After the withdrawal of Democrat Graham Platner from the Senate race, the American left on Thursday found itself confronted with a painful introspection: how could this political novice, with a campaign undermined by controversies, become one of the standard-bearers of the progressive movement?
A veteran of the Marine Corps, the candidate with an anti-elite message has succeeded in recent months in generating popular enthusiasm around his candidacy in Maine.
The November election in this coastal and rural state in the northeastern tip of the United States is seen by Democrats as one of the best opportunities to flip a seat in the Senate, which has a Republican majority at the moment.
But after several scandals revealed during Graham Platner’s campaign, accusations of rape made by an ex-partner on Monday – which he denies – were the final nail in the coffin of his candidacy. Several of his supporters, including the figure of the American left Bernie Sanders, called on him to step down, which he announced on Wednesday.
The affair hits a Democratic Party already torn between voters demanding a tougher fight against Donald Trump, and senior officials who warn that any candidate – especially with an atypical background – must see his past scrutinized to avoid this type of disappointment.
Tightened schedule
Graham Platner won the Democratic primary hands down against the current governor of Maine, a septuagenarian supported by the party’s big names, notably by promising to fight against the oligarchy.
For his supporters, this gruff oyster farmer responded to a real appetite among voters for a raw candidate, with less cautious speech, and a campaign less dependent on big donors.
The Maine Democratic Party now faces a tight schedule and must find a replacement before the end of the month to face the incumbent senator, Republican Susan Collins.
But beyond Maine, a nagging question arises for Democrats: how, in the era of Donald Trump, can we find the right candidate, who will be able to capitalize on popular anger against the Washington elites, without bowing to the demands of a mandate?
Despite the discomfiture in this state, the anti-establishment left is urging the choice of a replacement aligned with the speech of Graham Platner, rather than a more consensual profile.
But for the party’s top brass, the ex-Marine’s crash withdrawal offers a different lesson: traditional ways of finding a candidate have proven effective for a reason.
“Intellectual rout”
“This distressing Platner affair is, unfortunately, a striking example of the intellectual and moral collapse that has gripped many sections of the left, where disturbing facts quickly give way to political fashions,” said Jeff Robbins, former federal prosecutor and ex-legal advisor for the Democratic group in the Senate.
Because even before the rape accusations, Graham Platner’s campaign had been weakened by previous inflammatory statements from the candidate, accusations of violent behavior towards female companions, and a tattoo with the Nazi symbol.
This former Marine claims to have suffered for a long time from post-traumatic stress syndrome, following his three deployments during the Iraq War and a fourth in Afghanistan. He also admitted to a penchant for alcohol during a “very dark period” of his life.
To his supporters, his flaws made him a human character with a personal story of redemption. But where some saw charisma, his detractors saw a candidacy undermined from the start by controversies.
For Cheyenne Hunt, whose organization Reckoning Action fights sexism in politics, Graham Platner’s rise has asked “far too many people to ignore alarming warning signs” because the oyster farmer looked like “a prodigy progressive candidate.”
And to have a chance of beating Republican Susan Collins, the candidate will have to quickly unify behind their campaign both the support of Graham Platner and more moderate voters.
