Anthony Zurcher

They did not like Plattner.

They were very worried that he was not going to be able to beat Collins and also worried about what it says about Democrats, that they would, like you say, still support someone who cuts against a lot of the things they say are reprehensible.

And

in personal behavior and in politics i also talked to a woman named maureen who was an independent and she said she knew susan collins she had met susan collins before that she generally supports her but what she said was she didn't know enough about platner to make up her mind yet and that she's going to have to do some research you barely pronounced his name right and i think that shows what's going to happen over the next month and two it's going to be a real battle

by the Republicans, by Susan Collins, by all these groups that are going to be pouring negative ads into Maine to try to define Plattner before he is able to define himself and to paint this redemption story and to try to explain all of these other things that have come out.

And if he can do that, then he has a chance.

If he is just swept away in a sea of money and people make up their minds that this guy is someone they don't want to send to replace Susan Collins in the Senate, then he's going to be in real trouble.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, that was the thing.

Plattner was here last week here in D.C.

last week.

And he he spoke with Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren, kind of a high level strategy session with the top senators, Democratic senators here.

And one of the things, according to reports, they all asked him was, is this it?

Is there anything else that's going to come out?

Are there any allegations of domestic violence?

And he assured them, no, that this is it.

He's going to be attacked and people are going to pick through things he said, but that there's nothing that could be a fatal blow to his campaign.

I think there are a lot of Democrats here in Washington that are going OK and they're crossing their fingers and they're hoping for the best.

But, you know, we've heard that before from different politicians and it doesn't always work out that way.