What Ron Brownstein has said about 2026 United States Senate election in Maine

Brownstein argues Graham Platner's vulnerabilities align with Susan Collins's strengths, especially among older women.

“Plattner makes it a lot harder than it has to be because his vulnerabilities, I think, map ominously over her strengths”

Pod Save America: Cage Match Inside the White House (Jun 12, 2026) · Listen from 1:16:28

Brownstein argues the Democratic nominee's task in Maine is reassuring anti-Trump voters rather than mobilizing new ones.

“The job of the Democratic Senate candidate in Maine is to reassure the majority who already think Trump and the Republicans are taking the state in the wrong direction”

Pod Save America: Cage Match Inside the White House (Jun 12, 2026) · Listen from 1:17:42

Brownstein criticizes the Sanders-Warren orbit backing Platner as prioritizing an intra-party fight over defeating Collins.

“they seem to me more interested in beating Schumer in the primary than in beating Collins in the general”

Pod Save America: Cage Match Inside the White House (Jun 12, 2026) · Listen from 1:18:53