# New Maine Senate race thread, moving on from Platner. (SO DON'T TALK ABOUT PLATNER) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 9, 2026, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527 "2026-07-09T00:35:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/41 "2026-07-09T18:38:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Why would Costello be a stupid choice? I don’t know anything about Costello so I can’t say he’s a stupid choice. My point is that your _reason_ for selecting him, that he was a distant third place in a race where two dropped out, is a stupid reason to pick him as the candidate. > [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@TroutMan](#): > > > > For two reasons: first, the more centrist Democrats who lead the Maine party remain convinced that the key to victory is moving to the center. > > Cite? The centrist Janet Mills was the strong preference of party leadership until she dropped out. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/42 "2026-07-09T18:40:13Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > The centrist Janet Mills was the strong preference of party leadership until she dropped out. Cite? Since Platner got plenty of endorsements from highly placed Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/43 "2026-07-09T18:48:18Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Ignoring the base does not result in victory. In primaries, you are correct. In general elections, sure it does. See [Professor Anthony Fowler Discusses the 2024 Presidential Election and the Median Voter](https://harris.uchicago.edu/news-events/news/qa-professor-anthony-fowler-discusses-2024-presidential-election-and-median-voter). If you look at the Democratic House members in districts Trump wins the most strongly, like Jared Golden and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, they do ignore the Democratic Party base. If we go back further, the Democrats got the era of relative dominance over the GOP, that began in the 1930’s, by turning against their base in the South so they could win over Black Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/44 "2026-07-09T18:58:27Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Platner got plenty of endorsements from highly placed Democrats. Platner got endorsements from progressives like Bernie. All the other highly placed Democrats you mention only endorsed Platner after Mills had sunk so low that her defeat was obvious. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/45 "2026-07-09T19:00:00Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > In general elections, sure it does. See [Professor Anthony Fowler Discusses the 2024 Presidential Election and the Median Voter](https://harris.uchicago.edu/news-events/news/qa-professor-anthony-fowler-discusses-2024-presidential-election-and-median-voter). That analysis starts with the statement that Donald Trump is moderate and Kamala Harris was extreme. Do you really want to use that to prove your point? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/46 "2026-07-09T19:03:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m assuming that the gubernatorial primary was on the same ballot as the senate primary, and that most people who bother to turn out for one will vote on both. And Platner probably motivated a lot of people to come out, one way or the other, while Collins didn’t have any meaningful primary opposition . Here we go. Broadly, Collins’ percentages in the US Senate general elections have been moving with the gubernatorial primary percentages. The upcoming Maine US Senate general election, Collins vs Democratic opponent, will be a test of the hypothesis. [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/qKS7Fk6.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/sBt60OS) EDIT: Sorry, that’s gonna be rough on a phone. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/47 "2026-07-09T19:21:06Z")
This nicely explains the situation. The people who are concerned about the process are _progressives_ worried that the Party elites will take advantage of the situation to nominate someone well to the right of Platner. They are not, for the most part, “Platner supporters”, in the sense that they are not motivated by a belief that Platner himself has been ill-treated. It does seem, though, that a consensus is forming that Jackson is the logical choice, so hopefully this can be resolved quickly. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/48 "2026-07-09T19:22:15Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > That analysis starts with the statement that Donald Trump is moderate and Kamala Harris was extreme. Do you really want to use that to prove your point? Obviously, yes. But consider that the word extreme has no meaning except in comparison to something else. In this case, it is the opinions of the median general election voter. They had a different take on Kamala Harris than I did, and probably different from yours as well. As for Trump, based on polls, I think they are finally noticing he is extreme. I am not saying that Maine Democrats need to pick Jared Golden to beat Collins. I think they can get away with someone less conservative. If Democrats mostly care about winning, just so long as the candidate isn’t the next Sinema or Manchin, they should ignore their base and pick a less progressive liberal – ideally who isn’t a senior citizen. As I’ve said, Nirav Shah seems to meet the bill. Progressives will notice that he isn’t white, and talks about a rigged economy. I think that will be enough to get their votes. ---
**Author:** ![Calder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Calder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calder)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/49 "2026-07-09T21:19:50Z")
It sounds like Maine has settled on a process for selecting their Democratic nominee, and I’m relieved it’s an actual structured process with real voting involved. That at least prevents Collins from claiming it was all **back‑room politics** or that the party just hand‑picked someone. It’s not perfect — nothing thrown together on this short notice would be — but it’s a legitimate mechanism. From what’s been reported: - A nominating convention of a little over 600 members will make the final choice. - The 113 members of the state party are automatically part of it. - 500 additional delegates will be selected proportionally by their county committees. - To get on the ballot, a candidate needs 200 signatures from Maine voters. Hopefully there’s still time to organize at least a single debate. I don’t know much about how the Maine Democratic Party works at the local level, but my guess is that this setup probably favors centrist Democrats over more left‑leaning progressives. On the other hand, Platner did have a lot of local support, so it’s entirely possible those county committees are more progressive than I’m assuming. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/50 "2026-07-09T21:24:58Z")
I feel a little bad for the people of Maine. Can you imagine how many polls they’re going to be subject to in the next two weeks? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/51 "2026-07-09T21:26:55Z")
Politics is not one-dimensional. There are some voters who like “moderate” candidates. There are also some voters who like extreme candidates, including some who like both extremes, but don’t like the center. Clinton was surely more moderate than Sanders, but Sanders polled better against Trump than Clinton did. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/52 "2026-07-09T21:31:51Z")
**Moderating** Reminder, this thread is about current Maine Senator election and not any past Presidential elections. Don’t use Chronos’ post to go off topic. ---
**Author:** ![Calder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Calder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calder)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/53 "2026-07-09T21:37:48Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I feel a little bad for the people of Maine. Can you imagine how many polls they’re going to be subject to in the next two weeks? Ugg, that is painful to even contemplate. I know for at least me, that after a certain point of seeing enough TV ads, the TV ads actually push me away from a candidate and not towards them, even if it is someone I like. At a certain point, I just get tired of being screamed at and want them to just go away. I don’t think I am the only one with that reaction. I wonder if anyone has done a study showing that campaign advertising after a certain point is having negative effects for their candidate. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/54 "2026-07-10T19:44:10Z")
Is it that bad? I live in FL and have never been polled. They only call like a thousand people, usually less. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2026, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/55 "2026-07-11T13:47:54Z")
They might only call 1000 people, but if you’re one of the 1000 they pick, they will keep on calling, again and again, as long as it takes, until you answer the survey. Because if they only get answers from those people eager to complete surveys, it’ll skew their sample. So if you do find yourself getting called by pollsters, just cooperate and get it done with; it’ll be easier in the long run. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2026, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/56 "2026-07-11T13:50:24Z")
And it’s not just one survey. It’s surveys sponsored by every potential candidate plus surveys from every media outlet, all compressed into two weeks. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/57 "2026-07-13T16:53:57Z")
For those who are interested, the Maine Democratic Party announced the [procedures for the upcoming nominating convention](https://mainedems.org/mdp-announces-procedures-for-delegate-nominating-meetings-at-which-counties-will-select-convention-delegates/). > **Key points:** > > - Delegate Nominating Meetings will be held July 18-19 in all 16 counties, either in person or virtually, as determined by each county chair. > > - The date, time, and location of each meeting will be announced by the Maine Democratic Party by Wednesday, July 15. > > - All Democrats registered in the county as of June 9, 2026, and listed as verified in the MDP Voter File, are eligible to participate and vote in their county’s Delegate Nominating Meeting. > > - Participants are encouraged to pre-register by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 16 through the MDP website. > > - Anyone interested in serving as a delegate must file a declaration of intent by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15 through the MDP website. > > - Counties will administer one round of voting. The people receiving the most votes up to the number of delegates and alternates will be elected as such to the Nominating Convention. > > - Delegates elected during the county meetings will represent their counties at the July 25 Nominating Convention, where 601 delegates will select the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/58 "2026-07-13T17:52:07Z")
> [@ShadowFacts](#): > > For those who are interested, the Maine Democratic Party announced the [procedures for the upcoming nominating convention](https://mainedems.org/mdp-announces-procedures-for-delegate-nominating-meetings-at-which-counties-will-select-convention-delegates/). Nice Cite thank you. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/59 "2026-07-13T21:10:31Z")
Looks like a pretty good procedure considering the time limitations. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527/60 "2026-07-13T21:24:59Z")
From the link: > [@](#): > > The convention will be made up of 601 delegates from all 16 counties. Of those delegates, 101 will be members of the Democratic State Committee, who have been duly elected by Maine voters. The remaining 500 will be delegates appointed from each county. I’m confused about those 101, and whether they’re likely to vote as a bloc. Obviously I’m on the far left end of things and want someone with strong progressive values to win, and I’ve been deeply skeptical of the Democratic Party for the last 40 years; but I also don’t want to see scale-thumbing in a process when it’s not there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-maine-senate-race-thread-moving-on-from-platner-so-dont-talk-about-platner/1031527.md?page=4)