Maine Democrats Pick Graham Platner, Scandals and All, to Take On Susan Collins

But, boy, if this isn’t a potential self-own, I don’t know what is. 

In my conversations around Washington, the mood among Democrats is something close to a hostage situation. In a crucial race, they feel handcuffed to an untested candidate, one who they wish would step aside for the good of the party. The mood is different in Maine, where my colleague Julia Terruso found Democrats far more unfazed by the latest Platner revelations, including accusations from an ex-girlfriend that he was physically threatening.

In claiming the nomination Tuesday evening, Platner struck a tone of defiance about his skeptics. He said pundits, reporters, and Democrats in the the political establishment “keep looking for that one story, that one headline, that one moment in my life that they can define the campaign by.” Instead, he said they missed the bigger message he brought to the trail, one of second chances. “It is my job to earn your trust, faith, and support,” Platner said. It may prove a heavy lift.