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Governor Janet Mills’s decision to suspend her campaign effectively hands the Democratic nomination for Maine’s U.S. Senate seat to Graham Platner. In the latest edition of Right Now, Alex Seitz-Wald, deputy editor of the Midcoast Villager, explains how Platner surged in the polls and made it almost impossible for Mills to win. The governor, according to Seitz-Wald, ran a terrible campaign. She didn’t hold many events and failed to convince voters why they should send a 78-year-old to the Senate. In contrast, Platner was “everywhere” in the state, Seitz-Wald said. Looking forward to the general election, Seitz-Wald said that Platner will benefit from his youth and energy. But Republican incumbent Susan Collins will point to her relatively moderate record and success in sending federal funds back to the state. The swing vote in this race, according to Seitz-Wald, will likely be college-educated white women who often back Democratic candidates in presidential races but also vote for Collins. The big question, says Seitz-Wald, is how those women respond to the at times angry and fiery rhetoric of Platner.
