DSA losing to republican in key senate race

[Elliott]

 

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5949541-susan-collins-graham-platner-maine-senate-race-fox-survey/

Collins leading Platner

2 hours ago — Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is narrowly leading Democratic candidate Graham Platner in the Maine Senate race, according to a new survey

[Raze]

Collins easily beat every normie dem that was thrown at her for decades. It’s obviously time to try something different. 

Edited yesterday at 06:33 PM by Raze

[Elliott]

1 hour ago, Raze said:

Collins easily beat every normie dem that was thrown at her for decades. It’s obviously time to try something different. 

'Thought-terminating cliché '

The normie already won the entire state, she's the governor. Higher popularity than mamdahni in nyc.

Edited yesterday at 07:59 PM by Elliott

[Hardkill]

Platner is not a DSA candidate. He’s a pro labor progressive capitalist. 
 

Also, we don’t know how accurate that poll is.

[Hardkill]

7 hours ago, Elliott said:

'Thought-terminating cliché '

The normie already won the entire state, she's the governor. Higher popularity than mamdahni in nyc.

Janet Mills did win a state wide election in Maine, but she’s become an old uninspiring establishment favored candidate. 
 

Graham Platner has already shown such talent in being able to beat an establishment favored candidate without going too far to the left, without running on any authoritarian or unpopular policies and ideas. He also won the nomination while withstanding such scandals.
 

He’s also running on ideas and policies and a vision that are all broadly popular with Maine and the rest of America. 
 

I think that he has the charisma of Trump or Bill Clinton, but in a more Teddy Roosevelt anti-oligarch manner.

If he wins this race, then he might very well be one of the truly few men who can lead our country into a war against Trumpism/MAGA.

[Elliott]

@Hardkill

 

"Platner currently trails incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins by 21 points, 37% to 58%, with registered voters who do not hold a four-year college degree, according to a New York Times/Portland Press Herald/Siena poll released on Monday.  "

"the September 2020 New York Times/Siena poll, Collins led Democrat Sara Gideon by just 48%-45% with White non-college-educated voters, a 20-point swing from six years ago in a race Collins won by about nine points statewide."

"Additionally, the poll shows Platner up 37 points with White college-educated voters but trailing Collins by 23 points with White non-college-educated voters."

 

 

The Maine Monitor

https://themainemonitor.org

Sanders scolds Democrats for encouraging Mills to run for Senate

Oct 9, 2025 — Bernie Sanders believes Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and veteran, is the best candidate to flip the Maine seat

[Hardkill]

11 minutes ago, Elliott said:

@Hardkill

 

"Platner currently trails incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins by 21 points, 37% to 58%, with registered voters who do not hold a four-year college degree, according to a New York Times/Portland Press Herald/Siena poll released on Monday.  "

"the September 2020 New York Times/Siena poll, Collins led Democrat Sara Gideon by just 48%-45% with White non-college-educated voters, a 20-point swing from six years ago in a race Collins won by about nine points statewide."

"Additionally, the poll shows Platner up 37 points with White college-educated voters but trailing Collins by 23 points with White non-college-educated voters."

 

 

The Maine Monitor

https://themainemonitor.org

Sanders scolds Democrats for encouraging Mills to run for Senate

Oct 9, 2025 — Bernie Sanders believes Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and veteran, is the best candidate to flip the Maine seat

Janet Mills is an old uninspiring establishment candidate. She didn't run a bold vision for change. The country, especially Maine, hates the establishment more than ever before and demands greater change.

Dan Pfieffer from Pod Save America said before she dropped out of the face for the nomination: 

"In a different era, Janet Mills would be a top-tier, A-plus recruit. She’s a two-term, popular governor with a history of winning statewide. She won reelection in 2022 by an impressive 13 points. She’s ideologically and temperamentally moderate — very much in line with Maine voters — and could not be more qualified for the job.

But politics has changed dramatically in the last few years. The qualities that once made someone a winning candidate may now be weaknesses.

A deep-seated anger and frustration with our political and economic system powers today’s politics. People have never been more cynical about politicians, and trust in institutions is at an all-time low.

In the final New York Times/Siena poll before the 2024 election, 92% of likely voters said America’s political and economic system needed changes, and 51% said it needed major change.

That helps explain why every election for the last decade has been a change election — why we went from Obama to Trump to Biden to Trump — and why the House and Senate have both flipped twice since 2016.

In this tumultuous environment, the Democratic brand is faring poorly. A Wall Street Journal poll from July found that the Democratic Party’s approval rating was at its lowest level in 35 years.

Democrats aren’t much happier with their leaders than the rest of the public. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 62% of Democrats want new leaders. There’s also a lot of gerontocracy at the top of the party. Concerns about Biden’s age dominated politics for years, and the debate over his ill-fated decision to seek reelection still rages.

Given all of this, I have to question the political judgment of anyone who looks at the current landscape and concludes that the right answer is a 77-year-old establishment politician. At the end of her first Senate term, Mills would be in her mid-80s — several years older than Joe Biden was when he dropped out of the presidential race. According to Politico, the DSCC has never even reached out to Platner.

In 2020, Democrats ran an establishment politician against Collins and got their asses kicked. Mills would likely run a better campaign than Sara Gideon, but at a time when voters hate politicians, are down on Democrats, and are yearning for younger leaders, is a 77-year-old, two-term incumbent governor really the best choice?

The fact that Senate Democratic leadership is so sure she is concerns the hell out of me.

The establishment picking Mills over Platner illustrates one of my biggest concerns about their approach to politics in recent years. Democrats are incredibly risk-averse. We optimize for the candidate least likely to lose by a lot — preferring high-floor, low-ceiling candidates over low-floor, high-ceiling ones.

There are some races where all you need is a competent, generic Democrat — someone disciplined enough not to self-immolate. That works when the Republican is an extremist like Herschel Walker in Georgia or Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania, or when running against a generic Republican in a deep-blue state.

The Maine Senate race is not one of those. Susan Collins is very hard to beat. She won reelection in 2020 by nearly nine points in a state Biden won by 11 — a stunning number of crossover votes in this era. She’s done a lot to enable Trump’s worst impulses, but the size of the Republican majority has allowed her to distance herself from him. Because the GOP didn’t need her vote, Collins was able to oppose the “One Big Beautiful Bill” and some of Trump’s most toxic nominees.

To beat someone like Collins, Democrats need to take risks and think outside the box. Mills is the safe choice, but she may not be the right choice. Platner could blow up — or he could win back a bunch of working-class Trump voters. He has a lower floor but a higher ceiling. In a tough race against a tough opponent, that’s the kind of candidate Democrats should at least be open to.

Mills isn’t the only “safe” candidate backed by the DSCC. In Michigan, they’re supporting centrist Rep. Haley Stevens over less proven but more exciting options like state Sen. Mallory McMorrow or Abdul El-Sayed. I have met all three candidates. I like all of them, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out why the DSCC is getting involved in this race.

If Mills (and Stevens) want to run for Senate, they absolutely should — but voters in those states should pick their nominees, not Beltway Democrats. The DSCC doesn’t have to endorse anyone — and usually doesn’t. Democratic elites imposing their judgment on voters is how we ended up with Joe Biden running for reelection against the wishes of most Democrats.

The fact that the DSCC is intervening so aggressively against younger, outsider, and talented candidates is deeply concerning. It suggests a failure to learn anything from 2024."

The Siena poll and Fox News could very well be underestimating Platner's strength as a charismatic populist for change.

Also, Gideon ran a terrible elite consultant class campaign in 2020 and when Trump was on the ballot to help with Republican voter turnout.

Edited 16 hours ago by Hardkill

[Elliott]

1 minute ago, Hardkill said:

Janet Mills is an old uninspiring establishment candidate. She didn't run a bold vision for change. The country, especially Maine, hates the establishment more than ever before and demands greater change.

Dan Pfieffer from Pod Save America said before she dropped out of the face for the nomination: 

"In a different era, Janet Mills would be a top-tier, A-plus recruit. She’s a two-term, popular governor with a history of winning statewide. She won reelection in 2022 by an impressive 13 points. She’s ideologically and temperamentally moderate — very much in line with Maine voters — and could not be more qualified for the job.

But politics has changed dramatically in the last few years. The qualities that once made someone a winning candidate may now be weaknesses.

A deep-seated anger and frustration with our political and economic system powers today’s politics. People have never been more cynical about politicians, and trust in institutions is at an all-time low.

In the final New York Times/Siena poll before the 2024 election, 92% of likely voters said America’s political and economic system needed changes, and 51% said it needed major change.

That helps explain why every election for the last decade has been a change election — why we went from Obama to Trump to Biden to Trump — and why the House and Senate have both flipped twice since 2016.

In this tumultuous environment, the Democratic brand is faring poorly. A Wall Street Journal poll from July found that the Democratic Party’s approval rating was at its lowest level in 35 years.

Democrats aren’t much happier with their leaders than the rest of the public. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 62% of Democrats want new leaders. There’s also a lot of gerontocracy at the top of the party. Concerns about Biden’s age dominated politics for years, and the debate over his ill-fated decision to seek reelection still rages.

Given all of this, I have to question the political judgment of anyone who looks at the current landscape and concludes that the right answer is a 77-year-old establishment politician. At the end of her first Senate term, Mills would be in her mid-80s — several years older than Joe Biden was when he dropped out of the presidential race. According to Politico, the DSCC has never even reached out to Platner.

In 2020, Democrats ran an establishment politician against Collins and got their asses kicked. Mills would likely run a better campaign than Sara Gideon, but at a time when voters hate politicians, are down on Democrats, and are yearning for younger leaders, is a 77-year-old, two-term incumbent governor really the best choice?

The fact that Senate Democratic leadership is so sure she is concerns the hell out of me.

The establishment picking Mills over Platner illustrates one of my biggest concerns about their approach to politics in recent years. Democrats are incredibly risk-averse. We optimize for the candidate least likely to lose by a lot — preferring high-floor, low-ceiling candidates over low-floor, high-ceiling ones.

There are some races where all you need is a competent, generic Democrat — someone disciplined enough not to self-immolate. That works when the Republican is an extremist like Herschel Walker in Georgia or Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania, or when running against a generic Republican in a deep-blue state.

The Maine Senate race is not one of those. Susan Collins is very hard to beat. She won reelection in 2020 by nearly nine points in a state Biden won by 11 — a stunning number of crossover votes in this era. She’s done a lot to enable Trump’s worst impulses, but the size of the Republican majority has allowed her to distance herself from him. Because the GOP didn’t need her vote, Collins was able to oppose the “One Big Beautiful Bill” and some of Trump’s most toxic nominees.

To beat someone like Collins, Democrats need to take risks and think outside the box. Mills is the safe choice, but she may not be the right choice. Platner could blow up — or he could win back a bunch of working-class Trump voters. He has a lower floor but a higher ceiling. In a tough race against a tough opponent, that’s the kind of candidate Democrats should at least be open to.

Mills isn’t the only “safe” candidate backed by the DSCC. In Michigan, they’re supporting centrist Rep. Haley Stevens over less proven but more exciting options like state Sen. Mallory McMorrow or Abdul El-Sayed. I have met all three candidates. I like all of them, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out why the DSCC is getting involved in this race.

If Mills (and Stevens) want to run for Senate, they absolutely should — but voters in those states should pick their nominees, not Beltway Democrats. The DSCC doesn’t have to endorse anyone — and usually doesn’t. Democratic elites imposing their judgment on voters is how we ended up with Joe Biden running for reelection against the wishes of most Democrats.

The fact that the DSCC is intervening so aggressively against younger, outsider, and talented candidates is deeply concerning. It suggests a failure to learn anything from 2024."

The Siena poll and Fox News could very well be underestimating Platner's strength as a charismatic populist for change.

Also, Gideon ran a terrible elite consultant class campaign in 2020 and when Trump was on the ballot to help with Republican voter turnout.

Most people like boring politicians, most people are not recent college grads disaffected by the 'American dream'

 

https://thehill.com/opinion/robbys-radar/5950065-democratic-socialism-wealthy-leftists/

The working class does not like democratic socialists, Graham Platner

9 hours ago — Democratic socialism attracts affluent and elite-educated supporters, contrary to claims of representing working-class interests

[Nercohype]

https://youtu.be/hP7YmV2deMU?is=dqFZ0phXvQ97l6BC

[Hardkill]

38 minutes ago, Elliott said:

Most people like boring politicians, most people are not recent college grads disaffected by the 'American dream'

 

https://thehill.com/opinion/robbys-radar/5950065-democratic-socialism-wealthy-leftists/

The working class does not like democratic socialists, Graham Platner

9 hours ago — Democratic socialism attracts affluent and elite-educated supporters, contrary to claims of representing working-class interests

Platner isn't a DSA. 

He's a New Deal/pro-labor Democrat with Bill Clinton-like, Obama-like, or Trump-like charisma, but in the way of Teddy Roosevelt or FDR.

Btw, dude. It isn't recent college grads disaffected by the 'American dream'. The working class and non-college workers feel betrayed over by the system. In fact, the working class folk and non-college workers are more anti-establishment/populist than college grads and post-grad people are. They, distrust corporations and hate rich people who come off as wealthy elite snobs. They want change with the system. 

How do you think Obama won in 2008 and in 2012? McCain was an old uninspiring GOP establishment who was tied to the unpopularity of the party in power (Bush and the Republicans) and how terrible the system was. Obama, is a truly one-in-a-generation charismatic candidate who inspired a bold liberal vision for country with Hope and Change. 

Mitt Romney was another uninspiring establishment GOP candidate tied to the unpopularity of the traditional Republicans and came off as an elitist wealthy financier/corporate oligarch who was for the status quo ante.

Trump in 2016 and 2024, despite being born in raised in a super wealthy big business family and has always come off as "self-made billionaire businessman", unlike Romney, Trump was able to present himself as an outsider who's highly anti-establishment, alpha male, charismatic, and strong.

People hate the fucking establishment and want bold change more than ever before without any identifying as a Democratic Socialist. Collins is one of the most status quo establishment Republicans with a terrible record of being pro-war while Platner is a patriotic military combat veteran who anti stupid fucking wars. Collins really sounds so out-of-touch, has no real charisma, seems out of element with the working class and rural America. Also, she's showing serious signs of cognitive or neurological decline including memory-related issues and essential tremor.

Plus, this is the very first time that she'll be running for re-elaction during a year that's both very anti-Republican and doesn't have Trump or any GOP presidiential nominee on the ballot to help her with GOP voter turnout. Additionally, she has the worst approval rating she's ever had.

Edited 16 hours ago by Hardkill

[Raze]

10 hours ago, Elliott said:

'Thought-terminating cliché '

The normie already won the entire state, she's the governor. Higher popularity than mamdahni in nyc.

Janet Mills was polling worse than Platner

[Elliott]

4 hours ago, Raze said:

Janet Mills was polling worse than Platner

", 55% of respondents said they approved of the job Mills was doing as governor, up from 48% in February.

Just 14% of those polled viewed Collins favorably, while 57% had an unfavorable opinion. Even among Republicans, Collins’ favorability stands at only 29%."

https://www.pressherald.com/2025/06/27/more-mainers-have-higher-opinion-of-gov-mills-than-sen-collins-poll-finds/

[Hardkill]

5 hours ago, Elliott said:

", 55% of respondents said they approved of the job Mills was doing as governor, up from 48% in February.

Just 14% of those polled viewed Collins favorably, while 57% had an unfavorable opinion. Even among Republicans, Collins’ favorability stands at only 29%."

https://www.pressherald.com/2025/06/27/more-mainers-have-higher-opinion-of-gov-mills-than-sen-collins-poll-finds/

According to Dan Pfieffer: 

Plattner is far from a perfect candidate, and he could definitely lose, but the polls suggest that Democrats would be slightly worse off with Janet Mills. She has a higher unfavorable rating than Plattner, and 85% of likely voters rate the Maine economy poorly, which is quite a burden for a two-term incumbent governor to overcome. It's pretty hard to make the economic case against Trump when people think the economy in your state is so bad. The big question is what, if anything, else comes out about Plattner between now and Election Day. I am not sure how many more bricks the load can sustain, but this poll shows that absent that, he can definitely win and is probably a slight favorite to do so.”

[Elliott]

36 minutes ago, Hardkill said:

According to Dan Pfieffer: 

Plattner is far from a perfect candidate, and he could definitely lose, but the polls suggest that Democrats would be slightly worse off with Janet Mills. She has a higher unfavorable rating than Plattner, and 85% of likely voters rate the Maine economy poorly, which is quite a burden for a two-term incumbent governor to overcome. It's pretty hard to make the economic case against Trump when people think the economy in your state is so bad. The big question is what, if anything, else comes out about Plattner between now and Election Day. I am not sure how many more bricks the load can sustain, but this poll shows that absent that, he can definitely win and is probably a slight favorite to do so.”

Maine seems like a no-brainer to go with Mills to me. A state is not going to flip from Republican to communist pseudo-revolutionary. I don't see platner having a real shot.

 

https://nypost.com

Nearly half of Maine voters say Graham Platner 'too extreme' as poll shows ...

3 days ago — Just under half of voters in Maine view Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner as "too extreme" amid a rapidly tightening race between him 

 

Median Age: 45.1 years, making it one of the oldest states by median age in the U.S.

Seniors: Roughly 23.5% of the population is 65 or older, notably higher than the national average.

 

Race & Ethnicity

Maine has a significantly lower diversity index than the national average. The racial breakdown is as follows: [1, 2]

White (Non-Hispanic): 91.1% to 91.3%

 

Nov 9, 2022 — REGION — As of Wednesday morning, Governor Janet Mills has been declared winner of the gubernatorial race with 56%.

That was against the previous Republican governor 56% vs 42%. She got 6% more her second election than her first, as incumbent governor.

Edited 4 hours ago by Elliott

[Elliott]

Democrat beating republican in solid red iowa for u.s. senate seat

 

Democrat Josh Turek has slight lead over GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa Senate race: 

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5951256-iowa-senate-race-ashley-hinson-josh-turek-fox-news-poll/

 

Democrats are vying to take 4 republican senate seats in deep red states, while DSA is trailing in a blue state to the republican.

Edited 3 hours ago by Elliott

[Hardkill]

2 hours ago, Elliott said:

Maine seems like a no-brainer to go with Mills to me. A state is not going to flip from Republican to communist pseudo-revolutionary. I don't see platner having a real shot.

 

https://nypost.com

Nearly half of Maine voters say Graham Platner 'too extreme' as poll shows ...

3 days ago — Just under half of voters in Maine view Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner as "too extreme" amid a rapidly tightening race between him 

 

Median Age: 45.1 years, making it one of the oldest states by median age in the U.S.

Seniors: Roughly 23.5% of the population is 65 or older, notably higher than the national average.

 

Race & Ethnicity

Maine has a significantly lower diversity index than the national average. The racial breakdown is as follows: [1, 2]

White (Non-Hispanic): 91.1% to 91.3%

 

Nov 9, 2022 — REGION — As of Wednesday morning, Governor Janet Mills has been declared winner of the gubernatorial race with 56%.

That was against the previous Republican governor 56% vs 42%. She got 6% more her second election than her first, as incumbent governor.

Why would you post something from a radical right-wing source like the NY Post?

Also, why do keep saying that he's a communist or even DSA when I told you that he's neither one of those types of candidates?

Furthermore, why didn't Janet Mills win the nomination if she wasn't the stronger candidate for the Senate general election in Maine?

Again, "It's pretty hard to make the economic case against Trump when people think the economy in your state is so bad" under your watch as governor. Mills reminds me of Hillary Clinton, an eminently qualified leader for a state or for the whole country, but is perceived to be too much for the status quo and too associated with the stained reputation of how corrupt the establishment and Washington all is, which is not what the majority of voters want.

Platner again, like Obama and Trump, stands for and inspires change and shows great credibility for fighting against the establishment.

Edited 1 hour ago by Hardkill

[Elliott]

6 minutes ago, Hardkill said:

Why would you post something from a radical right-wing source like the NY Post?

Also, why do keep saying that he's a communist or even DSA when I told you that he's neither one of those types of candidates?

Furthermore, why didn't Janet Mills win the nomination if she wasn't the stronger candidate for the Senate general election in Maine?

Again, "It's pretty hard to make the economic case against Trump when people think the economy in your state is so bad" under your watch as governor. Mills reminds me of Hillary Clinton, an eminently qualified leader for a state or for the whole country, but is perceived to be too much for the status quo and too associated with the stained reputation of how corrupt the establishment and Washington all is, which is not what the majority of voters want.

Platner again, like Obama and Trump, stands for and inspires change and is against the establishment.

Because DSA campaigned and spent millions for him to beat Mills

[Hardkill]

So what? 

The fact is that he's not. He's a very pro-labor New Deal Democrat and it won't just be DSA who will campaign and spend money for his general election campaign. So, will moderate Democrats and enough pro-business Democratic aligned sources will campaign and spend money for his general election. I wouldn't be surprise if Obama goes out to campaign for him in Maine.

Besides, maybe it is better to be aligned with progressivism than to be a Republican like Susan Collins, who enabled the Republican Party and Trump to engage in authoritarianism and take away freedoms related to democracy, voting rights, abortion rights, and consumer protections.

Susan Collins has greatly enabled corporate tyranny and has been highly complicit in allowing the rich to rob everyday people, including the working class, blind for their own benefit.

Btw, can you believe this shit?

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Hardkill

[Elliott]

15 minutes ago, Hardkill said:

So what? 

 

I was just answering your question

25 minutes ago, Hardkill said:

Also, why do keep saying that he's a communist or even DSA when I told you that he's neither one of those types of candidates?

Furthermore, why didn't Janet Mills win the nomination if she wasn't the stronger candidate for the Senate general election in Maine?

 

18 minutes ago, Elliott said:

Because DSA campaigned and spent millions for him to beat Mills

 

Overall, Platner has raised roughly twice as much as his primary challenger, Gov. Janet Mills, and nearly 1.5 million more than sitting Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

 

 

WGME

https://wgme.com

Graham Platner disavows past posts calling himself a communist and ...

Oct 16, 2025 — One of Governor Mills' fast-rising primary challengers, Graham Platner, once called himself a "communist" and called all police "bastards.

Edited 1 hour ago by Elliott

[Hardkill]

 

4 minutes ago, Elliott said:

I was just answering your question

 

 

Overall, Platner has raised roughly twice as much as his primary challenger, Gov. Janet Mills, and nearly 1.5 million more than sitting Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

 

 

WGME

https://wgme.com

Graham Platner disavows past posts calling himself a communist and ...

Oct 16, 2025 — One of Governor Mills' fast-rising primary challengers, Graham Platner, once called himself a "communist" and called all police "bastards.

Yeah, you know why Platner raised that much more than Mills and so far even more than Collins?

It's bc he raised a lot through a grassroots/small-dollar style donor base, while Collins’ financial ecosystem is much more tied to major donors, national Republican money, super PACs, and outside spending. That is one of the strongest arguments for Platner’s real political strength. Platner is not raising Mills/Collins-style establishment money and calling it enthusiasm. This is much more evidence of grassroots energy, which fits with the poll showing his supporters are more enthusiastic than Collins’ supporters.

Platner has been called a "communist" and at the same time he has been called "Nazi" which as Graham himself pointed out makes the whole thing a comical contradiction.