartisan housing bill hostage to his Save America migrant attacks. Even Republican Doug Heye admits Trump should consult Congress, but predicts the GOP will sweep the midterms by scaring Americans with the face and ferpocity of Zorro Mandami.

Another Doug (IntSec Burgum) says he not has proof positive that “vandals” tried to destroy Trump’s big, beautiful blue pool with fertilizer - but it’s clear and beautiful now. Some disagree.

“Face the Nation” profiles migrant children growing up in adult prisons; Rep. Carlos Giminez (R-Fl) says he is a legal migrant from Cuba and the fight against Communism trumps civil rights already destroyed by Ol’ Goneaway Joe; Rep. Arturo Espillait (D-NY) escaped the Dominican Republic and says ICE should not be breaking up families.

Monday, July 6, 2026

Dow: 53,055.91

Now it’s back to work – and NASA’s Swift Telescope (not Taylor’s) are planning a cheap ($300M) repair job after damage from cosmic rays sends it closer and closer to crashdown. Patriots warn we are now in a space race with China (Russia is incompetent) and we have to get to the moon by 2028 to beat their 2030. (Not mentioned: chances of a lunar war between the landing parties.)

Back on Earth, there was no holiday for Death. A vengeful summer mix of heat and flooding leads to chaos on the beaches, rip currents and sharks attack – two killed and 200 rescued in Florida, more in metro New York

It’s not only the heat but also bugs: TV – docs say that parasitic cyclosporiasis is raging in Michigan (a 1,000% increase over May, 400% in just a week) – joining the screw worms, ticks and monkeypox and assorted animal flues. It’s usually not fatal, but superflu-ish symptoms can last for weeks – including explosive diarrhea! And Legionairre’s Disease returns to New York.

That’s fine with Kimmel’s first replacement host Tiffany Haddish who calls it a way to lose weight. She’s selling the sex as the first latenite black womnn with female guests. Girls just want to have fun!

But not toons: “Minions and Monsters” flops at the B.O. (only 39M but better than “Supergirl”) but hope rises for the live-action “Moana” opening today,

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Dow: 52,915.15

Overnight “Nightline” reports that rich people are dressing up their (hot) dogs with fashion cuts and costumes and feeding them luxury foods like caviar and longevity drugs and Dolly Parton will celebrate her 81^st with a Broadway show (but with a cast of impersonators).

Over there, millions of jihadists flood the streets of Tehran as the funeral for blown up Supreme Leader Khameini careens into its second week – no sign of the son and heir and it is presumed that the craziest of the Revolutionary Guards are running the country. The turnout suggests that maybe Trump’s reluctance to bomb or even nuke the country and commit genocide on an epic scale might be weakening. POTUS arrives in Ankara to talk turkey with President Z on that other war... showing no signs of ending.

Over here and over there, Mother Nature wages her own genocidal campaign with wilfires spreading from Colorado to Florida to Greece causing thousands of evacuations while thousands more die of American and foreign heatstroke (Billings, Montana hits 108°) and, elsewhere, floods and tornadoes.

And for the Royalists, Prince Harry arrives in London but King Charles and Brother Bill pull his security detail and greenlight terrorists. Stiff-upper-lip British media call the dispute “a failure to communicate.”

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Dow: 52,348.39

Angry America blows up Iranian military bases on the coast of Hormuz as President Trump goes to Turkey calling Erdogan a great ally, telling the NATO allies to pay up, threatening war with Spain and bringing back his Greenland gripes (even threatening war with Denmark). Chipper Turkey trotter Donnie predicts Mideast and Russia/Uke deals “soon” and says the wars “don’t affect us.” Except for Greenland.

The heat heats up the Valley of the Sun... Phoenix taking its title back from Billings with 115° (pavement temperatures up to 150° burn dogs and dog walkers while first responders attempt to save heatstroke victims by enclosing them in bags of ice. Two K-9s are left in hot Jersey car and go to doggie heaven.

ICE has its own problems – agents murder a Mexican alien construction worker who’d been in America for thirty five years and was this close to citizenship. They claim self defense – he was trying to run them over. Witnesses say he was just trying to get away. Ordinary police start using drones to track down curfew violating teenagers, bringing cries of “authoritarianism.”

American revolutionaries revolt against data centers increasingly being blamed for job stealing, environmental disaster and high energy prices for adjacent civilians. Some want to ban them... Oregon wants to tax them.

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Dow: 52,487.41

After President Trump declares the peace deal with Iran dead, oil prices, up 6% today with the gougers lifting pump prices to $3.80/gal. After 80 strikes yesterday, we do 90 today. Djonald UnAired returns home on his old Air Force One, sending the new Qatari model off to London to be marveled over by the Empire.

Fortunately, Joneses can jones out on sports and celebrities. Emmy nominations go to the Pitts and Hacks and Retired in rage Seven Colbert and just plain dead Rob Reiner get nominations, too. AI “actress” Tillie Norwood will star in “Misaligned”. And the FIFA final halftime show will include Madonna, Shakira, BTS and the Beeb. On the field, America was crushed by Belgium, leaving the potential victors Argentina (edging upstart Cape Verde), Norway’s Vikings (the last of the armies after the Scots and Dutch fall) and England outlasts Mexico. At Wimbledon, Coco Gauff, the last of the Americans is eliminated while the men’s finalists are Jacob Sinner and Alexande Zverev.

Wednesday’s Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by 576.76 points (1.09%) to close at 52,348.39. The drop followed escalating U.S.-Iran tensions that sent oil prices surging and comments from President Trump that the ceasefire with Iran was "over". Thursday’s Dow rebounded from early-session volatility as the broader market shook off renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities and benefited from a drop in energy prices. But the Don dropped nearly a hundred due to the old devil of imbalanced trade – Americans importing willy-nilly while producing little of value as exports.

THE DON JONES INDEX

CHART of CATEGORIES w/VALUE ADDED to EQUAL BASELINE of 15,000

(REFLECTING… approximately… DOW JONES INDEX of June 27, 2013)

Gains in indices as improved are noted in GREEN. Negative/harmful indices in RED as are their designation. (Note – some of the indices where the total went up created a realm where their value went down... and vice versa.) See a further explanation of categories HERE

ECONOMIC INDICES

(60%)

CATEGORY

VALUE

BASE

RESULTS by PERCENTAGE

SCORE

OUR SOURCES and COMMENTS

INCOME

(24%)

6/17/13 revised 1/1/22

LAST

CHANGE

NEXT

LAST WEEK in June (6/26)

Original Reconfig.

LAST WEEK

Original Reconfig.

THIS WEEK

Original Reconfig.

THE WEEK’S CLOSING STATS...

Wages (hrly. Per cap)

1350 points

7/3/26

+0.29%

7/26

1,904.26

1,909.78

1,353.92

1,909.78

1,353.92

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/average-hourly-earnings 37.64

Median Inc. (yearly)

600

7/3/26

+0.054%

7/17/26

1,472.81

1,473.51

600.48

1,474.31

600.80

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 67,937 974

Unempl. (BLS – in mi)

600

7/3/26

+2.38%

7/26

542.60

555.52

614.28

555.52

614.28

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000/ 4.2

Official (DC – in mi)

300

7/3/26

-0.014%

7/17/26

216.79

216.76

299.96

216.73

299.92

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 7,317 318

Unofficl. (DC – in mi)

300

7/3/26

-0.068%

7/17/26

260.14

259.98

299.82

259.80

299.62

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 13,180 189

Workforce Participation

Number

Percent

300

7/3/26

-0.005%

-0.0033%

7/17/26

295.83

295.82

299.99

295.81

299.98

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ In 162,727 718 Out 105,169 209 Total: 267,869 927

60.748 .732

WP % (ycharts)*

150

7/3/26

-0.485%

7/26

149.98

149.25

149.27

149.25

149.27

https://ycharts.com/indicators/labor_force_participation_rate 61.50

OUTGO

(15%)

Total Inflation

1050

7/3/26

+0.5%

7/26

901.77

1050

901.77

1050

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +0.5 nc

Food

300

7/3/26

+0.2%

7/26

257.37

300

257.37

300

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +0.2

Gasoline

300

7/3/26

+7.0%

7/26

181.96

300

181.96

300

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +7.0

Medical Costs

300

7/3/26

+0.5%

7/26

267.14

300

267.14

300

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +0.5

Shelter

300

7/3/26

+0.3%

7/26

238.38

300

238.38

300

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +0.3

WEALTH

(6%)

Dow Jones Index

300

7/3/26

-2.591%

7/17/26

400.43

410.82

307.77

400.18

299.80

https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/index/ 52,900.07 52,487.41

Home (Sales)

(Valuation)

150

7/3/26

+3.73%

+2.78%

7/17/26

137.08

155.60

154.17

137.08

155.60

154.17

https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics

Sales (M): 4.17 Valuations (K): 429.3

Millionaires (New Category)

150

7/3/26

+0.053%

7/17/26

137.58

137.65

150.07

137.58

149.99

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 24,315 328

Paupers (New Category)

150

7/3/26

+0.030%

7/17/26

134.77

134.73

149.96

134.69

149.92

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 36,955 966

GOVERNMENT

(10%)

Revenue (trilns.)

300

7/3/26

+0.144%

7/17/26

484.29

484.99

300.42

485.69

300.85

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 5,572 580

Expenditures (tr.)

300

7/3/26

+0.083%

7/17/26

287.56

287.40

299.84

287.16

299.59

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 7,225 231

National Debt tr.)

450

7/3/26

+0.178%

7/17/26

345.28

345.05

449.70

344.44

448.90

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 39,357 427

Aggregate Debt (tr.)

450

7/3/26

+0.212%

7/17/26

354.13

353.42

449.10

352.67

448.15

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 112,648 887

TRADE

(5%)

Foreign Debt (tr.)

300

7/3/26

+0.53%

7/17/26

253.65

253.52

297.14

252.18

295.57

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 9,497 502

Exports (in billions)

150

7/3/26

-2.87%

7/7/26

203.57

150

203.57

150

197.73

145.70

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/current/index.html 327.1 317.7

Imports (in billions))

150

7/3/26

+3.12%

7/7/26

134.69

150

134.69

150

130.49

145.32

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/current/index.html 383.0 395.3

Trade Surplus/Deficit (blns.)

150

7/3/26

+27.96%

7/7/26

253.48

150

253.48

150

182.61

108.06

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/current/index.html 55.9 77.6

SOCIAL INDICES (60%)

ACTS of MAN

(12%)

World Affairs

450

7/3/26

-0.2%

7/17/26

468.20

450

467.27

449.10

Prince Harry’s family reuinion trashed as Brits revuse security (some say, let them all be killes). InVictus games In Trouble after. Ukrainian bombing suspect in Monaco found murdered in Ukraine. Was it the Ukes, or Russians... or just crooks.

War and terrorism

300

7/3/26

-0.1%

7/17/26

281.19

280.63

299.40

280.35

299.10

Iran’s martyr class celebrates funeral of Supreme Leader Khameini, reitering “Death to America” and bombing civilian oil tankers pushing cease fire to “the brink”. Syria bombings as French PM Macron visits; wars continue. “Flock” surveillance cameras follow Americans – de-Flocksters worry data will be sold to telemarketers, employers and insurers.

Politics

450

7/3/26

-0.2%

7/17/26

451.95

450

451.05

449.10

Before heading to talk Turkey with NATO, Trump condemns Smithsonian woke exhibits ICE weekend surge snatches up 10,000 migrants including 35 year resident shot in Houston.

Economics

450

7/3/26

-0.1%

7/17/26

426.64

427.49

450.90

427.07

450.45

Oil prices go down, then go up again (but gas pump gouging persists), balance of trade sinks lower/

Crime

150

7/3/26

+0.1%

7/17/26

201.94

201.74

149.85

201.54

149.70

Masked gunman shoots 8 at NYC barbecue. Cold dog thieves arrested in Wisconsin. Road rager gets seven years for shooting up a Hawaiian neighborhood... in a Tesla!

ACTS of GOD

(6%)

Environment/Weather

450

7/3/26

-0.2%

7/17/26

277.49

276.96

449.10

276.41

448.20

Record breaking summer temperatures and geographic variants of drought and storms provoke flooding and wildfires. Billings, MT hits record 106° (happy wedding vacation, Taylor!)

Disasters

450

7/3/26

+0.1%

7/17/26

463.09

462.16

449.10

462.62

449.55

Venezuelan security guard rescued from the rubble after 8 days... “a moment of hope amidst intense suffering,” say reporters. Good dog saves child from bad bear in Connecticut. Disasters strike a woman killed in California fireworks explosion – more in W. Virginia warehouse fire, Robotaxi rams pedestrian, NY highrise called unsafe.

LIFESTYLE/JUSTICE INDEX

(15%)

Science, Tech, Education

600

7/3/26

7/17/26

617.97

617.35

599.40

617.35

599.40

NASA attempts to rescue Swift telescope; save in progress.

Equality (econ/social)

600

7/3/26

+0.1%

7/17/26

671.70

672.37

600.60

673.04

601.20

Female rower Kelly Pfendler completes solo California/Hawaii journey. Robin Roberts and Geno Auriemna celebrate WNBA Season Thirty.

Health

600

7/3/26

-0.1%

7/17/26

412.58

411.75

598.80

411.34

598.20

Maryland cancels Medicaid for persons with disabilities. Critics call it murder. Toddler rises from the dead in AZ hospital morgue. Parasitic cyclosporiosis rages in Michigan and spreads, recalls include infant formula, Publix frozen blueberries and 500,000 fiery Kobold tools. TV docs say marinuana kills moms and endangers kids

Freedom and Justice

450

7/3/26

7/17/26

478.24

450

478.24

450

Police using drones to identify and arrest fireworks users. Charkie Kirk killer trial goes to the Jury who watches murder videos.

CULTURAL and MISCELLANEOUS INCIDENTS

(6%)

Cultural incidents

450

7/3/26

7/17/26

595.25

595.85

450.45

595.85

450.45

“Minions and Monsters” a BO floppo; get ready for Moana tomorrow and then “Odyssey” on 7/17. Beyonce duets with Madonna and releases new album. Robert Irwin, preparing for new “Dancing” series says it’s more frightening than snakes.

Miscellaneous incidents

4%/3%

450

7/3/26

7/17/26

553.95

554.50

450.45

554.50

450.45

Egypt discovers lost medieval city in the desert. Idiot kids are freezing Nee Dohs and exploding them in microwaves.

The Don Jones Index for the week of July 3rd through July 9th, 2026 was DOWN 95.87 points by standard configuration; 65.23 by new.

The Don Jones Index is sponsored by the Coalition for a New Consensus: retired Congressman and Independent Presidential candidate Jack “Catfish” Parnell, Chairman; Brian Doohan, Administrator. The CNC denies, emphatically, allegations that the organization, as well as any of its officers (including former Congressman Parnell, environmentalist/America-Firster Austin Tillerman and cosmetics CEO Rayna Finch) and references to Parnell’s works, “Entropy and Renaissance” and “The Coming Kill-Off” are fictitious or, at best, mere pawns in the web-serial “Black Helicopters” – and promise swift, effective legal action againth parties promulgating this and/or other such slanders.

Comments, complaints, donations (especially SUPERPAC donations) always welcome at feedme@generisis.com or: speak@donjonesindex.com.

ATTACHMENT ONE – FROM NBC

GRAHAM PLATNER OFFICIALLY WITHDRAWS FROM THE MAINE SENATE RACE

Democrats have already set off a mad dash to find a new candidate, with a July 27 deadline to submit a replacement nominee to face Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the November election.

By Alexandra Marquez and Sahil Kapur July 10, 2026, 4:55 PM EDT / Updated July 11, 2026, 12:09 PM EDT

Embattled candidate Graham Platner officially dropped out of Maine’s U.S. Senate race on Friday, paving the way for Democrats to select a new nominee just days before the deadline.

“I write to formally withdraw my candidacy for United States Senate,” Platner wrote in a letter to Maine’s division of elections that he shared on X.

Maine’s secretary of state’s office, which oversees elections, confirmed receipt of the letter.

Platner announced Wednesday that he planned to withdraw from the race, but he had yet to file the necessary paperwork to do so. The Friday filing put an end to fears among Democrats that he might reverse his decision or fail to file the papers by the July 13 deadline and ultimately stay in the race.

The filing triggers a process where the Maine Democratic Party can replace him on the ballot. Under state law, they have until July 27 at 5 p.m. ET to submit a new nominee.

Maine’s Democratic Party said it will hold a convention on July 25 where candidates can seek the nomination from 601 delegates.

In his letter Friday, Platner wrote that more than 156,000 Mainers voted for him in search of “a new kind of politics.”

“They voted for time and dignity; for strong unions and jobs they can raise families on; for the hope of buying a home; for the chance to retire with grace,” he wrote. “My name may have been on the ballot, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine. As such, please consider this notice as my official withdrawal from consideration for this office.”

Candidates began jockeying to replace Platner last week, even before he announced his exit following a new sexual assault allegation against him made by a former girlfriend. The woman, Jenny Racicot, told Politico and CNN that he forced her to have sex with him in 2021, a claim he has rebuffed as “categorically false.”

“What comes next needs to come from the people, needs to come from the people of Maine,” Platner said in a video announcing his campaign’s suspension. “It needs to be open, transparent and democratic. It needs to be reflecting the will and the values of the people that built this movement.”

“We believe that for the movement to continue, it can’t be me. And for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations,” he added. “We’re not doing it because of the allegations; we’re doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power.”

At least half a dozen candidates have already jumped into the contest to replace Platner — including several who ran, and lost, in the state’s gubernatorial and Senate primaries this year, and one person who ran — and lost — to Collins in 2014.

“Graham Platner dropping out today was the right thing to do,” the state party’s executive director, Devon Murphy-Anderson, told NBC News’ “Meet the Press NOW” on Wednesday. She added that “the allegations that were brought against him were very real and they were very credible.”

Murphy-Anderson said that Maine voters would be involved “in some way” in picking the candidates who will appear at the convention in some way.

“We are, of course, going to require folks to talk to Maine voters in some way that’s going to qualify them to be our U.S. Senate nominee beyond just declaring their intent. What that will most likely look like is petition collection from Maine Democratic voters across the state,” she said.

Platner’s campaign had been marred with scandal since he launched his candidacy last year.

In October, Platner apologized after controversial past Reddit posts resurfaced in which the military veteran called himself a “communist,” called cops “bastards” and said women who are raped need to “take some responsibility for themselves.”

In May, Platner’s wife said she was “angry” and “disappointed” after several news outlets reported that Platner had exchanged sexual texts with women outside of his marriage, something that his wife had disclosed to key campaign advisers as a potential liability when Platner first considered running for the Senate.

In June, several of Platner’s ex-girlfriends — including Racicot — told The New York Times about “unsettling behavior” they witnessed while they dated him.

ATTACHMENT TWO – FROM AI OVERVIEW (KING AND PLATNER)

X51 FROM AI OVERVIEW

Author Stephen King deleted a series of social media posts defending Maine Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner after Platner’s former girlfriend accused him of a 2021 rape. King initially hoped Platner would stay in the race, prompting severe online backlash. King subsequently clarified he was not defending Platner and stated that if the rape allegations are true, Platner "should bow out". [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

Platner, who won the Democratic primary to challenge incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins, is facing overwhelming pressure to drop out from state and national Democrats. Prominent figures—including Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Representative Ro Khanna—have called for him to step aside. Platner has denied the allegations. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

For more details on the online reactions, see the following reports:

· Stephen King deletes post defending Platner - The Hill

· Maine author Stephen King reacts to Graham Platner assault allegations - WMTW

· Author Stephen King reacts to Graham Platner sexual assault allegations - WJCL [1, 2]

ATTACHMENT THREE – FROM WIKI

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Feel free to improve the article, but do not remove this notice before the discussion is closed. For more information, see the guide to deletion.
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Graham Platner

Born	Graham Cunningham Platner September 1, 1984 (age 41) Blue Hill, Maine, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Amy Gertner (m. 2023)
Relatives	Warren Platner (grandfather)
Military career
Branch	United States Marine Corps Maryland Army National Guard
Service years	2003–2007 2010–2011^[1]
Rank	Sergeant^[2]
Conflicts	Iraq War War in Afghanistan
Website	Campaign website

Graham Cunningham Platner (born September 1, 1984) is an American oyster farmer and Marine Corps veteran. Platner was the Democratic nominee in the 2026 US Senate election in Maine until he ended his campaign in July.

Born and raised in coastal Maine, Platner enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating from high school. He served eight years, with the Maryland Army National Guard. After his military service, he worked as a security contractor in Afghanistan before returning to Maine and entering the oyster farming business. From there, he took over an operation in 2020 and became active in local government before announcing his candidacy for the US Senate in August 2025.

Platner has been described as a populist and a progressive who is critical of the Democratic Party establishment. His platform focuses on issues such as housing affordability, universal health care, strengthening labor unions, reducing the political power of billionaires, and ending US involvement in what he calls "pointless" wars.

Platner's candidacy was marked by several controversies, including past statements on Reddit, a Nazi-era Totenkopf tattoo on his chest, and alleged misconduct in romantic relationships, including a history of sexting several women during his marriage and physically threatening and disturbing behavior toward past romantic partners.^[3] In July 2026, a former girlfriend accused Platner of raping her, after which several elected Democrats and the Maine Democratic Party rescinded their endorsements and called for him to end his campaign.^[4][5] He suspended his campaign days later while denying all allegations of rape and abuse.^[6] Platner withdrew from the race on July 10.

Early life

Graham Platner was born on September 1, 1984, in Blue Hill, Maine.^[7] He was raised in Sullivan, a coastal town near Acadia National Park, and in Ellsworth.^[8] He is the elder of two sons born to upscale restaurant owner Leslie Harlow and lawyer Bronson Platner.^[9][10] Platner's parents separated when he was six.^[2] His grandfather, Warren Platner, was a modernist architect who designed interiors for the Ford Foundation and Windows on the World, the restaurant atop the old World Trade Center.^[11][12]

In 1999, Platner spent a semester at the Hotchkiss School, a boarding school in Lakeville, Connecticut, until he was expelled. He resumed his education as a day student at John Bapst Memorial High School, a college-preparatory school in Bangor, Maine.^[12][13] After graduating from high school, Platner took a gap year in 2003 to backpack through Europe and Africa and work on the Appalachian Trail.^[2]

Career

Military

Platner enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating from high school in 2003.^[1] He attended the Marine Corps School of Infantry, then deployed to Iraq in 2005.^[14] He served a total of eight years in the military, including three combat tours in Iraq, in areas including Ramadi and Fallujah. In 2025, when asked why he served in the Iraq War after protesting it, Platner said, "I thought I could do some good. And I wanted to play soldier. I might have read too much Hemingway."^[15]

After four years in the military, Platner enrolled at George Washington University (GWU), funded by the G.I. Bill.^[1] Shortly after starting school, he enlisted in the National Guard and served an additional tour of duty in the war in Afghanistan.^[16] He returned to Washington in 2011, resuming classes at GWU and working as a bartender at the Tune Inn on Capitol Hill.^[17][18] From 2011 to 2016 he alternated between living in DC and military deployments, before withdrawing from GWU and returning to Maine in 2016 for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and other military-related injuries.^[1][15][19]

In 2018, Platner returned to Kabul, Afghanistan, for about six months as a State Department security contractor with Constellis, where he provided diplomatic security to the US Ambassador to Afghanistan.^[20][21] He returned to Maine the same year, saying he had quickly grown more disillusioned with the military and what he called fraudulent funneling of taxpayer money to private defense companies.^[16][1]

Oyster farming

While on leave from Afghanistan in 2018, Platner spent two weeks farming oysters with Jock Crothers, founder of Waukeag Neck Oyster Co., a small Frenchman Bay operation established in 2010 that supplies restaurants in Downeast Maine.^[16][22] Platner has said he was "miserable" working as a security contractor, and his mother devised a plan to bring him back to Maine with the help of a family friend who owned the farm; Platner has said the business "fell into my lap".^[23] After resigning as a security contractor and returning to Maine later that year, he began working at the farm full-time.^[15][24][19] He took over the company in 2020, and as of 2025 owns and operates it with his wife, Amy, and another business partner.^[25] He says the business does not make much money, and his mother's restaurant is his biggest customer.^[12] He supplements his income with benefits he earns as a 100% disabled veteran.^[15][17] Platner also runs a mooring and dive service.^[26][27]

Local government and community involvement

Platner was Sullivan's harbormaster and the chair of Sullivan's planning board.^[26][27][28] He has also been involved in grassroots organizing, leading political efforts with the Acadia Action activist group.^[29]

U.S. Senate campaign

Main article: 2026 United States Senate election in Maine § Campaign

In July 2025, a coalition of labor and community groups approached Platner to suggest he consider running for Senate.^[13] He has said his first reaction was to reject the idea, but that he reconsidered it with his wife when the group returned with a detailed plan.^[30]

Candidate vetting, standard practice in many US elections, often takes weeks and tens of thousands of dollars to complete. Democratic strategist and Platner staffer Dan Moraff paid $6,250 for a background check on Platner, which took three days.^{[31][better source needed]}

Platner launched his Senate campaign on August 19, 2025, with a video produced by Morris Katz, a senior adviser and admaker for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani.^[32][24] In the video, Platner highlights his military and working-class credentials, while criticizing his prospective opponent in harsh terms:^[33]

I did four infantry tours in the Marine Corps and the Army. I'm not afraid to name an enemy. And the enemy is the oligarchy. It's the billionaires who pay for it, and the politicians who sell us out. And yeah, that means politicians like Susan Collins.

This video received 2.5 million views in its first 24 hours, sparking national media attention.^[34][35] The campaign raised $1 million in its first nine days, and reported amassing over 2,700 volunteers.^[36]

Senator Bernie Sanders endorsed Platner on August 30, ahead of a Fighting Oligarchy tour appearance in Portland with Platner and Maine gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson.^[37][38] The event was originally scheduled to be held in an auditorium but had to be moved to a much larger arena due to high public interest.^[39][40] Platner was also endorsed by Senators Ruben Gallego,^[41] Martin Heinrich,^[42] and Elizabeth Warren;^[43] and Representative Ro Khanna.^[44] He was also endorsed by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Maine State Nurses Association, and United Auto Workers.^[45]

Platner's campaign reported that more than 800 people attended his first town hall meeting in Ellsworth, and that by September 2025 over 6,000 volunteers had joined since his August candidacy announcement.^[46][47] Platner's volunteer network canvassed against Maine's Question 1, a 2025 ballot measure to restrict absentee voting and require photo identification that was defeated.^[47][48]

In late October and early November 2025, several high-level staffers left Platner's campaign during a period that coincided with media reporting on his past controversial Reddit posts. On October 17, Platner's political director, Genevieve McDonald, resigned.^[49] Platner offered her $15,000 in severance pay if she signed an NDA, but she refused the offer.^[50] On October 27, Platner's campaign manager, Kevin Brown, resigned, citing family reasons.^[51] On October 31, Platner's campaign finance director, Ronald Holmes, resigned.^[52] Also on October 31, Platner filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission indicating that Victoria Perrone was no longer his treasurer and Ben Martelo would take her place.^[53] On November 7, Platner hired Ben Chin as his new campaign manager. Chin is the deputy director of the Maine People's Alliance, a progressive advocacy organization.^[54]

Politico wrote that Platner "embodies a quarter-century of raw American frustration",^[2] and The Washington Post described his candidacy as one of several "rugged guy" campaigns in 2026, along with Dan Osborn's Senate campaign in Nebraska and Nathan Sage's in Iowa.^[55] By March 2026, Platner had a significant polling lead and fundraising advantage over his primary opponent, Maine governor Janet Mills.^[56] Mills suspended her campaign on April 30.^{[57][58][59][60]} With Mills having suspended her campaign and no major opposition remaining, Platner won the June Democratic primary with 72% of the vote. His vote count set a record for a Maine Democratic primary for US Senate, exceeding Sara Gideon's in 2020 by over 40,000 votes.^[61][62]

Campaign controversies

In October 2025, various news outlets reported on Reddit posts Platner made between 2013 and 2021 in which he called himself a "communist", wrote that "all cops are bastards", agreed with a post calling rural white Americans "racist and stupid", and referenced political violence and armed resistance.^[63][64] In a 2013 Reddit discussion about anti-rape underwear, Platner wrote that people worried about assault should "take some responsibility for themselves and not get so fucked up they wind up having sex with someone they don't mean to".^[65] He apologized for the posts in an interview with CNN, attributing them to his struggles with PTSD.^[63][66][67]

Platner created further controversy regarding a January 2020 Reddit post, in which he responded to a question asking why he had joined the Marines by writing: "I wanted to have an adventure and kill some people."^[68][69] Platner denounced his past actions and the American invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan in an April 2026 interview, stating that he had "come to grips with the fact that the violence I took part in effectively had no purpose, or it had no benefit for the United States. I don't think that the war in Iraq did anything good for the American people", as well as describing his disgust for "a political system which, in many ways, does not care about the human cost of war, whether on our side or the violence that we dole out to civilian populations and the countries we go fight these wars in."^[70]

During his 2026 Senate campaign, Platner faced scrutiny over a tattoo on his chest of the Totenkopf symbol used by the Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS) and SS-Totenkopfverbände. In an interview on Pod Save America, Platner said he and other Marines received the tattoo while on leave in Croatia in 2007 and that he was unaware of its historical association at the time. He later covered the tattoo.^[71][72][73] CNN and Jewish Insider reported a former acquaintance's allegation that Platner had previously called the tattoo "my Totenkopf", which Platner denied.^[74][75] A former girlfriend and conservative activist interviewed by The New York Times in June 2026 also said he had called the tattoo "my Totenkopf" years before launching his campaign.^[3] A Marine who got a tattoo matching Platner's told Zeteo in June 2026 that he and Platner did not deliberately choose Nazi symbols, saying, "We just got matching skull-and-crossbone tattoos that we thought looked cool."^[76]

Platner has drawn criticism for online activity and media appearances during the campaign. In February 2026, he briefly shared a tweet by antisemitic alt-right commentator Stew Peters before deleting it, saying he had not realized Peters was the original source.^[77][78] On a podcast hosted by antisemitic conspiracy theorist Nate Cornacchia, Platner said he was a "longtime fan" of the show.^[79][80]

Withdrawal

After sexual misconduct allegations surfaced, Senator Ruben Gallego and Representative Ro Khanna rescinded their endorsements of Platner, and the Maine Democratic Party released a statement calling on Platner to suspend his campaign.^[81] Soon, every senator who had endorsed Platner, including Bernie Sanders^[82][83] and Elizabeth Warren, rescinded their endorsements and called on him to exit the race,^[84] as did the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and End Citizens United. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair Kirsten Gillibrand rescinded their endorsements and said the DSCC would not invest in the race as long as Platner remains the nominee.^[85]

Platner unofficially declared on July 8, 2026, that he ended his campaign.^[86] In a video shared on X, he said that the accusations against him were false and that the corporate media and the Democratic establishment were "using these allegations to take away all of the things we need to run a campaign".^[6] He said the candidate who replaces him in the election should be nominated in a manner that is "open, transparent and democratic. It needs to be reflecting the will and the values of the people that built this movement."^[87] Platner formally withdrew from the race on July 10.^[88]

Allegations of rape and other sexual misconduct

On May 30, 2026, The New York Times and other news outlets reported that in 2025, Platner's wife, Amy Gertner, told a senior campaign aide that Platner had been sexting with multiple other women. The Platner campaign's political director, Genevieve McDonald, alleged that Gertner had said Platner had sexted as many as a dozen women. A Platner campaign official said he had been communicating with no more than six, and that the conduct had stopped before the campaign launched. Gertner said the matter had been resolved through counseling.^[89][90][91]

On June 4, 2026, The New York Times reported allegations that Platner engaged in disturbing and physically threatening behavior toward women he had dated.^[3][92][93] A former girlfriend described by The New York Times as "a Virginia conservative who has worked for right-leaning groups and Republican campaigns" alleged that Platner had grabbed her repeatedly with enough force to leave marks and once twisted her arm behind her back, pushed her into a room, and locked her in against her will until morning.^[3][93] Platner has denied these allegations and called them "politically motivated".^[94]

On July 6, 2026, Politico published an account by a woman Platner had dated accusing him of raping her while he was drunk in late 2021.^{[5][95][96][97]} The accuser, Jenny Racicot, said she had not previously publicized the incident because she did not want to be publicly known as a victim of rape and because she felt torn about making the allegations since she shared Platner's politics. But Racicot said she felt compelled to come forward due to the allegations of relationship misconduct made against Platner in June.^[5][95][4] She also shared with Politico a set of Facebook messages from 2023 in which she told a third party about the incident.^[5] Platner denied the accusation, calling it a political attack to derail his campaign.^[5][95]

On July 7, 2026, The Washington Post reported that another woman who had dated Platner alleged that he would take condoms off during sex without her consent. She said that when she confronted him during or after sex, he would make light of the situation. She claimed that Platner had done this about six times during their relationship.^{[98][99][100]}

Political views

Platner has been described as a populist and a progressive.^[16][24][33] His platform focuses on issues such as housing affordability, strengthening labor unions, universal health care through Medicare for All, reducing the political power of billionaires, and ending US involvement in what he describes as "pointless" wars.^{[101][18][37]}

In The American Prospect, Austin Ahlman called Platner part of "a growing wave of populist Senate candidates who are challenging modern understandings of political labels by forefronting anti-establishment, anti-corporate, and distinctly localist politics and policies".^[35] Platner has cited Senator Bernie Sanders as a political influence and labor organizer Jane McAlevey as an inspiration.^[18][29][26]

Platner has explicitly declined to be identified as progressive or liberal, saying, "I think it's silly that thinking people deserve health care, that makes you some kind of lefty. But I do think those working-class policies are necessary."^[18][32] He said, "If I am any kind of Democrat, I'm a New Deal Democrat" and named Franklin D. Roosevelt's labor secretary, Frances Perkins, as an inspiration of his, praising her creation of Social Security, a "new" idea at that time.^[102] Platner has said that many of his friends and colleagues voted for Donald Trump.^{[32][19][103]}

Before running for office, Platner described himself on Reddit as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who was "pretty radically left" and a "vegetable growing, psychedelics taking socialist" (in 2017) and "rabidly anti-Hillary [Clinton]" (in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries).^[2] In a December 2025 interview with The New Yorker, he declined to call himself a socialist and described his political involvement before his campaign as "organizing around mostly local economic justice issues or social justice issues".^[104] Platner has called the US an "oligarchy", arguing that billionaires and large corporations excessively influence its politics and economy.^[16][105]

Platner supports increasing taxes on billionaires and corporations, including a 5% annual wealth tax above $1 billion. The tax would apply to the estimated value of assets above that threshold rather than only to income.^[106] At a Labor Day rally headlined by Bernie Sanders, Platner said the political system had been "built by the political class to enrich and support billionaires on the backs of working people".^[105]

Platner has vowed not to support Chuck Schumer as Senate Majority Leader if Democrats gain control of the Senate.^[24] Platner supports abolishing ICE, which he has called "the moderate position".^[107][108] Platner has argued the Democratic Party is not doing enough to counter deportations in the second Trump administration.^[16] He has called for the impeachment and removal of Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, and supports increasing the number of seats on the court.^[109]

Platner has called the Gaza genocide "the ultimate moral test of our time."^{[1][110][111]} He has criticized AIPAC and pledged not to take campaign contributions from the organization, "or any group that supports the genocide in Gaza".^[112][33] Some Republicans and conservative outlets have called Platner "Maine's Mamdani."^[113] Platner opposes the 2026 Iran war, has called it a "horrific war of choice", and has said Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman should be voted out for backing it.^{[114][115][116]}

Platner credits his military experience with forming his worldview.^[16] He has called US "military adventurism" a "mechanism of moving taxpayer dollars into the private bank accounts of defense companies, all on the backs of frankly working-class men and women, and on the backs of the people living in societies that we took the wars to".^[16] While critical of excessive military spending, Platner has advocated for supplying military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian war, saying, "I personally think that we should provide them with support."^[35] Platner has said his veterans' healthcare and disability benefits have enabled him to run his small business, and argues that all Americans should have access to increased social welfare, regardless of military service.^[38]

Platner supports red flag laws, provided they are "written in such a way that they don't impede the ability of legal gun owners to have access to their firearms".^[117] He also supports universal background checks, and opposes a ban on semi-automatic assault weapons, saying, "We need to have a much more holistic approach than simply banning types of guns that we already have uncountable numbers of in the United States".^[118]

Of LGBTQ rights, Platner has said, "I stand right in the fucking way of anyone who's going to try to come after the freedoms of the LGBTQIA+ community."^[119] At a May 2026 town hall, Platner said he had ranked Troy Jackson, Shenna Bellows, and Hannah Pingree, in that order, in the 2026 Democratic primary for governor of Maine.^[120]

Personal life

Platner lives in Sullivan, Maine.^[27] He married Amy Gertner in the autumn of 2023.^[121][14] Gertner was an elementary and middle school art teacher until 2024, when she became the business manager for Waukeag Neck Oyster Co, which Platner has run since 2019.^[14][19] Platner is also a competitive pistol shooter and firearms instructor.^[24] Much of Platner's extended family is Jewish,^[122] and his stepbrother, Seth Frantzman, senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post, lives in Jerusalem. Platner has said that he is friends with members of the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem.^[123][124]

In January 2026, after exploring options in the United States and finding them too expensive, Platner and his wife announced they would try to conceive a child through in vitro fertilization in Norway.^[125] In April, they announced that his wife had suffered a miscarriage.^[126]

ELECTORAL HISTORY

2026 U.S. Senate election in Maine Democratic primary)^[127]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Graham Platner	150,007	72.0
	Democratic	Janet Mills (campaign suspended)	40,144	19.3
	Democratic	David Costello	17,302	8.3
	Democratic	Andrea LaFlamme (write-in)	858	0.4
Total votes			208,311	100.0

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110. "'There is a genocide in Palestine': US Marine vet. Graham Platner launches Maine senate campaign". The Jerusalem Post. August 24, 2025. Archived from the original on August 26, 2025. Retrieved August 29, 2025.

111. Conley, Julia (September 2, 2025). "The Biggest Applause Line From Graham Platner's Labor Day Speech Was About Ending US Bombs in Gaza". Common Dreams. Archived from the original on December 18, 2025. Retrieved September 23, 2025.

112. Otterbein, Holly (October 1, 2025). "Scoop: Bernie-backed oyster farmer raises $3.2M in Maine Senate race". Axios. Archived from the original on January 10, 2026. Retrieved October 1, 2025.

113. Ohm, Rachel (August 21, 2025). "Maine oyster farmer's bid to unseat Susan Collins immediately gains national attention". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on December 9, 2025. Retrieved October 7, 2025.

114. Misra, Riya (March 2, 2026). "Fetterman needles Democrats over Iran strikes opposition". Politico. Retrieved March 4, 2026.

115. Conley, Julia (March 3, 2026). "'It's Not What F*cking Happens to Them—It Happens to Us': Graham Platner Emerges as Potent Anti-War Voice". Common Dreams. Archived from the original on March 9, 2026. Retrieved March 19, 2026.

116. Hirschkorn, Phil (April 6, 2026). "U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner critiques Iran War, income inequality at latest town hall". News Center Maine. Retrieved April 8, 2026.

117. Bobic, Igor (September 2, 2025). "An Oyster Farmer Sparks A Populist Fire In Maine". HuffPost. Archived from the original on January 1, 2026. Retrieved October 7, 2025.

118. Kapur, Sahil (April 22, 2026). "Senate hopeful Graham Platner calls to investigate Trump and impeach two Supreme Court justices". NBC News. Archived from the original on April 26, 2026. Retrieved May 2, 2026.

119. Steinmetz, Channa (August 26, 2025). "Graham Platner stands 'right in the f***ing way' of those who come after LGBTQIA+ rights". Maine Beacon. Retrieved September 23, 2025.

120. Womack, Morgan (May 22, 2026). "Graham Platner shares picks for Maine gubernatorial primary". The Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on May 22, 2026. Retrieved May 22, 2026.

121. Ellison, Jesse (January 8, 2026). "Hoping for a Baby". Midcoast Villager. Archived from the original on May 16, 2026. Retrieved May 31, 2026.

122. Goldberg, Michelle (October 31, 2025). "I Thought Graham Platner Was Finished. What I Saw in Maine Changed My Mind". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 31, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.

123. Kassel, Matthew (November 3, 2025). "Newly surfaced recording of Graham Platner highlights his Israel fixation". Jewish Insider. Archived from the original on December 20, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.

124. "Seth J. Frantzman". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on April 9, 2026. Retrieved April 1, 2026.

125. Ellison, Jesse (January 9, 2026). "A midcoast woman's fertility journey is about to get political". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved March 6, 2026.

126. Johnson, Drew (April 27, 2026). "Graham Platner and his wife announce miscarriage". Lewiston Sun Journal. Archived from the original on May 12, 2026. Retrieved April 28, 2026.

127. "Maine U.S. Senate primary results". Associated Press. June 11, 2026. Retrieved June 11, 2026.

ATTACHMENT FOUR – FROM THE WASHINGTON MONTHLY

THE PLATNER COLLAPSE IS A CAUTIONARY TALE ABOUT POLLING

A dearth of high-quality publicly available polling means campaigns and their allies can release lesser surveys to shape their raves.

by Bill Scher July 10, 2026

Graham Platner’s controversial social media history was first reported on October 16, and he revealed the existence of his tattoo with Nazi origins on October 20. In the following days, two polls sampling Maine Democratic Senate primary voters were released. They told completely different stories. The University of New Hampshire poll, taken largely before the tattoo news broke, had the rookie candidate Platner leading the incumbent Governor Janet Mills by an astounding 34 points. Yet SoCal Strategies, in a poll taken just after the tattoo news, had Mills up by only 5 points.

The tattoo scandal, we know now from yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, caused “an immediate drop in fundraising … with donations falling to less than half of what the campaign had been averaging daily.”

What helped steady the campaign ship was the next poll, conducted by the Maine People’s Resource Center [MPRC] from October 26 to 29 and released on November 12. Not only did the survey show Platner edging Mills in the primary by 2 points, but it was also the first poll to project that Platner would defeat the incumbent Republican, Senator Susan Collins. And it had Mills losing to Collins by the same margin Platner was winning: 4 points. The presumption of who was the most electable option was being flipped.

But the MPRC was not a disinterested operation. Come February, the group’s 501(c)(4) partner organization, Maine People’s Alliance, would formally endorse Platner. (The MPRC, a 501(c)(3), was founded by leaders of Maine People’s Alliance and the two groups currently share a co-director.)

In the month following the MPRC poll, three polls tracking the Maine Senate race were released. Pan Atlantic Research had Mills leading Platner by 10 in the primary, but indicated no statistical difference in how they stacked up against Collins (Platner up 1, Mills tied). Two others gave Platner huge primary leads of 15 and 20 points. One was from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which had just endorsed Platner. The other was from the Platner campaign’s own pollster, which also conveniently found that only Platner, and not Mills, was leading Collins.

No other primary polls were released until February. No other major controversies blew up in that period either. Thanks to the Platner polling network, Maine primary voters could reasonably conclude that Platner had demonstrated the political skill to weather the controversy and was well positioned to win in November.

Once a handful of independent polls went into the field in February and March, Platner was holding primary leads ranging from 5 to 38 points. A feeble, half-million-dollar ad buy from Mills—spotlighting Platner’s social media comments that blamed women who drink too much for getting raped—didn’t move the dial, and soon after, she suspended her campaign.

Platner’s polling network didn’t manufacture Platner’s support out of thin air. Clearly, the Democratic electorate in Maine was predisposed towards a charismatic populist outsider and not a septuagenarian political veteran. But pumping out favorable polls at a sensitive phase of the campaign—especially in the absence of independent polls produced by well-read media outlets—warped perceptions about Platner’s political durability and made it harder for skeptics to warn about the possibility of bigger scandalous shoes dropping.

That Platner’s campaign dominated the polling space is no scandal. Campaigns and their allies have long produced favorable polling designed to shape media narratives. But since high-quality polling has become more expensive, as it has become harder to get potential respondents to pick up the phone, fewer media outlets in an age of declining local news are producing their own surveys. Media executives may also be increasingly fearful of a big polling whiff that sullies their brand. That leaves more space for campaigns as well as fly-by-night outfits with little to no track record.

Ginning up favorable polls is something any campaign or sympathetic group can, in theory, do, regardless of party or ideology. In Iowa’s recent Senate Democratic primary, not a single independent poll was sampled. The Hawkeye State was once home to the celebrated Des Moines Register poll by Ann Selzer, but she quit the business after she wrongly projected that Kamala Harris would beat Donald Trump in Iowa. And the paper didn’t get back into the polling game for this latest campaign.

In the Register’s absence, all we got were polls tied to the campaigns. Two polls showed big leads for state Senator Zach Wahls, one from his campaign and one from Teamsters Local 238, which endorsed him. And three polls showed big leads for state Representative Josh Turek, one from his campaign and two from the Vote Vets Action Fund, which endorsed him. Only Turek’s polls proved accurate, as he won by 25 points.

As of late, the polling push seems to be more heartily embraced by left-wing insurgents, understandably so. Since such candidates tend to face initial concerns about electability, injecting favorable polls into the discourse can help mitigate those concerns. The charitable case for it is that it helps draw attention to outsiders with great potential who might be unfairly overlooked. The downside risk is that it creates an unwarranted perception of strength.

We are seeing the polling tactic used, effectively so far, in Michigan’s Senate Democratic primary by former public health official Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.

El-Sayed, while he doesn’t embrace the socialist label, is nonetheless the great socialist hope in the 2026 midterms. Explicitly backed by the two most prominent federal socialist lawmakers—Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—and tacitly backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, a victorious El-Sayed could prove that a candidate who supports Medicare for All, challenges the concept of Israel as a Jewish state, and once trafficked in “Defund the Police” rhetoric can win a statewide race in a perennial battleground. As we have no examples of a candidate with El-Sayed’s issue set winning a general election in Michigan before, his nomination would carry a degree of inherent risk. However, it’s certainly possible that the current electorate has moved ideologically in his direction. Before the hypothesis can be tested, he must win the primary.

In the past month, media coverage has increasingly referred to El-Sayed as the primary’s “frontrunner.” But on what data is that title based?

Five primary polls sampled in April through mid-May showed wildly varying results with no clear frontrunner. An average of the five polls put El-Sayed ahead, but only by less than 2 points over U.S. Representative Haley Stevens, a moderate who is vocally pro-Israel (albeit critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) and, according to Bridge Michigan, “supports creating a [health insurance] public option but has not introduced legislation in Congress to do so.”

However, Stevens was the leader in three of those five polls. Also of note, in four of the polls, the undecided share of the electorate was at least one-third, indicating the collective mindset of voters was far from settled.

Also, during this April to May period, we have three polls with general-election trial heats against the presumptive Republican nominee, former U.S. Representative Mike Rogers. In two of these, El-Sayed fared the worst among the Democrats, and in the one where he fared the best, he was still 1 point down. This fed a narrative that El-Sayed had the biggest electability problem of the Democratic field.

Then, on June 1, El-Sayed’s campaign released its own internal poll showing a 3-point lead over Stevens, with State Senator Mallory McMorrow coming in a weak third. Four days later, Tulchin Research, a polling firm hired by the newly formed pro-El-Sayed super PAC Fighting for Michigan, not only found El-Sayed leading a second-place Stevens by a whopping 18 points, but also—unlike most other polls up to that point—he would beat Rogers in November by five points (no data was provided about McMorrow and Stevens.)

Then in mid-June, the Common Defense political action committee—which has endorsed El-Sayed—published general election trial heats with the 41-year-old doctor winning by three, slightly better than his Democratic rivals. Another internal poll, conducted in late June by Fighting for Michigan, showed a 19-point primary lead.

These polls from the El-Sayed network were buttressed in June by three other independent polls with directionally similar results—two of which showed only El-Sayed beating Rogers. This run of good El-Sayed polls largely came at McMorrow’s expense, with her weak showing prompting her to drop out of the race earlier this week.

But two of these pollsters, Mitchell Research & Communications and Quantas Insights, have middling grades in the Silver Bulletin Pollster Ratings, and the third, Wedgewood Polls, just entered the polling scene last month. Its first poll of the Louisiana Republican primary runoff was wildly wrong.

Meanwhile, only one June poll came from a “Select Pollster” as deemed by The New York Times—meaning the pollster met two of three basic criteria: a track record of accuracy, membership in a professional polling organization, and use of probability-based sampling. That poll, from Susquehanna Polling & Research, found El-Sayed had a scant 2-point lead over Stevens, well within the margin of error. It also found that 49 percent of the electorate was undecided, more than double El-Sayed’s 22 percent. (Only one other pollster working in Michigan has met the Times’ Select Pollster standard, and that’s Emerson College, which hasn’t been active in the state since April.)

El-Sayed’s polling streak took a slight hit this week when a Tavern Research poll tested a two-way primary matchup and a three-way matchup including McMorrow (who is still on the ballot). El-Sayed won by three when McMorrow was included, but lost to Stevens by one in the head-to-head. Tavern Research is a Democratic political consultant shop that hasn’t been polling long enough to be rated by Silver Bulletin.

What’s missing from this picture is credible polling from respected media outlets. It may well be that El-Sayed is more electable than Stevens in November—either because he is more polished on the stump or because the Michigan electorate has become a good match for his economic populism and determination to cut off aid to Israel. But we lack good data on which to make such an assessment.

In theory, since all campaigns are free to pay for their own polls, competing attempts at poll-based spin could end up being a wash—which is what we saw in Iowa. One might presume that a campaign that isn’t releasing its own polls is losing. But another explanation could be that a campaign doesn’t think that’s a good use of limited campaign finance resources. Stevens released one internal back in February with her up two. Then McMorrow did one in March with her up five. Neither did much to further their preferred narratives, and for whatever reason, they didn’t keep going back to that well.

For a good long while, many people groused about poll-driven “horse race” coverage from mainstream media outlets that ignored policy substance and left news consumers poorly informed. And as polling is always an inexact science, media outlets took it on the chin whenever a poll they sponsored was off the mark. But the decline of professional polling from media outlets leaves us more vulnerable to spin polls from campaigns. That vulnerability was cannily seized by the Platner campaign, to the detriment of Maine Democrats who perhaps wanted to believe a little too much what the numbers seemed to say.

While we may all tend to cheer the polls with results we like and dismiss those we don’t, the decline in independent surveys by pollsters with extensive track records should make us extremely cautious about presuming too much about the future based on the data we have today.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the Maine People’s Resource Center endorsed Graham Platner when the endorsement was made by its 501(c)(4) partner organization, Maine People’s Alliance.

ATTACHMENT FIVE – FROM the WASHINGTON POST

AI OVERVIEW:

"Platner cheerleaders" is a phrase used to describe the prominent politicians and progressive figures who strongly backed former Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner during his campaign.

Key figures frequently associated with this label include:

· Rep. Ro Khanna: The California Representative who openly supported Platner and continued to defend his campaign after he faced intense scrutiny for unsettling behavior.

· Sen. Bernie Sanders: The Vermont Senator whose early support helped fund and validate Platner's campaign, though Sanders ultimately asked him to step aside after the allegations surfaced.

· Sen. Elizabeth Warren & Sen. Ruben Gallego: Prominent Democrats who were initial endorsers but formally rescinded their support and called for his exit.

· State Politicians: Figures like former Maine state Sen. Troy Jackson, who praised Platner's progressive platform early on.

Platner officially withdrew from the Maine Senate race on July 10, 2026, following reporting by Politico regarding sexual assault allegations—which Platner has denied—leaving the Maine Democratic Party Maine Democratic Party scrambling to name a new nominee.

ATTACHMENT SIX – FROM PRIMETIMER.COM

“HE DOES LOVE A HORROR STORY”: STEPHEN KING UNDER FIRE OVER ADMITTING HE VOTED FOR GRAHAM PLATNER DESPITE DISTURBING ALLEGATIONS

BY Ashim Arora Wednesday 6/10/2026 at 7:35AM EDT

Graham Platner has remained in the headlines after facing multiple allegations linked to different controversies.

More Stephen King on Primetimer:

Stephen King cites Jesus Christ in latest X post to criticize "Trump and his pals"

The master of horror Stephen King just gave ‘Obsession’ the review of a lifetime in just two lines

Stephen King says the law does not apply to Elon Musk since he is rich after he went to China with Trump despite OpenAI trial still going on

The masterful directors that made the Stephen King adaptations and redefined the entire genre

ATTACHMENT SEVEN – FROM THE NEW YORK POST

ONE OF THE LEFT’S BIGGEST CULTURAL ICONS IS STILL WITH PLATNER

Prominent Democrats rushed to disavow the Maine Senate candidate following Monday's revelation.

Tim Rice Jul 6, 2026

In the hours since one of Graham Platner’s former girlfriends accused him of rape, the Maine Democrat has lost the support of the state and national party, as well as nearly every prominent figure who stuck with him through his scandal-plagued campaign.

But he can still count on Stephen King.

“Graham Platner may drop out. (I hope he doesn’t, but.),” the septuagenarian horror writer and Maine resident posted on X. “Meanwhile, the Abuser in Chief just keeps on keepin’ on.”

Graham Platner may drop out. (I hope he doesn’t, but.) Meanwhile, the Abuser in Chief just keeps on keepin’ on.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) July 6, 2026

King, a former cocaine addict whose 1986 novel “It” depicts group sex among minors, has long promoted Democrats and leftwing causes on social media. But his defense of Platner — as well as his attempt to shift the focus to President Donald Trump’s alleged misdeeds — leaves him prominent among a rapidly dwindling group of supporters.

On Monday, Politico published a bombshell report in which 41-year-old Maine resident Jenny Racicot recounts how Platner drunkenly broke into her house in 2021 and raped her. The report, which includes corroborating evidence from Racicot and people with whom she shared the story, seems to have been the last straw for Democrats who stuck with Platner through revelations of his offensive social media posts, Nazi tattoo, presence on an app popular among sexual predators, and allegations of abuse from other women.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) demanded that Platner drop out in a statement with fellow New York Democrat Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. The statement said that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — which Gillibrand chairs — “will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot.”

The Maine Democrat has also lost support from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), two of his earliest and most ardent backers. The Maine Democratic Party also withdrew its support, as did leftist podcaster Hasan Piker. Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego (D), embroiled in a controversy of his own, also called for Platner to drop out of the race.

Platner denied Racicot’s accusations in a two-minute video message shared to social media shortly after Politico’s story dropped.

“Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false,” Platner said. “Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful the political reality it will inflict, we are taking time to reflect on the best path forward.”

Maine Democrats face a July 13 deadline to swap Platner for another Democrat to challenge incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins.

Racicot told Politico that she “didn’t come forward sooner” due to “the huge moral conflict that I had between supporting his politics, but not supporting him as a person.” Seeing other women come forward motivated Racicot to speak out, she says, noting that “I just want the truth out there. I just want people to have a whole scope of who he is as a person.”

“Tell you what,” King wrote on X shortly after posting his initial statement of support. “If you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty. Jesus said, ‘Let him without sin cast the first stone.'”

Two years ago this week, King urged President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race.

ATTACHMENT EIGHT – FROM WMTW

MAINE AUTHOR STEPHEN KING REACTS TO GRAHAM PLATNER ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS

Author Stephen King is clarifying comments he wrote on social media that he now says were misconstrued into a defense of the Senate candidate.

By Francis Flisiuk Updated: 12:48 PM EDT Jul 7, 2026

BANGOR, Maine —

Maine author Stephen King is now clarifying comments he made on social media regarding Senate candidate Graham Platner, who is facing new allegations of sexual assault and growing calls to end his campaign.

Posting on 'X' shortly after POLITICO published testimony Monday night from a Maine woman who accused Platner of assaulting her in 2021, the prolific horror writer wrote "Graham Platner may drop out. I hope he doesn't, but."

King then went on to reference President Donald Trump, and the numerous sexual misconduct allegations he has faced over the years, calling him the "Abuser in Chief."

President Trump has consistently denied several public allegations of sexual assault, including non-consensual touching and kissing. In 2023, a federal jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation of writer E. Jean Carroll.

In a second post, King wrote: "Tell you what--if you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty. Jesus said, 'Let him without sin cast the first stone,'" which provoked hundreds of comments criticizing King and accusing him of misunderstanding scripture and defending sexual assault.

King clarified the next day in a third post that he wasn't "defending Platner" and was "just making a comparison."

"If he committed rape, he should bow out," wrote King on Tuesday.

King's comments come as the candidate denies the allegations and is facing a flood of calls from Democratic leadership in Maine and D.C. to end his campaign.

The Maine Democratic Party called for Platner to withdraw, as well as high-profile supporters such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Rep. Ro Khanna of California and Vermont's Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who campaigned alongside Platner in Portland in May.

In June, when Platner was under scrutiny for reports that he sent sexual text messages to women who were not his wife, Sanders at the time defended his endorsement by saying, "Is he a saint? I guess not. I don't know too many saints here," while pointing to the U.S. Capitol building in D.C.

ATTACHMENT NINE – FROM WJCL

AUTHOR STEPHEN KING REACTS TO GRAHAM PLATNER SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS

Francis Flisiuk Updated: 2:27 PM EDT Jul 7, 2026

BANGOR, Maine —

Author Stephen King is clarifying comments he made on social media regarding Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, who is facing new allegations of sexual assault and growing calls to end his campaign.

Posting on social media shortly after POLITICO published testimony Monday night from a Maine woman who accused Platner of assaulting her in 2021, the prolific horror writer wrote "Graham Platner may drop out. I hope he doesn't, but."

King then went on to reference President Donald Trump, and the numerous sexual misconduct allegations he has faced over the years, calling him the "Abuser in Chief."

Democrats begin pulling Platner endorsements after Maine candidate faces sexual assault allegation

King clarified on Tuesday in a third post that he is "not defending" Platner and was "just making a comparison."

"If he committed rape, he should bow out," King wrote.

King's comments come as the candidate denies the allegations and is facing a flood of calls from Democratic leadership in Maine and D.C. to end his campaign.

Maine woman who dated Graham Platner tells Politico that Senate candidate sexually assaulted her in 2021 Graham Platner wins the Democratic primary for US Senate in Maine, will face GOP Sen. Susan Collins

Graham Platner’s wife calls news coverage of Senate hopeful's sexually explicit texts with women 'shameful'

ATTACHMENT TEN – FROM FOX

STEPHEN KING DELETES POST HOPING GRAHAM PLATNER DOESN'T DROP OUT, CLARIFIES 'NOT DEFENDING' HIM

Author faced backlash after appearing to support Platner following a rape allegation

By Lindsay Kornick Published July 8, 2026 7:13am EDT

Stephen King deleted a post that appeared to support Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner following sexual assault allegations on Monday. The author added that if Platner "committed rape, he should bow out."

Maine resident Jenny Racicot, 41, told Politico over the course of three interviews that Platner entered her home uninvited and forced her to have sex despite her telling him to stop several times in 2021, a claim that Platner denied in the story. Racicot also described Platner as "almost blackout drunk" during the incident.

Since the story's release, numerous prominent Democratic figures have called on Platner to suspend his campaign, including allies like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. However, "The Shining" author initially wrote that he hoped that Platner "doesn't" drop out of the race.

GRAHAM PLATNER'S MOST PROMINENT PRESS ALLIES ABANDON HIM AS RAPE ALLEGATION ROCKS MAINE SENATE RACE

"Graham Platner may drop out. (I hope he doesn’t, but.) Meanwhile, the Abuser in Chief just keeps on keepin’ on," King wrote.

Though King deleted the post, he continued to write about Platner.

"Tell you what--if you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty. Jesus said, 'Let him without sin cast the first stone,'" King wrote.

That post drew outrage from social media users disturbed at King appearing to dismiss a rape allegation.

PLATNER'S LATEST ACCUSER CLAIMS THE DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE 'ABSOLUTELY' RAPED HER

After drawing criticism, King later clarified, "Not defending Grah [sic] Platner. If he committed rape, he should bow out. Just making a comparison."

King's follow-up post continued to receive backlash as people considered the post an attempt to walk back the controversial post.

"After severe backlash from clearly defending Graham Platner, Stephen King now thinks rape is bad and Platner should drop out," political commentator Kevin Dalton said.

Journalist Paul D. Thacker wrote, "This is me comparing what you're saying now to what you said defending Graham Platner."

"Remember, King is ok with The Nazi Totenkopf tattoo Graham having Rape fantasies His Sexting & predator platform activity," podcast host Alec Lace wrote, referencing Platner's past political scandals.

FORMER OBAMA AIDES SAY PLATNER SHOULD STEP ASIDE, WAS DISHONEST ABOUT HIS PASTFox News Digital reached out to King for comment.

Platner's scandal emerged as Democrats seek to defeat incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. If Platner suspends his campaign before 5 p.m. next Monday, July 13, the Maine Democratic Party will be able to replace him on the general election ballot with another candidate from the party, whom they would need to select by July 27.

So far, Platner has said that his campaign will take "time to reflect on the best path forward" but has not indicated that he will step down.

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

PEANUT GALLERY

BobHarry54

Stephen King should stick to writing fiction and get out of politics. Obviously he whiffed on this completely. His judgment was...See website for more

Inquiring_Meinz

One would think that Stephen King's books would be a sufficient outlet for his demented inner thoughts, but apparently, No.

RichardGrande

I was in Afghanistan when stephen king announced: "I don't want to sound like an ad, a public service ad on TV, but the fact is...See More

steveh31

The writing was very clear on this guy and still, people supported him until the stench got too much to stomach. Now they are a...See More

hunkz

Steven King has his place in the entertainment industry, but his critical thinking skills are deplorable.

ATTACHMENT ELEVEN – FROM THE HILL

STEPHEN KING DELETES POST DEFENDING PLATNER

by Finya Swai - 07/08/26 11:55 AM ET

Author Stephen King deleted a post on social media defending Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner (D), who is facing widespread backlash after his former girlfriend accused him of rape.

King, a Maine resident, weighed in on a report from Politico published Monday that revealed the accusation from Jenny Racicot, Platner’s former girlfriend, who alleged Platner sexually assaulted her five years ago.

King wrote in a post on the social media platform X, which was later deleted: “Graham Platner may drop out. (I hope he doesn’t, but.) Meanwhile, the Abuser in Chief just keeps on keepin’ on,” appearing to compare the allegations against Platner to accusations previously made against President Trump.

He followed up with another post.

“Tell you what–if you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty. Jesus said, ‘Let him without sin cast the first stone,’” he wrote.

Platner quickly denied the allegation in a video but added he would take time to reflect on his campaign and consider next steps. Prominent Democrats soon after urged him to end his Senate bid.

The posts garnered swift criticism online, with commentators bashing King for appearing to minimize the severity of the allegations against Platner.

Among the critics was columnist Jonah Goldberg, who wrote: “So because we don’t know about hypothetical rapey legislators we should forgive the ones we do know about.”

King attempted to clarify his position on Tuesday following the backlash.

“Not defending Graham Platner. If he committed rape, he should bow out. Just making a comparison,” he wrote, following up with a post to correct his misspelling of “Graham.”

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) also walked back her online criticism of Platner’s accuser, deleting a post saying she should not turn “consensual sex” with Platner “into rape for politics with conflicting stories.”

Politico reported that Racicot met Platner on the dating app Bumble in 2019, and the two had been in an on-and-off relationship since.

Racicot told the outlet that in 2021, Platner drunkenly entered her home uninvited and sexually assaulted her. She said she did not come forward initially out of fear of retaliation. She also wanted a Democrat to win against incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in November.

Politico corroborated her story with several people in whom she initially confided, including a former boyfriend and her therapist.

The allegation has rocked Platner’s campaign, which had already been riddled with a series of other scandals, including sexually explicit texts Platner sent to women while married.

After easily winning the Democratic primary, the populist oyster farmer was set to head to the general election to face off against Collins. But in light of the recent bombshell revelations, Platner has lost critical support from most of his party, with both state and national Democrats calling for Platner to drop out of the race.

ATTACHMENT TWELVE – FROM TIMES OF ISRAEL

UNDER FIRE, STEPHEN KING RETRACTS SUPPORT FOR ANTI-ISRAEL CANDIDATE ACCUSED OF RAPE

Horror novelist says Maine Senate Democrat Graham Platner should drop out of Senate race if sexual assault allegation true

By Grace Gilson 8 July 2026, 10:45 am

JTA — After coming under criticism for saying he hoped Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner does not drop out of the race amid a new sexual assault allegation, horror novelist Stephen King said Tuesday that Platner should leave the race if he had raped a woman.

On Monday, King, a Maine resident, wrote in a post on X, “Graham Platner may drop out. (I hope he doesn’t, but.) Meanwhile, the Abuser in Chief just keeps on keepin’ on,” appearing to refer to US President Donald Trump.

In a second post that day, King added, “Tell you what — if you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty. Jesus said, ‘Let him without sin cast the first stone.’”

But as King’s posts drew thousands of replies accusing him of defending sexual assault, the writer followed up in a post on X Tuesday, “Not defending Grah, Platner. If he committed rape, he should bow out. Just making a comparison.”

The writer’s comments come as Platner is facing a flood of calls to resign from Democratic officials and leaders after Politico reported Monday that he had been accused by a former girlfriend of forcing her to have sex with him five years ago.

Platner, who won his Democratic primary in June, has also faced numerous scandals on the campaign trail, including scrutiny over his since covered-up Nazi tattoo, unearthed Reddit posts, and previously reported behavior toward women.

Numerous Democratic groups and leaders have called for Platner to leave the race, and the Jewish Democratic Council of America, which did not endorse Platner, told JTA Monday that the “allegations of sexual assault make clear he should have no place in this race.”

Platner did not respond to a request for comment from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. But he told Politico that any “accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue.” He said in a video posted to social media on Monday that he is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.”

Vermont Jewish independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of Platner’s most high-profile supporters, said in a statement Tuesday that he had recommended that Platner drop out of the race. Sanders’s statement came after he faced calls from Democratic Sen. John Fetterman to “apologize” for supporting the candidate.

“I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine,” Sanders said. “In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”

Known for anti-Israel rhetoric, Platner has called for cutting US military assistance to Israel and has accused the Jewish state of genocide in Gaza. He said his Republican rival, Susan Collins, was “bought and paid for by Benjamin Netanyahu” due to her support from AIPAC — a comment that drew accusations of antisemitism.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

ATTACHMENT THIRTEEN – FROM BREITBART

‘IT’ AUTHOR STEPHEN KING SAYS HE HOPES GRAHAM PLATNER DOESN’T DROP OUT AFTER BEING ACCUSED OF RAPE

By Simon Kent 7 Jul 2026

Novelist, Hollywood producer, and unabashed Republican foe Stephen King has gone public in supporting embattled Maine Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner as a new rape allegation continues to cloud his campaign against Susan Collins (R-ME).

The It author expressed his hopes on social media that Platner would resist calls to step away from the race while adding, “Meanwhile the Abuser in Chief just keeps on keepin’ on.”

The latter part of the statement is seemingly an oblique reference to assertions made against President Donald Trump.

King didn’t stop there.

He later returned to social media to somehow imply widespread malfeasance across the Senate and House of Representatives, alleging: “Tell you what–if you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty. Jesus said, “Let him without sin cast the first stone.”

As Breitbart News reported, Platner’s political aspirations have been dented as he faces a recent sexual assault allegation made against him after a woman came forward accusing the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate of sexually assaulting her in 2021.

The claims of improprietary are not limited to serious rape accusation – which the 41-year-old denies.

They include – in no particular order – Platner being widely criticized for his Nazi chest tattoo, sexting with women while married, mocking a military Purple Heart recipient, disparaging groups of people, and a host of other scandals.

Politico first reported the allegations against Platner on Monday.

Platner’s campaign has “categorically denied” his accuser’s allegation but the oyster farmer is pausing to “taking time to reflect” on his political future.

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES

STEPHEN KING DELETES POSTS DEFENDING SENATE CANDIDATE ACCUSED OF RAPE

By The Washington Times AI News Desk - Wednesday, July 8, 2026

WHAT TO KNOW

· Stephen King deleted social media posts after backlash over Graham Platner's rape allegation.

· King expressed hope Platner would remain in the Senate race despite the allegations.

· Critics accused King of minimizing the serious nature of the rape allegation.

· Platner has denied the allegation, calling it false and troubling.

Best-selling author Stephen King deleted a pair of social media posts this week after facing a wave of backlash for downplaying a rape allegation against Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner.

Mr. King, a longtime Maine resident and vocal supporter of Democratic causes, posted on X Monday that he hoped Mr. Platner would not drop out of the race, adding, “Meanwhile, the Abuser in Chief just keeps on keepin’ on” — an apparent reference to President Trump. In a follow-up post, Mr. King wrote, “Tell you what — if you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty. Jesus said, ’Let him without sin cast the first stone.’”

The comments drew swift condemnation online, with critics accusing the horror novelist of minimizing a rape allegation. Commentator Jonah Goldberg mocked the reasoning, writing that King’s logic amounted to forgiving known wrongdoing because other, unproven wrongdoing might exist elsewhere, while Free Press writer Kat Rosenfield suggested Mr. King’s defense had crossed a line the public wouldn’t tolerate.

By Tuesday, facing what one report described as an avalanche of criticism, Mr. King deleted his original post and wrote, “Not defending Grah [sic], Platner. If he committed rape, he should bow out. Just making a comparison.” He later deleted that follow-up post as well, reposting the same message after correcting his misspelling of Mr. Platner’s first name.

Mr. King’s remarks came just a day after Politico reported that a Maine woman, Jenny Racicot, had accused Mr. Platner of raping her in 2021, when the two were casually dating. In a subsequent interview with CNN, Ms. Racicot said Mr. Platner showed up drunk at her home after she asked him not to come, then forced himself on her despite repeated objections. Asked whether she considered the encounter rape, she said, “By definition? Yes, absolutely.”

Mr. Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer and Marine veteran who won Maine’s Democratic Senate primary in June, has denied the allegation, calling it “troubling, serious and false.” His campaign said in a statement that the accusation was “coached and coordinated by out of state establishment operatives” and noted it surfaced just a week before Maine’s July 13 deadline for swapping out a nominee.

The allegation triggered a mass exodus of Democratic support for Mr. Platner’s bid to unseat Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, called on Mr. Platner to withdraw immediately, warning the committee would not invest in the race if he stayed on the ballot. Democratic Reps. Ro Khanna of California and Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona also rescinded their endorsements.

An American Greenland could strengthen EuropePlatner ends whirlwind Senate bid after rape allegation Bipartisan housing bill set to become law Friday, with or without Trump’s signature

Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont independent and one of Mr. Platner’s most prominent backers, said Tuesday he had recommended Mr. Platner step aside, telling reporters he had spoken with the candidate about “the best path forward for Maine.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, another high-profile Platner supporter, also joined the calls for him to leave the race, saying in a statement that “the best path forward is for Graham Platner to step aside as the Democratic nominee and address these serious allegations outside this Senate race.”

The rape allegation is the most serious in a string of controversies that have dogged Mr. Platner’s campaign, including revelations of a Nazi tattoo he later covered up, sexually explicit texts to other women, and previously reported “unsettling” behavior toward past partners.

This article was constructed with the assistance of artificial intelligence and published by a member of The Washington Times' AI News Desk team. The contents of this report are based solely on The Washington Times' original reporting, wire services, and/or other sources cited within the report. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com

ATTACHMENT FIFTEEN – FROM THE NEW YORK POST

RABID LEFTY STEPHEN KING STICKS BY ALLEGED RAPIST GRAHAM PLATNER

By Patrick Reilly Updated July 7, 2026, 11:07 a.m. ET

Lefty horror author Stephen King is sticking by Graham Platner — even after the Maine Democratic Senate candidate was accused by his ex-girlfriend of breaking into her home and drunkenly raping her.

Maine resident Jenny Racicot made the allegations against Platner in a bombshell report published in Politico on Tuesday that threatens to end the oysterman’s already scandal-ridden campaign.

Droves of Democrats have since pulled their endorsements and urged him to bow out of the race –but not King, who said he hopes Platner pushes through because everyone on Capitol Hill has skeletons in their closets.

“Graham Platner may drop out. (I hope he doesn’t, but.) Meanwhile, the Abuser in Chief just keeps on keepin’ on,” “The Shining” author, who lives in Maine, posted on X.

“Tell you what–if you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty,” he said in a separate post.

“Jesus said, ‘Let him without sin cast the first stone.’”

King’s comments sparked outrage online from both conservatives and liberals who could not understand why the prolific writer would continue to support an accused rapist — and use the Bible to justify it.

MS NOW’s Joe Scarborough calls GOPers ‘hypocritical’ as Graham Platner scandal explodes: ‘Just shut up’

Accused rapist Graham Platner trashed as ‘narcissistic sociopath’ after ‘delusional’ 11-minute video ending Senate bid

Miranda Devine: Slimy Dems — the party of Me Too — show their true colors in Graham Platner scandal

“‘Who among us hasn’t done a little rape???’ -Stephen King, basically,” conservative commentator Sara Gonzales posted in response.

“So because we don’t know about hypothetical rapey legislators we should forgive the ones we do know about,” questioned Dispatch Editor-in-Chief Jonah Goldberg.

“I don’t need them to be flawless. But I do need them to not be credibly accused of rape. That’s a pretty reasonable ask Stephen,” wrote professor and policy consultant Adam Cochran.

Racicot revealed in brutal detail her disturbing alleged encounter with Platner back in 2021, when the pair were in an on-again, off-again relationship.

She told Politico that she had told him not to come over one night because he was drinking and she did not want to see him.

Platner stumbled into her unlocked home anyway, “almost blackout drunk,” and got on top of her, ignoring her repeated protests, she claimed.

Here’s the latest on the bombshell sexual assault allegations which forced Graham Platner to drop out of Maine Senate race :

· Graham Platner drops out of Maine Senate race in light of rape accusations

· Mamdani’s silver-spoon socialist fixer races to Graham Platner’s side as they plot how to blackmail Dem party

· Graham Platner trying to put ‘thumb on the scale’ as Maine Democrats look for replacement Senate candidate, state party claims

· Graham Platner rape claims finally force top Dems to make pathetic U-turn: ‘My kind of man’

He then allegedly followed her into the bedroom and had nonconsensual sex with her.

“I had recognized that he wasn’t listening to me. It wasn’t just that he wasn’t hearing me or whatnot,” Racicot told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday. ”I don’t think I was safe to physically fight back.”

She confirmed she “absolutely” believes she was raped “by definition.”

The allegations could finally sink Platner’s grassroots lefty campaign, which has miraculously survived a litany of other scandals including extramarital sexting, his alleged “unsettling” behavior toward past girlfriends, a tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol, his incendiary Reddit history, and more.

Planter (sic) handedly won the Democratic nod for US Senate from Maine, with 72%, though some 19.5% of Dem voters still went with Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who suspended her campaign in April.

ATTACHMENT SIXTEEN – FROM POLITICO

BERNIE SANDERS SAYS HE TOLD GRAHAM PLATNER TO ‘STEP ASIDE’

It’s Sanders’ first comment since POLITICO reported on Monday that a woman who dated Platner says he sexually assaulted her.

By Andrew Howard 07/07/2026 12:32 PM EDT|Updated: 07/07/2026 01:25 PM EDT

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said he told Maine Democrat Graham Platner to end his Senate bid on Tuesday, in the wake of a POLITICO report that a woman who Platner dated said he forced her to have sex with him.

“I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine. In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside,” Sanders said in a statement.

Platner has denied the allegations, saying in a statement this week that “any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue.”

It’s Sanders’ first public remarks about Platner since the POLITICO report, and it comes after he’s stood beside Platner in the wake of other scandals. Numerous other elected Democrats and officials called on Platner to step down on Monday night.

Shortly after POLITICO published the report, Platner posted a video saying he was “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward” on his candidacy.

Already, Democrats in the Pine Tree State are wrangling to replace Platner, something that can happen only if the nominee himself chooses to step aside. Platner would have to make the decision by July 13, as outlined in Maine state law. From there, the state Democratic Party will determine who will replace him, and that person must be named by July 27.

Sanders’ call on Platner is particularly notable, given he endorsed him and has rallied with him repeatedly in Maine. Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to an email regarding Sanders’ decision.

Numerous other former supporters of Platner, from progressive commentators to elected officials, called on him to end his campaign on Monday and Tuesday. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democrats’ top Senate super PAC both pulled their financial support on Monday, saying they could not invest in the race to defeat GOP Sen. Susan Collins with Platner as the nominee.

The mass exodus comes after the party had largely stood behind Platner in other scandals, including resurfaced controversial social media posts and a Nazi-linked tattoo.

But POLITICO’s Monday report, where 41-year-old Maine resident Jenny Racicot said Platner entered her home uninvited nearly five years ago and forced himself on her despite her repeatedly telling him to stop, proved to be enough for the party to ditch him.

Racicot said she cut off contact with him after telling him that his actions that night were not consensual.

“I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” Racicot told POLITICO. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’”

In past rallies and comments, Sanders had stood behind Platner, even after an earlier story from The New York Times about Platner’s past relationships reported how some women who dated the Maine oysterman said they found some of his behavior unsettling.

“Platner won a landslide victory last night, and I am quite confident that Democrats who want to regain the Senate will be supporting him as the Democratic nominee,” Sanders told reporters on Capitol Hill last month, just after the primary.

ATTACHMENT SEVENTEEN – FROM POLITICO

GRAHAM PLATNER JUST DROPPED OUT. HERE’S WHO COULD REPLACE HIM.

Several potential successors have already signaled their interest in seeking the Democratic nomination for Maine Senate.

By Erin Doherty and Andrew Howard

07/08/2026 09:18 PM EDT|Updated: 07/09/2026 02:53 PM EDT

Graham Platner just dropped out of Maine’s Senate race. Some Democrats have already said they want to replace him.

A POLITICO report of a new sexual allegation against Platner on Monday set off a scramble among Maine Democrats, as they pressured the candidate to step down and weighed who could take his place to defeat GOP Sen. Susan Collins, the only Republican running in a state won by Kamala Harris this cycle. The party has long held that winning the Maine Senate race will be critical to retaking control of the upper chamber.

The steady loss of support and financial backing for Platner’s campaign — which denied the allegation — gave several progressives an opening to start their preparations.

Some, like former Senate President Troy Jackson, were more explicit than others, setting up joint fundraising committees before Platner dropped out. Others, including Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, said they would “seriously consider” entering the race if Platner suspended his campaign. Meanwhile, a few possible candidates, including Rep. Jared Golden, Maine Senate President Mattie Daughtry and actor Patrick Dempsey (yes, really) have ruled themselves out.

Now, jockeying for the nomination is expected to accelerate, with less than four months until Election Day.

State law gives the Maine Democratic Party the authority to replace Platner, and mandates that his successor must be chosen by July 27. On Wednesday, just before Platner suspended his campaign, the Maine Democratic Party approved tentative plans for a nominating convention to pick his successor.

Here’s where things stand.

OFFICIALLY RUNNING

TROY JACKSON

Jackson, who was a Platner ally before calling on him to step aside Monday, swiftly launched his Senate bid after Platner suspended his campaign.

“I’m in. And we’re going to defeat Susan Collins,” Jackson wrote in a post on X. “Maine deserves a Senator that will fight for working families.”

Jackson was widely speculated to jump into the race and had filed his interest in a bid with the Federal Election Commission before Wednesday. A logger with long ties to organized labor, he’s quickly attracted attention from many of the oysterman’s progressive supporters. Our Revolution, a progressive organization founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), has already thrown its support behind Jackson.

But already, some votes from his 20-year history in the legislature are resurfacing, such as his 2009 state Senate vote against a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, giving Platner’s base a bit of pause. He later called that the “worst vote I ever took.” His closeness to Platner during the primary may also give pause to some Democrats as they choose their next nominee.

Still, as one of a number of Democrats who just lost the primary for governor, Jackson has the benefit of being able to quickly rebuild his campaign.

DAN KLEBAN

Kleban also announced his bid Wednesday. The 49-year-old founder of Maine Beer Company had dropped out of the Democratic Senate primary earlier this year and threw his weight behind establishment-backed Gov. Janet Mills.

“Mainers deserve a senator who will fight for them against the D.C. establishment while also doing what’s right,” Kleban said in a statement. “I plan to be that senator.”

While Kleban hasn’t served in public office, he has long been involved in Maine Democratic circles.

NIRAV SHAH

Shah, a former public health official, entered the race on Thursday morning, after he told POLITICO Tuesday afternoon he was still “evaluating.” Before both of those comments, he was already positioning himself as a candidate.

He called for an open process on Tuesday, including at least one televised debate, and multiple public town halls across Maine.

Shah oversaw the state’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He mounted his first run for public office earlier this year, finishing second in Maine’s gubernatorial primary. He said in an interview that he is “very, very much aligned” with Platner’s politics.

JORDAN WOOD

Wood announced his Senate campaign on Thursday morning. A former Senate candidate, he switched to running for the state’s 2nd District after Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) decided he wouldn’t attempt reelection. Wood finished third in that race with state Auditor Matt Dunlap winning the nomination after a ranked-choice count.

“This has been a tough week for all of us in Maine who have demanded real change in Washington and in our lives,” Wood said in a statement announcing his bid. “Our campaign will continue to build on the powerful populist movement Graham started, and I welcome every Mainer who believed in his vision to continue to build that better world.”

A former staffer of former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Wood may have trouble courting Platner supporters who want someone from outside of D.C. But he posted solid fundraising during his House run and has worked hard to keep his name in the fold.

SHENNA BELLOWS

The Maine secretary of state officially launched her Senate bid to replace Graham Platner on Thursday afternoon.

“After serious consideration, I am announcing my campaign for United States Senate, because I believe that together we can unify Democrats in Maine at this difficult time, and forge ahead with a campaign that fights for working people, stands up to a broken system that’s working against us, and defeats Susan Collins,” Bellows wrote in a post on X.

Bellows, who recently lost in the Democratic primary for governor, had been widely expected to enter the race after Platner suspended his campaign. She was fielding calls about a possible bid in recent days, according to one person familiar with her campaign, granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations.

But she previously challenged Collins in 2014 and lost — a defeat that is likely to draw fresh scrutiny as she makes her case to Maine voters this time around.

CONSIDERING RUNNING

PAIGE LOUD

Loud also ran for Congress in the 2nd District, coming in last during the first round of voting.. She quickly filed interest paperwork with the FEC on Tuesday to succeed Platner.

“I don’t think we should be electing a man,” Loud, who also held an unpaid role on Platner’s campaign before leaving earlier this year, said in an interview. “I think I’m tired of making women vote for a man.”

VALLI GEIGER

People close to Platner have been quick to mention Geiger — a member of the state House and top ally of the oysterman — as a potential successor. But Wednesday brought some drama on whether she’d have Platner’s blessing.

Geiger told a Maine local outlet that Platner said he was throwing his support behind her. The Platner campaign then said that no such commitment was made.

Geiger did not respond to POLITICO’s phone call and subsequent text message on Wednesday.

In an interview with MSNOW, Geiger said she’d taken calls about running for Senate and that she would be willing to run. But the 70-year-old state representative said a younger candidate would be better.

ANDREA LAFLAMME

LaFlamme was a write-in candidate during the Democratic Senate primary, receiving just over 1,000 votes. On Tuesday, she said she believes she is the “best person to take on Susan Collins” in a post on Bluesky.

LaFlamme initially launched her write-in bid because of Platner’s earlier controversies, telling the student paper of the college she works for that electing Platner “sends the message that women are not valued.” Given the fate of her write-in campaign, and the number of well-known Democrats already running, it’s unlikely she will ultimately take on Collins.

SOME NAMES TO WATCH

CHELLIE PINGREE

Pingree is a longtime member of Congress serving Maine’s safe-blue 1st District. Her bid is more of a long shot, given the party would also have to replace her on the ballot — thus kicking off another rush of names — but her reputation as a longtime party leader could put her in contention. Her daughter Hannah is already the Democratic nominee for governor, as well.

“Mainers deserve a nominee they can trust, a campaign focused on the challenges facing our state and our country, and a Democratic Party that responds to allegations of sexual assault with clarity, compassion, and accountability,” Pingree said in a statement Monday, calling on Platner to step down.

RYAN FECTEAU

Fecteau is the youngest person to ever become Maine’s state House Speaker.

He joined other Maine Democrats in pushing Platner to exit the race, saying POLITICO’s report “make[s] it clear that Graham’s campaign cannot be successful” in a post to Facebook.

SARA GIDEON

After a failed run against Collins in 2020, Gideon has maintained a relatively low public profile. But she lands a spot on this list regardless — mostly because her campaign is still sitting on $2.4 million, which was noted in a required FEC report that was filed on Wednesday.

ATTACHMENT EIGHTEEN – FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

HERE ARE THE MAINE DEMOCRATS WHO MIGHT REPLACE GRAHAM PLATNER

Several Maine Democrats have announced their candidacies for the Senate, and others expressed interest before Mr. Platner suspended his bid.

By Bayliss Wagner

Published July 7, 2026Updated July 9, 2026, 3:06 p.m. ET

Democrats in Maine are racing to find a new Senate nominee in the state’s crucial race after Graham Platner suspended his bid on Wednesday night in the wake of a rape allegation.

The party will need to act quickly: Maine state law gives Democrats just over two weeks to identify a replacement by July 27. On Wednesday night, the party announced that a replacement would be chosen in a nominating convention, but did not give further details.

Choosing a new candidate will be politically thorny, with moderates and progressives jockeying for influence over who is selected. Democrats will also be newly wary about vetting after their tumultuous experience with Mr. Platner. The new nominee will have to ramp up quickly and raise money fast to take on Senator Susan Collins, a Republican who has long dashed Democrats’ hopes of taking her seat.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE OFFICIAL AND POTENTIAL CANDIDATES. SEE PHOTOS OF THEIR SMILING FACES here

TROY JACKSON

Former president of Maine’s Senate

Troy Jackson, a progressive who served as the president of Maine’s State Senate from 2018 to 2024, is seen as aligned with Mr. Platner’s politics. Mr. Platner himself listed Mr. Jackson as his top pick for governor before the Democratic primary in June, in which Mr. Jackson came in third place. He is a logger from rural Aroostook County in northern Maine, and his father was a logger, too. On Wednesday, he announced that he was running for Senate.

NIRAV SHAH

Former director of Maine’s public health agency

A Democrat who campaigned as an outsider, Dr. Nirav Shah moved to Maine from the Midwest in 2019 to serve as Gov. Janet Mills’s health director. He led the state’s coronavirus response before becoming the principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2023 and most recently working as a professor at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. He ran for governor and led by three percentage points in the first round of the primary, but lost to the more progressive Hannah Pingree in the ranked-choice runoff. He said on Thursday morning that he was entering the race and promised to hold a series of town-hall-style meetings across the state.

SHENNA BELLOWS

Shenna Bellows, elected as Maine’s secretary of state in 2020, broke into the national news in 2023 when she fought to bar Donald J. Trump from Maine’s presidential primary ballot over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. A populist in Mr. Platner’s ideological mold, she often spoke on the campaign trail about her upbringing in a working-class family in rural Hancock County. She previously served as executive director of the A.C.L.U. of Maine and as a state senator, and even won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2014, but lost in a landslide to Ms. Collins. She announced Thursday that she was entering the race.

JORDAN WOOD

Former Senate candidate

Jordan Wood, a progressive who served as chief of staff to former Representative Katie Porter of California, came in third in this year’s competitive Democratic primary for Maine’s Second Congressional District. He ran on a promise to fight corruption in Washington, citing his work as a co-founder of a nonprofit group dedicated to opposing efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He briefly entered the Democratic primary for Senate in Maine before pivoting to the congressional race. On Wednesday, Mr. Wood said that he was re-entering the Senate race.

VALLI GEIGER

Maine state representative

Valli Geiger is a registered nurse and a former mayor of Rockland, Maine, who was elected to the State House in 2020. At a news conference this year, she defended Mr. Platner from criticism of his past remarks about women, saying he had undergone a personal transformation and pointing to his support for rape kit legislation, The Maine Wire reported. She is in conversations about potentially joining the race, she told The Times on Wednesday morning.

PAIGE LOUD

Social worker

Paige Loud, a 29-year-old social worker, came in last in a four-way Democratic primary to replace Representative Jared Golden in Maine’s Second Congressional District. A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, she ran a progressive campaign focused on universal health care, free higher education and federal housing subsidies. She filed for Maine’s Senate race with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday afternoon.

DAN KLEBAN

Owner of a brewery

Dan Kleban, a co-founder of the Maine Beer Company, a brewery based in Freeport, briefly ran in this year’s primary for Senate before withdrawing. He pointed to his company’s progressive workplace policies and dedication to environmental philanthropy, and spoke about starting the business after he was laid off during the Great Recession. On Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Kleban told readers of his Substack newsletter, Do What’s Write, that he would run to replace Mr. Platner, and he announced his candidacy that night.

DAVID COSTELLO

Former Senate candidate

David Costello, a Bangor native and environmental policy consultant, won 8 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary for Senate against Mr. Platner in June. Mr. Costello was a top official in Maryland’s Department of the Environment between 2011 and 2015, and unsuccessfully challenged Senator Angus King of Maine, an independent, in 2024. On Thursday, he told The New York Times that he was re-entering the Senate race.

Bayliss Wagner is a political reporter and a member of the 2026-27 Times Fellowship, a program for journalists early in their careers.

These names come from dozens of conversations that my colleagues and I have had with Democratic voters, elected officials and insiders in Maine and nationally. But that the list isn't the be-all end-all for possibilities as the party weighs not just who could replace Platner, but also how to create a framework for doing so openly and transparently.

PEANUT GALLERY

PMW

NYC · July 9

@Bayliss Wagner. We already had that process. It was called a primary. The Schumer gang already had a lengthy process to identify and promote candidates. Just like they backed sex pest Cuomo - whom used public office to assault women at work paying their rent — they now again want to throw out a democratic primary and install someone voters would never pick. It’s just how they do business.

Tom

Denver · July 8

@Bayliss Wagner And quickly with intensive vetting.

Meet me in the middle

NC · July 8

@Bayliss Wagner FYI, in the newest iOS app, the drop down box for related stories covers the link to comments. You have to scroll just the right way for comments to stay visible.

18more replies

ATTACHMENT NINETEEN – FROM CNN

THESE MAINE DEMOCRATS COULD RUN TO REPLACE GRAHAM PLATNER IN THE SENATE RACE

By Sarah Ferris

Maine Democrats now have less than three weeks to find a new candidate to take on the nation’s most formidable blue-state Republican in one of their party’s most important midterms contests.

With the party’s current nominee, Graham Platner, saying Wednesday he was suspending his campaign in the face of heavy intraparty pressure, a field of prospective candidates is quickly emerging to take on five-term GOP Sen. Susan Collins.

The behind-the-scenes scramble is being closely watched by Democrats in Washington, who see Maine as a critical seat in their effort to flip the Senate this November. But so far there’s no consensus pick, and anxiety is mounting inside the Democratic Party about how to elevate a top-tier nominee after Platner’s high-profile meltdown just 100 days from the election.

Before Platner announced he was dropping his bid, the Maine Democratic Party on Wednesday approved a plan to hold a nominating convention to select a new nominee if he stepped aside from the race. The party has until July 27 to choose an alternative.

Some of the declared and potential contenders — Nirav Shah, Troy Jackson and Shenna Bellows — are eyeing the Senate race fresh off their own failed gubernatorial bids. Jackson, a former state senator, and Bellows, the current Maine secretary of state, have described themselves as progressive populists, while Shah, a former high-ranking state and federal health official, is considered more moderate, with possible bipartisan appeal.

Shah and Jackson have announced they will be candidates.

In an interview Tuesday with CNN’s Erin Burnett, Jackson acknowledged the manic sprint that any post-Platner candidate would face. “Short timeline, obviously money and all that. It’s gonna be a challenge, but I definitely think it’s doable,” he said.

But as one strategist who’s worked on statewide Maine races acknowledged to CNN: “Running against Susan Collins would be night and day compared to a governor’s race.”

Another Democrat, Maine Beer Company co-founder Dan Kleban, formally declared for the race on Wednesday. He had initially run for this same primary last year, only to drop out when national Democrats brought their preferred candidate, Gov. Janet Mills, into the race. Kleban, who would need to build a campaign from the ground up, had been gauging interest among fellow Mainers.

“I believe I can unite our party and finally defeat Susan Collins in November,” Kleban wrote in a Substack post he later shared on X.

Platner has encouraged at least one Democrat in Maine to consider running, a source familiar with the matter said.

Platner called state Rep. Valli Geiger, a longtime backer, to “thank her for her support and encouraged her to consider running if he stepped down,” the source said.

“He’s not made any decision on endorsing,” the source added.

TROY JACKSON

The brash 58-year-old Jackson officially announced he would run for the Senate nomination Wednesday. Jackson is perhaps best-known to Maine progressives, campaigning alongside Platner and Sen. Bernie Sanders during his gubernatorial run this year.

A fifth-generation logger and a union member, Jackson is a onetime Republican turned 2016 Sanders voter. But he also comes with an ideological record that could give some Democrats pause: In his long state Senate career, Jackson voted against legalizing same-sex marriage, and has previously opposed abortion except in certain circumstances.

NIRAV SHAH

The former director of the state’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention had initially received the most votes in this year’s gubernatorial election, though he ultimately placed second after ranked-choice votes were reallocated.

Shah was tapped by Mills to lead the state’s health agency in 2019 and then led the state’s pandemic response. While he was a household name in Maine during the time, his critics point out that he did not grow up in the state and point out that he voted in Georgia in the 2024 election. (He had been tapped by the Biden administration as the No. 2 official at the national CDC in Atlanta, a job he held through Trump’s election.)

“This race is not about one person or one seat. It is about everyday Mainers,” Shah said in a statement Thursday as he announced his campaign for Senate. “I’ve shown up and fought for you before, and I am ready to do it again as your next United States Senator.”

SHENNA BELLOWS

Bellows has gained national attention for her role as Maine secretary of state, once declaring Trump as ineligible for her state’s 2024 ballot after the January 6 Capitol riot. (The Supreme Court later overturned her decision.)

She made her candidacy official in a news release Thursday, writing that she’s running “because I believe that together we can unify Democrats in Maine at this difficult time, and forge ahead with a campaign that fights for working people, stands up to a broken system that’s working against us, and defeats Susan Collins.”

The self-declared populist has run against Collins before, losing by 30 percentage points in the 2014 election — a terrible cycle for Democrats — without any support from the national party.

But her supporters insist that much has changed. This year, Bellows got more second-choice votes than any other candidate. That would mean that if the state re-ran the ranked choice votes for this year’s gubernatorial election without the winner, Hannah Pingree, then Bellows would be first.

Raised in a small town near Bar Harbor, Bellows grew up without electricity or running water until she was in grade school and has pitched herself as a champion for the working class.

DAN KLEBAN

Kleban is, so far, the only political outsider eying the race. A resident of Cumberland, Maine, which is just north of Portland, Kleban co-founded Maine Beer Company in 2009 after losing his job during the Great Recession. Before dropping his initial Senate bid last year, he focused his campaign on affordability and climate issues.

This time around, Kleban is signaling that he’ll aim his campaign squarely at “rigged corporate interests” and “Washington establishment insiders.”

VALLI GEIGER

The former Rockland mayor and current state representative has been an impassioned supporter of Platner, writing an op-ed in a local paper last fall headlined “Graham Platner deserves grace.”

Geiger spent decades working in health care, including as a registered nurse, and was elected to the Maine statehouse in 2020.

Jordan Wood

Jordan Wood, who lost in the Democratic primary for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, launched a Senate campaign on Thursday.

The Lewiston native, who was formerly California Rep. Katie Porter’s chief of staff, said he would seek the Senate nomination with a campaign funded by “grassroots donors” rather than corporate funds.

Wood campaigned for the Democratic Senate nomination last year before pivoting to run for Congress. He had previously called for Platner to drop out of the race.

“I have been told that I am too progressive, that I am too young, that a gay man can’t win,” Wood said in a statement on Thursday. “These cynics are wrong. They have been wrong all of our lives. They remain wrong today. I’m asking for your support to take back control of our party, and our country.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

ATTACHMENT TWENTY – FROM GUK

MAINE CONTENDERS: THE DEMOCRATS WHO COULD REPLACE GRAHAM PLATNER

Democrats have until 27 July to pick a new candidate to face Susan Collins in November – here are the options so far

By Joseph Gedeon Thu 9 Jul 2026 14.58 EDT

A month after he won Maine’s Democratic primary, Graham Platner, the oyster farmer turned insurgent candidate, has suspended his campaign after being accused by a former girlfriend of severely sexually assaulting her in 2021 – an allegation he denies as “categorically untrue”.

Now that Platner has said he will file paperwork to withdraw from the race, Maine Democrats have until 27 July to select a replacement to face Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent, in a race widely seen as pivotal to control of the Senate. The state party said on Wednesday it would hold a nominating convention to pick a new candidate.

But one complicating factor has been that Platner won more primary votes than any Democratic Senate candidate in the state’s history, and energized a coalition that the establishment favorite, Janet Mills, the state’s governor, never matched. Some have suggested that his successor will need to carry forward that energy, while others are arguing the new nominee will have to be independent from him, or risk being seen as his protege.

Whoever takes the position will have little time to prepare for a general election against Collins, a five-term incumbent. Here are the options so far.

TROY JACKSON

A logger and former state senate president, Jackson ran for governor this year with Bernie Sanders’ backing before losing the primary. Shortly after Platner’s announcement, Jackson said he was running. “I’m in. And we’re going to defeat Susan Collins,” he said.

He has already filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to form a Senate exploratory committee. Ro Khanna, the California congressman and a leading Platner ally before this week, has said publicly that Jackson should receive the nomination, describing him as “someone who has spent his life standing up for these progressive values”.

JANET MILLS

The sitting governor, who suspended her own Senate primary campaign before the vote, is not being discussed as a viable replacement, despite her national profile. She was being trounced in campaign spending and polling ahead of the primary vote, before her campaign came to an end, though she has clarified that she only suspended “active campaigning”.

VALLI GEIGER

A state representative from Rockland and an early Platner supporter, Geiger says Platner himself has asked her to run as his replacement. She told the Maine’s Total Coverage that Platner called her and offered to back her, telling her, in her retelling, that she had “been with this movement since the beginning”. Geiger said she accepted his support – which he has not confirmed publicly – but that she wanted the state party to run an “open” and “robust” process rather than have a nominee handed down.

NIRAV SHAH

The former director of Maine’s center for disease control and prevention, who became a familiar public face during the Covid pandemic, announced his candidacy for the Senate seat on Thursday

Shah, who ran and lost in the gubernatorial primary this year, has said his team has “received hundreds of encouraging messages” urging him to run for the Senate seat, and has called for the party to hold “a transparent and open” selection process, including at least one televised debate among contenders.

SHENNA BELLOWS

Maine’s secretary of state, and another defeated gubernatorial primary candidate, Bellows was beaten by Collins in the 2014 Senate race by more than 30 points.

She entered the race on Thursday, posting on social media that “it will be about the people of Maine, who are fighting so hard just to get by, pay the bills and save a little bit for their future.”

JORDAN WOOD

A former congressional chief of staff, Wood originally challenged Platner for the Senate nomination before switching to run in the second congressional district, where he ultimately lost.

He announced on Thursday that he would be running for the Senate seat.

PAIGE LOUD

A social worker who received about 10% of the vote in the same second district primary, Loud has already filed paperwork to run for the Senate seat. In a statement, she said that if Platner withdrew she was “prepared to carry forward the same pro-worker, anti-imperialist, anti-billionaire vision” from her congressional campaign. Her team said she was “being proactive in keeping options open for supporters across the state who have voiced a desire for a woman to be considered as the nominee”.

DAN KLEBAN

A co-founder of Maine Beer Company, Kleban ran in the Senate primary before dropping out earlier this year.

On Wednesday, he announced that he’s “in to replace Platner”, and cast the race as a referendum on Collins: “For too long, this race has been about everything but Susan Collins’s repeated failures to do what’s right for Maine,” he said, citing her votes to confirm judges who overturned federal abortion protections and her support for Donald Trump’s economic agenda.

Kleban said he had been “overwhelmed by the countless calls from Mainers” encouraging him to run, and called for “an open, transparent process” to choose the nominee over the next two weeks.

DAVID COSTELLO

A former Maryland state official who placed third in the June Senate primary, Costello wrote on Facebook that he was “back in” the race if Platner withdrew.

Shrai Popat contributed reporting

This article was amended on 9 July 2026. An earlier version said Janet Mills suspended her gubernatorial primary campaign; this should have said her Senate primary campaign.

ATTACHMENT TWENTY ONE – FROM NEWSWEEK VIA X

THE 10 DEMOCRATS WHO COULD REPLACE GRAHAM PLATNER: WHAT THE ODDS SHOW

By Khaleda Rahman Jul 09, 2026 at 10:30 AM EDT

Graham Platner’s withdrawal from the U.S. Senate race in Maine sets off a scramble for a replacement nominee in the high-stakes contest that could determine control of Congress.

Platner said he was suspending his campaign in a 11-minute video posted on social media on Wednesday, after coming under pressure to withdraw following an allegation of sexual assault that he has denied.

The political newcomer had weathered numerous scandals to clinch the Democratic nomination in a June primary, but support cratered after Politico reported on Monday that a woman who once dated Platner said he had entered her home while drunk in 2021 and forced her to have sex despite her repeated objections. After the story was published, Platner denied the allegation as "categorically false" but said he would be "taking the time to reflect on the best path forward" for his campaign.

I Dated Graham Platner. I Believe Jenny Racicot and Lyndsey Fifield.

Zohran Mamdani’s Freezer Burn Socialism

Who Could Replace Graham Platner in Maine Race? Nine Possible Contenders

Maine election law allows Democrats to replace Platner before November’s election. Party officials may select a new nominee if the nominee withdraws by 5 p.m. on July 13. The replacement candidate must be named by July 27.

The state Democratic Party held an emergency meeting on Wednesday, where more than 100 state committee members signed off on holding a nominating convention in the event that Platner withdrew.

The race is crucial for Democrats, who need to pick up four seats to gain control of the Senate in November. Maine is viewed as one of the party's best opportunities to flip a Republican-held seat.

With Platner’s departure, a battle is now underway to decide who would be the strongest candidate to defeat five-term incumbent Susan Collins, though party factions are divided over how the new nominee should be selected.

Here, Newsweek takes a look at 10 of the names that have been floated as possible replacements for Platner—and the current odds of them being selected as the new nominee.

TROY JACKSON

Jackson, 58, the former Maine Senate president who came in third in Maine’s Democratic gubernatorial primary last month, has emerged as the favorite to replace Platner.

A progressive who supported Platner’s campaign before calling on him to leave the race following the sexual assault allegation, Jackson told Newsweek in an interview on Wednesday that he is the strongest candidate to carry forward the energy Platner brought to the race. Some of Platner’s backers, including Representative Ro Khanna, have rallied behind Jackson, a logger from Allagash.

In a post on X after Platner announced he would withdraw, Jackson wrote: "I’m in. And we're going to defeat Susan Collins. Maine deserves a Senator that will fight for working families."

Prediction markets show Jackson is the front-runner. As of Thursday morning, Kalshi gives him a 45 percent chance of being the Maine Democratic Senate nominee on July 31. Polymarket gives him odds of 54 percent.

SHENNA BELLOWS

Bellows, 51, is Maine’s Secretary of State and came fourth in Democratic primary for governor. She made national headlines for attempts to remove President Donald Trump from the ballot in the 2024 presidential race.

In an interview on CNN on Wednesday, she said she was "seriously considering" entering the race to replace Platner.

"We need a candidate with backbone who can unite that party together and Maine voters. And I think I'm the best person to beat Susan Collins in November," she said.

According to Kalshi, Bellows’ odds of being the nominee are 31 percent as of early Thursday. Polymarket gives her odds of 30 percent.

NIRAV SHAH

Shah, 49, is the former director of the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who came in second in Maine's Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Shah announced on Thursday that he would run in the race to replace Platner, as well as a series of town halls across the state.

In a statement to Newsweek, he said the movement that backed Platner has a place in his campaign.

"Establishment politicians have failed us. Maine deserves a fighter in this seat, and I will be that fighter," he said.

"This race is not about one person or one seat. It is about everyday Mainers. I’ve shown up and fought for you before, and I am ready to do it again as your next United States Senator."

Polymarket on Thursday gives Shah a 13 percent chance of being the new nominee, while Kalshi gives him a 15 percent chance.

JANET MILLS

Mills, 78, has been Maine’s governor since 2019 and her current term ends in January. She ran for the Democratic nomination for Senate, but suspended her campaign in April, citing a lack of campaign funds.

She declined to endorse Platner after suspending her campaign, and has not spoken about whether she would run to replace him.

Polymarket currently gives her a 3 percent chance of being the new nominee, while Kalshi gives her a 2 percent chance.

DAN KLEBAN

Kleban, 48, founder of the Maine Beer Company, had earlier run in the Senate race but dropped out and endorsed Mills after she announced she was running.

In a statement on Wednesday, he announced his entry in the race to replace Platner and said he was the best person to "unite our party and finally defeat Susan Collins in November."

He called for an "open, transparent process" to select the new nominee, adding that he was ready to bring a "new generation of leadership in Washington."

Kleban’s odds of being the new nominee are at 6 percent on Kalshi and 2 percent on Polymarket.

SARA GIDEON

Gideon, 54, is the former speaker of the House of Representatives who unsuccessfully ran for Senate against Collins in 2020.

She has not publicly addressed whether she could enter the race to replace Platner. She reportedly had nearly $2.7 million in campaign funds as of April 2026, according to an FEC filing.

Kalshi gives her a 2 percent chance of being the new nominee.

VALLI GEIGER

Geiger, a nurse who has served in the Maine House of Representatives since 2020, said in a post on Facebook that she is among several candidates that Platner is backing to run in the race to replace him.

"He told me he sees me as a fighter who will work to protect the movement during this transition," she wrote.

Geiger said that she supports a nominating process that would "bring the delegates together, take nominations from the floor, give the candidates an opportunity to speak and then allow the delegates to vote."

Polymarket and Kalshi both give her a 2 percent chance of replacing Platner as the nominee.

JORDAN WOOD

Wood, 36, who formerly served as former Representative Katie Porter’s chief of staff, left the Senate race after Mills entered.

He told USA Today he would be open to running to replace Platner "if my fellow Maine Democrats decide through an open and democratic process" to choose him. Mainers "deserve a candidate who will provide a true contrast, and run on a progressive platform, fighting to pass Medicare for All, stop ICE terrorizing our streets, and stand up to Donald Trump’s abuse of power," he said.

Polymarket gives him less than a 1 percent chance of being the new nominee as of early Thursday.

AARON FREY

Frey, 46, is in his final term as Maine’s attorney general, having served in the role since 2019. He previously served in the Maine House of Representatives.

Frey has not publicly weighed in on whether he would enter the race to replace Platner. His odds of being the next nominee were less than 1 percent on Polymarket early Thursday.

DAVID COSTELLO

Costello, who also ran in the Democratic primary for Senate and received about 8 percent of the vote, said on Tuesday that he would be "back in" the race if Platner drops out..

His Senate campaign website described him as the candidate with the "background and experience" to defeat Collins.

Costello’s chances of replacing Platner were not available as of early Thursday.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Tony Phillips

ATTACHMENT TWENTY TWO – FROM AI OVERVIEW ANSWER

IS KING A RAPIST?

No, Stephen King is not a rapist. There are no credible allegations, charges, or public accusations of sexual assault against the acclaimed horror author. [1]

Public confusion surrounding the name occasionally arises from a few different sources, which can easily be distinguished:

Steve King (Former Congressman): The former U.S. Representative from Iowa made controversial statements in the past defending rape and incest, leading to frequent public confusion with the author. [1]
Controversial Literature: King frequently features dark and violent themes in his horror novels, including acts of sexual violence, which has drawn critical discussion over the years. However, this is a matter of his fictional writing, not personal conduct. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Political Commentary: King has previously faced online criticism for defending or commenting on political figures and candidates facing sexual assault allegations, which sometimes causes brief social media backlash. [1, 2, 3]

ATTACHMENT TWENTY THREE – FROM SNOPES

DID STEPHEN KING RESPOND TO PLATNER ALLEGATIONS BY WRITING, 'LET HIM WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST STONE'?

Politico published a story citing a woman who accused the Democratic Senate candidate from Maine of rape.

By Anna Rascouët-Paz Published July 8, 2026

After Politico reported an allegation in July 2026 that Maine's Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner had raped a woman, author Stephen King said, "Tell you what — if you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty. Jesus said, 'Let him without sin cast the first stone.'"

King posted these words on X, after saying, "Graham Platner may drop out. (I hope he doesn't, but...) Meanwhile, the Abuser in Chief just keeps on keepin' on," referring to U.S. President Donald Trump.

After Politico reported an allegation in early July 2026 that Maine's Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner had raped a woman, a rumor spread that author Stephen King responded, "Tell you what — if you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty. Jesus said, 'Let him without sin cast the first stone.'"

Screenshots of King's alleged post circulated on social media, including Threads, X and Bluesky (archived), where one user shared the screenshot with a series of question marks:

Meanwhile, Snopes readers emailed to ask if the screenshots showed a real post.

These words were correctly attributed to King, who posted them on X immediately after saying he hoped Platner would not drop out of the Senate race. We reached out to King for comment and will update this story should he respond.

Controversies surrounding Platner

On July 6, Politico published a report detailing an allegation made by Jenny Racicot, who said she dated Platner on and off from 2019 to 2021. She alleged Platner let himself into her house one evening, smelling of alcohol and acting drunk, and raped her.

Politico's article came just over a month after a New York Times story described Platner as having a troubled history with women. The article quoted several women — including Racicot, who reportedly described his behavior as "reckless" and "unsettling," without elaborating on the reason she deemed it so.

The Times story also cited a woman named Lindsey Fifield, who also dated Platner. Fifield contradicted Platner's campaign's assertion that he did not know a tattoo on his chest was a skull-and-crossbones "totenkopf" — German for "death's head" — known to be a symbol of the Nazi Reich's Schutzstaffel. Fifield said he knew what the tattoo meant, the Times reported.

KING'S HISTORY OF SUPPORT FOR PLATNER

On June 9, after The New York Times published its article, King, who lives in Maine, said on Bluesky he had voted for Platner in that day's primary election (archived):

Following Politico's report in July, several prominent figures who had previously endorsed Platner said they no longer would support his bid for the U.S. Senate, including U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, and Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts who campaigned with Platner, reportedly said he should leave the race.

Two and a half hours after Politico published Racicot's detailed allegation, King reiterated his support of Platner in two X posts. In the first, which was no longer available on July 7, he said he hoped Platner would not drop out of the race (archived)::

Two minutes later, he added that no one in Congress was innocent and appeared to urge forgiveness for Platner, quoting Jesus (archived):

The next day, King wrote (archived) that he wasn't defending Platner and that "if he committed rape, he should bow out."

For further reading, Snopes has covered several rumors of male politicians physically or sexually assaulting women, including the claim that U.S. Rep. Max Miller, an Ohio Republican, threw boiling water at his ex-wife.

ATTACHMENT TWENTY FOUR – FROM THE IRISH TIMES VIA MSN

STEPHEN KING BACKTRACKS AFTER CONTROVERSIAL GRAHAM PLATNER COMMENTS

Story by Averee Nelson

Famous horror author Stephen King is facing backlash on social media after a series of controversial posts regarding Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner.

King appeared to backtrack on X after reportedly deleting a post that appeared to suggest support for Platner, following sexual assault allegations made against the Maine Senate candidate on Monday.

In a series of three interviews, Jenny Racicot, a 41-year-old Maine resident, told Politico that Platner entered her home uninvited and forced her to have sex with him in 2021, an allegation that Platner has denied. Platner told Politico in a statement: “These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue.”

A second woman, Lyndsey Fifield, who dated Platner from 2013 to 2015, told The Washington Post on Tuesday that he allegedly removed condoms during sex without her consent.

In a statement to The Washington Post, Platner’s campaign called the allegation “categorically false and politically motivated.”

King, who grew up in Maine and now spends time between Maine and Florida, shared some thoughts on X about Platner.

On Monday, the esteemed author wrote, “Tell you what--if you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty. Jesus said, ‘Let him without sin cast the first stone.’”

If you can't view the post above, click here.

However, before that post, multiple outlets, including The Hill and Fox News, have reported that he weighed in on the allegations against Platner on X before deleting the post.

The X post he later deleted said, “Graham Platner may drop out. (I hope he doesn’t, but.) Meanwhile, the Abuser in Chief just keeps on keepin’ on.” King’s X post that was deleted has also been archived on Perma.cc, a web archive tool developed by Harvard’s Library Innovation Lab.

On Tuesday, King appeared to backtrack on his comments after facing backlash on social media. He posted on X, “Not defending Grah, Platner. If he committed rape, he should bow out. Just making a comparison.” He followed up with another post to correct his misspelling of “Graham.”

On June 9, on Bluesky — the open network microblogging social media service that’s an alternative to X — King had shared that he “voted for Platner.”

Among the critics of King’s post, political commentator Kevin Dalton said on X: “After severe backlash from clearly defending Graham Platner, Stephen King now thinks rape is bad and Platner should drop out.”

Columnist Jonah Goldberg also wrote on X, “LOLOLOLOL. So because we don’t know about hypothetical rapey legislators, we should forgive the ones we do know about.”

Platner addressed the allegations made against him in a video post to X on Monday, saying they were “categorically false.”

“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward,” he continued.

Platner has since lost critical support from members of his party, including Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Zohran Mamdani, among others who have asked him to withdraw from the race.

ATTACHMENT TWENTY FIVE – FROM SLAY NEWS

STEPHEN KING DELETES POST BACKING GRAHAM PLATNER OVER RAPE ALLEGATION AFTER SEVERE BACKLASH

By David Lindfield

July 8, 2026 - 10:00 am

Author Stephen King deleted a post that appeared to support Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner after a woman accused the candidate of sexually assaulting her in 2021.

King later said that if Platner “committed rape,” he should leave the race.

The controversy erupted after Maine resident Jenny Racicot, 41, told POLITICO that Platner entered her home uninvited and raped her despite her repeatedly begging him to stop.

Racicot described Platner as “almost blackout drunk” during the alleged incident.

Platner denied the allegation in the story.

Since the report was published, several prominent Democrats have called on Platner to suspend his campaign, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), one of his allies.

King, however, initially suggested that he hoped Platner would stay in the race.

“Graham Platner may drop out. (I hope he doesn’t, but.),” King wrote.

“Meanwhile, the Abuser in Chief just keeps on keepin’ on.”

KING DELETES POST AFTER BACKLASH

King deleted the post but continued commenting on the controversy.

“Tell you what–if you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty,” King wrote.

“Jesus said, ‘Let him without sin cast the first stone.’”

The post drew immediate backlash from users who accused King of minimizing a serious sexual assault allegation.

Critics argued that King appeared more concerned with keeping Platner in the Senate race than with the accusation made by Racicot.

King then attempted to clarify his position.

“Not defending Grah [sic] Platner,” King wrote.

“If he committed rape, he should bow out.

“Just making a comparison.”

The follow-up did little to quiet criticism.

Political commentator Kevin Dalton accused King of trying to walk back his earlier comments.

“After severe backlash from clearly defending Graham Platner, Stephen King now thinks rape is bad and Platner should drop out,” Dalton said.

Journalist Paul D. Thacker also criticized King’s explanation.- -

“This is me comparing what you’re saying now to what you said defending Graham Platner,” Thacker wrote.

Podcast host Alec Lace pointed to Platner’s earlier scandals while blasting King.

“Remember, King is ok with The Nazi Totenkopf tattoo Graham having Rape fantasies His Sexting & predator platform activity,” Lace wrote.

Bottom of Form

Platner’s campaign has been thrown into crisis by the sexual assault allegation.

The scandal comes as Democrats attempt to defeat Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races.

Platner had already faced controversy before the latest accusation.

Those controversies included a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, offensive online comments, and scrutiny over activity on Kik, an app critics have described as dangerous for minors.

The sexual assault allegation has now triggered far more serious political fallout.

Democrats who once backed Platner have begun calling on him to drop out.

If Platner suspends his campaign before 5 p.m. next Monday, July 13, the Maine Democratic Party can replace him on the general election ballot.

The party would then need to select a replacement candidate by July 27.

Platner has not announced that he will step aside.

Instead, his campaign said it would take “time to reflect on the best path forward.”

DEMOCRATS FACE MAINE SENATE CHAOS

King’s deleted post adds another layer to the turmoil surrounding Platner’s campaign.

The author has long been one of the Left’s loudest celebrity voices and a frequent critic of President Donald Trump.

But his initial response to the Platner scandal drew criticism from people who said he appeared willing to excuse or downplay the allegation because of partisan politics.

The timing is especially damaging for Democrats.

They are trying to salvage a Senate race that had already become engulfed in scandal.

Now, one of their high-profile cultural allies has been pulled into the controversy after appearing to hope Platner would remain in the race despite the accusation.

King eventually said Platner should drop out if he “committed rape.”

But by then, the damage had already been done.

His deleted post showed how quickly partisan loyalty can collide with the standards Democrats claim to hold when allegations hit one of their own candidates.

Maine Democrats Face New Chaos as Potential Graham Platner Replacement Hit with Assault Allegation

the DON JONES INDEX…