Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for U.S. senator in Maine, formally suspended his campaign on Wednesday night after he lost support from virtually every Democrat who had once backed him, following a series of rape and sexual abuse allegations against him. Platner announced his decision in a video on social media. “We believe that for the movement to continue it can’t be me — and…
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For nine months, Graham Platner’s supporters have insisted that Democrats should ignore the mounting evidence of his personal foibles and political vulnerabilities — and support his bid for the Senate in Maine.
They argued that his Nazi “Totenkopf” tattoo was a youthful indiscretion and parroted his ludicrous argument that he didn’t know the origins of the Nazi insignia that was on his chest for 18 years before he covered it up with more ink. They waved away his dozens of racist, misogynistic and, frankly, creepy Reddit posts. They said his sexting with as many as a dozen women soon after his wedding was between him and his wife. They insisted that he was the best candidate to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, even as polling showed him badly underperforming other Maine Democrats.
On Monday, they ran out of excuses and rationalizations.
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‘Betrayal’: Nicolle and Alex Wagner react to Graham Platner sexual assault allegations
July 7, 2026 / 11:58
Politico published long-rumored allegations that Platner hadn’t merely mistreated past girlfriends — as was alleged last month — but sexually assaulted a woman he had dated.
Jenny Racicot’s story of Platner’s alleged assault is stomach-turning, and while some Democrats will seemingly excuse antisemitism, a Nazi tattoo and persistently bad behavior toward women, sexual assault is the line the party won’t cross.
Within hours of the report, Platner’s former allies began abandoning him en masse. Now it’s merely a question of when, not if, Platner drops out of the race and is replaced by a less scandal-ridden Democrat.
But Democrats can’t so easily sweep this mess under the rug. There are painful but necessary lessons to be learned from Platner’s
The Justice Department on Tuesday sent letters to top election officials nationwide threatening them with criminal prosecution if noncitizens cast ballots that are counted in elections, according to one of the letters sent to a state and reviewed by MS NOW.
The letters, sent to all 50 states, demand that election officials show how they are complying with federal law on voter eligibility. They were sent by Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general who leads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“Any election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens on the state’s [voter list] or facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability,” Dhillon wrote in the letter.
Those who “fail to carry out their duties,” she wrote, face “potential criminal penalties.”
The warning comes as the Trump administration has made what it describes as election integrity a central priority, arguing that stronger enforcement is necessary to bolster public confidence in elections. Election officials and voting rights advocates, however, have long maintained that instances of noncitizen voting are exceedingly rare and warn that heightened enforcement efforts could discourage eligible voters from participating.
Dhillon asked election officials to respond “within five days” and include details on how their state “intends to ensure it is complying with these federal laws both at the state and local level and how the Department can assist in those efforts.”
It is unclear which states will respond or what DOJ’s response will be to those who do not.
“The Department sent these letters to all 50 states and the District of Columbia, asking for voluntary compliance in a timely manner with
The last time a Senate seat came open in Michigan, fewer than 20,000 votes separated Democrats from their victory in 2024 and what would have represented a dramatic end to a long running winning streak.
Almost two years later, with another Senate seat at risk, the party is now facing a polarizing inflection point over how to win again in a far different political environment. The Aug. 4 primary race and a contentious Tuesday debate represents a bigger choice for Democratic voters:Who can actually beat a GOP opponent in November. And that choice comes with higher stakes than recent contests in New York and Colorado, where farther to the left contenders in U.S. House races don’t have a challenging general election awaiting them in the fall.
“The one thing that I do is I win tough races,” said Rep. Haley Stevens, who also claimed during the debate that her Democratic rival, progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed, is attempting to become “a celebrity senator.”
The public display showed how fraught the contest has become between the moderate and progressive factions within the left.
“There’s a reason that both Chuck Schumer and Donald Trump don’t want to see me on the inside of the U.S. Senate, because I’m a threat to politics as usual,” said El-Sayed, who also countered that “we also don’t need politicians bought off by corporations.”
The stakes are significant for Democrats. If they lose Michigan, their already narrow path to winning back the Senate from Republicans in this fall’s midterms would effectively be done in. The party likely has to hold purple seats like this one, then win back four seats from the GOP
Establishment Democrats have racked up disastrous electoral losses over the past decade—so why are they furious when their own party actually wins? Taya Graham and Stephen Janis break down the meltdown of Democratic “centrist” operatives and pundits after recent socialist victories in New York and Colorado, from James Carville calling for a party “schism” to Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s panicking about the future of the party on CNN. Plus: we revisit our interviews with actual Mamdani voters—the people the mainstream media refuses to talk to.
Credits:
Production / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino, Stephen Janis
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated as soon as possible.
Taya Graham:
Establishment Democrats have racked up a lot of losses over the past decade. So why are they so angry when members of their own party win and how do they need to change if they ever want to win again? Well, Steven Janice and I will break down the profound need for change for Democrats in this episode of the Capitol Hill Inequality Report. Hello, my name is Taya Graham and welcome to the Are You Serious Edition of our Inequality Watch Capitol Hill Report? As in, are you serious Democrats that you don’t want to listen to your own voters? And are you seriously going to brush off the results when Democratic socialists win as some sort of existential threat to your party? Well, we’re going to unpack what’s at the root of this state of denial and provide some analysis of why Democrats might not be able to overcome the fact that they are more afraid of socialism than losing.
Of course,
Pete Buttigieg endorsed Jocelyn Benson in her campaign for Michigan governor on Monday, weighing in on a race he was once a favorite to win and wielding his influence in a swing state that will be critical to Democrats’ efforts to win the Senate this fall and retake the White House in 2028. The endorsement from Buttigieg, a rumored 2028 presidential hopeful with a high national profile, marks the former transportation secretary’s first endorsement of a statewide candidate in Michigan and is likely to boost Benson ahead of a competitive general election fight.
“In Michigan, I’ve seen firsthand how Jocelyn Benson has delivered for the people of this state and shown how government can make everyday life better throughout her public service,” Buttigieg said in a statement provided to MS NOW ahead of the endorsement. “I know Jocelyn, and I am confident she will be an excellent governor.”
Benson has won statewide before and is Michigan’s current secretary of state.
Buttigieg appeared with Benson at a campaign event in Traverse City, Michigan, where he has lived since 2022. They’re slated to speak about “lowering costs for Michigan families, defending democracy and building an economy where everyone has the opportunity to succeed,” according to Benson’s campaign. Benson has made affordability the centerpiece of her platform, traveling across the state in recent weeks as part of an ongoing “Costs Down, Wages Up” tour.
During his remarks, Buttigieg framed Benson as a check on President Donald Trump, pointing to the role state leaders specifically play in steering Medicaid, infrastructure and economic policy.
“The truth is there’s only so much we can do about that office at this moment,