2026 United States Senate election in Maine

Pfeiffer believes Democrats still have a real chance to win the Maine Senate race if it becomes about Susan Collins.

“I still think we have a very real shot to win this race. I really do”

Pod Save America: The Democratic Party's Civil War (Jul 19, 2026) · Listen from 14:03

Pfeiffer argued Democrats should frame the race around a Collins vote empowering Trump to pick Supreme Court justices.

“a vote for her is a vote to let Donald Trump pick two more Supreme Court justices”

Pod Save America: The Race to Replace Graham Platner (Jul 10, 2026) · Listen from 43:13

Pfeiffer maintained that although Platner was the wrong choice, he was right that Janet Mills was the wrong candidate.

“Not that Plattner was the right person. Obviously, he was not. But that Janet Mills was the wrong candidate”

Pod Save America: The Race to Replace Graham Platner (Jul 10, 2026) · Listen from 25:49

Pfeiffer said his misjudgment of Platner stemmed from a bias toward outsider candidates.

“if I have a bias or you can even say a blind spot in politics, it's for outsider candidates”

Pod Save America: The Race to Replace Graham Platner (Jul 10, 2026) · Listen from 23:04

Wagner cautioned against drawing broad conclusions about outsider candidates from the Platner case.

“Nobody should take a broad lesson about outsiders from the Platner”

Pod Save America: The Race to Replace Graham Platner (Jul 10, 2026) · Listen from 34:59

Wagner said there was always latent misogyny in how Platner's supporters dismissed Janet Mills.

“I feel like there's like there was always like latent misogyny around it”

Pod Save America: The Race to Replace Graham Platner (Jul 10, 2026) · Listen from 22:05

Wagner worried that Nirav Shah's CDC background would bring COVID-related political baggage.

“but it's extra baggage in these insane and tumultuous times”

Pod Save America: The Race to Replace Graham Platner (Jul 10, 2026) · Listen from 15:49

Wagner called for moderated public debates or town halls among replacement candidates before delegates choose a nominee.

“I would love to see some kind of public format where they're, whether it's debate, town hall, whatever, that's moderated”

Pod Save America: The Race to Replace Graham Platner (Jul 10, 2026) · Listen from 10:27

Ahmari argues Platner should have major say in choosing his replacement because he won the primary overwhelmingly.

“Graham Plattner should be allowed kind of pretty exclusive kingmaking authority because he won so overwhelmingly in the primary”

The Megyn Kelly Show: The Robinson-Twiggs DNA Evidence, and Assassination Culture, with Jack Posobiec, Sean Davis, and Sohrab Ahmari | Ep. 1355 (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:29:03

Ahmari argues that allegations capable of ruining a life should meet a high evidentiary standard.

“when you're talking about an allegation that can not only derail someone's campaign, but essentially ruin their life, I think the evidentiary standard has to be high”

The Megyn Kelly Show: The Robinson-Twiggs DNA Evidence, and Assassination Culture, with Jack Posobiec, Sean Davis, and Sohrab Ahmari | Ep. 1355 (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:17:37

Ahmari says the accumulation of red flags makes Graham Platner's candidacy unsustainable.

“because there are so many other character red flags and this is the United States Senate, you know, I think I think his candidacy becomes unsustainable”

The Megyn Kelly Show: The Robinson-Twiggs DNA Evidence, and Assassination Culture, with Jack Posobiec, Sean Davis, and Sohrab Ahmari | Ep. 1355 (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:17:37

Ahmari predicts Platner will survive the allegations absent further accusers.

“You know, my gut tells me it's predictable. And I think barring more, I think he'll survive this”

The Megyn Kelly Show: Shady California Vote Counting, and Dems' Platner Hypocrisy, with Sohrab Ahmari and Sean Davis, Plus James Patterson on Patriotism | Ep. 1333 (Jun 5, 2026) · Listen from 1:02:51

Favreau says revelations about Platner have hurt him but the polling does not show the damage is fatal.

“I don't think anything in this poll shows that like what's happened is fatal”

Pod Save America: Trump’s 4th Threesome (Jul 2, 2026) · Listen from 1:14:06

Favreau argues Collins is more vulnerable than in 2020 because she has never faced a competitive race with a midterm electorate.

“She's never run a competitive race with a midterm electorate”

Pod Save America: Cage Match Inside the White House (Jun 12, 2026) · Listen from 1:21:19

Favreau said he would welcome replacing Platner with Janet Mills because winning the seat is what matters.

“It's not about Graham Platner. It's about winning the seat”

Pod Save America: Trump's Versailles on the Potomac (Jun 5, 2026) · Listen from 57:57

Favreau said Platner's biggest problem is trust, and voters cannot be blamed for doubting him.

“The problem is, it's gonna be really hard to blame voters who wonder whether they can believe him”

Pod Save America: Trump's Versailles on the Potomac (Jun 5, 2026) · Listen from 54:32

Vietor explains weaker Democratic polling in Maine and New Hampshire by noting those states lack the Latino voters driving national shifts.

“Maine and New Hampshire are like two of the whitest states in the nation, literally. So you're just not going to see that demographic shift showing up there”

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Vietor maintains there is no evidence Platner intentionally got a Nazi tattoo or held Nazi sympathies, though he believes Platner was not honest about it.

“I still don't think there's evidence that he intended to get a Nazi tattoo on purpose or that he had like Nazi leanings”

Pod Save America: Trump Works the FIFA Refs (Jul 7, 2026) · Listen from 29:51

Vietor reads Platner's response video as signaling he will leave the race and says he must withdraw.

“I think my takeaway from that video was that he's going to drop out of the race. I think he has to drop out of the race”

Pod Save America: Trump Works the FIFA Refs (Jul 7, 2026) · Listen from 26:29

Vietor predicts Platner's campaign will weather the sexting reports and advises less criticism of the press.

“I think Platner's campaign can weather this. They will likely weather this. I would recommend less criticism of the media for covering the story”

Pod Save America: Trump and Pod Save America Agree: JD Is Lame (Jun 2, 2026) · Listen from 49:53

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

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 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

Platner denies the physical allegations and knowing the meaning of his tattoo, calling them politically motivated.

“Anything alleging physicality, anything alleging that I knew what my tattoo was, these are the statements of someone who's politically motivated”

The Megyn Kelly Show: Shady California Vote Counting, and Dems' Platner Hypocrisy, with Sohrab Ahmari and Sean Davis, Plus James Patterson on Patriotism | Ep. 1333 (Jun 5, 2026) · Listen from 57:42

Platner blames Susan Collins's 30-year tenure for unaffordable housing and the collapse of Maine's rural health care.

“She has been in charge for 30 years, and she has overseen a system that has brought us to the brink of collapse”

Up First from NPR: Can Graham Platner survive another controversy? | NPR’s Newsmakers (Jun 1, 2026) · Listen from 19:08

Platner argues that past campaigns against Susan Collins failed because they were directed from Washington by the national party.

“the campaigns that have generally been run against Susan Collins have been directed from Washington, D.C. They've involved the National Party in many ways”

Up First from NPR: Can Graham Platner survive another controversy? | NPR’s Newsmakers (Jun 1, 2026) · Listen from 18:46

Litman argues Janet Mills's candidacy shows the establishment also got the Maine race wrong.

“So to say that this proves that the establishment always gets it right and the new people always get it wrong. No, this is villains on all sides here”

Pod Save America: The Democratic Party's Civil War (Jul 19, 2026) · Listen from 20:29

Litman is cautiously optimistic about Maine, citing Collins's and Trump's unpopularity.

“I am still cautiously optimistic. I mean, Maine is a state that voted for Kamala. Susan Collins is deeply unpopular. Trump is even more unpopular”

Pod Save America: The Democratic Party's Civil War (Jul 19, 2026) · Listen from 13:28

Davis argues the Platner scandal reflects poor judgment by everyone involved and promotes marriage as the proper context for sex.

“we actually have this amazing institution in America. I call it marriage”

The Megyn Kelly Show: The Robinson-Twiggs DNA Evidence, and Assassination Culture, with Jack Posobiec, Sean Davis, and Sohrab Ahmari | Ep. 1355 (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:23:14

Davis predicts Susan Collins will win the Maine Senate race regardless of whom Democrats nominate.

“It doesn't matter what you're going to do. She's going to win anyway”

The Megyn Kelly Show: The Robinson-Twiggs DNA Evidence, and Assassination Culture, with Jack Posobiec, Sean Davis, and Sohrab Ahmari | Ep. 1355 (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:27:06

Halperin said that based on his focus group, Platner would still be competitive with Collins despite the allegations.

“if you did a poll in Maine right now, in the wake of the allegations, I think he'd be within five points of Collins”

The Megyn Kelly Show: Platner Allegation EXPOSES the Media, and the Tyler Robinson Defense REVEALED, with Bevan, Halperin, Aronberg, Holloway, Geragos, Eiglarsh, and Spilbor | Ep. 1354 (Jul 7, 2026) · Listen from 31:02

Halperin argued that losing Maine would make Democrats' path to a Senate majority very difficult.

“If they can't win Maine, the math becomes very difficult for them. This was one or two of their top pickup opportunities”

The Megyn Kelly Show: Platner Allegation EXPOSES the Media, and the Tyler Robinson Defense REVEALED, with Bevan, Halperin, Aronberg, Holloway, Geragos, Eiglarsh, and Spilbor | Ep. 1354 (Jul 7, 2026) · Listen from 10:51

Lovett argues Platner must end his campaign to give Democrats a chance against Susan Collins, as his denials have repeatedly been contradicted.

“Yeah, he has to end the campaign so that we have a chance of defeating Susan Collins”

Pod Save America: Trump Works the FIFA Refs (Jul 7, 2026) · Listen from 27:54

Lovett rejects comparisons to pushing Biden out, saying Platner's polls do not show he cannot win.

“Nobody can make that argument right now based on the polls around Graham Platter. They just can't”

Pod Save America: Trump and Pod Save America Agree: JD Is Lame (Jun 2, 2026) · Listen from 1:03:55

Yglesias says polls showed Graham Platner on track to beat Susan Collins before scandals ended his campaign, though via a standard coalition.

“he was going to beat Susan Collins until scandals took him down”

Pod Save America: The Search for an Exciting Moderate (Jul 26, 2026) · Listen from 19:10