What Democrats Can Learn From Graham Platner’s Rise

Nate Cohn: “With Graham Platner officially out of the Maine Senate race after a series of scandals reached a breaking point last week, it’s natural to look for lessons in his campaign’s collapse.”

“But as disastrous as his candidacy was for Democrats, the more important lessons may come from his successes. His failings were mostly personal. His successes, on the other hand, were political — and significant.”

“He went from an unknown candidate to a progressive star who easily defeated his state’s sitting governor in the Democratic primary. This basic underdog story has become familiar in recent years, but Mr. Platner did something that most progressive outsiders haven’t: He was able to appeal across the ideological spectrum of the Democratic primary electorate, even though he was unmistakably a factional candidate of the activist left.”

NOTUS: Progressives face reckoning over Graham Platner.