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In reply to the discussion: Graham Platner ends U.S. Senate campaign in Maine [View all]pat_k
(14,738 posts)Now that Platner is no longer the nominee, Simon is expressing his negative assessment of him more clearly. Before he was nominated, Simon expressed reservations about an unvetted candidate. After he was nominated, he was fundraising and calling on folks to help make the campaign successful. He now seems to have concluded that Platner was gaslighting people on multiple fronts -- including the strength of his support and ability to beat Collins.
As he points out, almost any way you look at it statistically, Platner was under-performing relative to where he should have been. And this indicates less of a "movement" than the accepted narrative would indicate.
My views are less clear. But I did take time to revisit the following Washington Post Op Ed from June 8. I just sort of wrote it off when it came out just before the primary. I'm still processing all the various views on Platner, but I may be starting to lean toward the "gaslighting" view. And from that perspective, caution about accepting the narrative that he was the leader of powerful movement without question is prudent.
Here's that op ed:
https://wapo.st/4h0gHJF
I quit the campaign last fall, disturbed by what I'd learned about the Maine Democratic Senate primary candidate
June 8, 2026
Genevieve McDonald, a former Maine state representative, is the former political director of Graham Platners Democratic Senate primary campaign in Maine.
...
Not sure if this addresses your question. My thinking on Platner is in flux, so I'm not being very clear
On edit: Back to the "distance" thing. I'd be happy if Troy Jackson, who campaigned with Platner, were the new nominee, so I guess I disagree with the distance thing. But I think I would be happier with Bellows. She's a fighter and having a woman after this fatally flawed man seems fitting.