The Democrats fight back Trump-style in Maine… but have they messed up?
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Hei, täällähän onkin vanhoja juomatuttuja. Morjens! Ää, ei olla koskaan nähty. Eikö, no keitä te sitten ootte? Me ollaan uutuusjuomii. Jaaha, no mistä te tuutte sitten? No S-Marketista tietysti. Elämä on ruokaa. S-Market. Vaihda Suomen suosituimpaan autovakuutukseen osoitteessa lähitapiola.fi. Voit voittaa samalla vuoden bensat. Palveluntarjoajat, LähiTapiolan pahinko- ja alueyhtiöt. LähiTapiola, samalla puolella.
Hello, it's Anthony, and you're about to hear AmeriCast, and we're delighted to have you with us. And if you enjoy what you hear, please do consider subscribing to the podcast. That way, you'll never miss an episode. Now, on with today.
Have the Democrats messed up or have they just played a master stroke? The state of Maine. In the northeast of America, the far northeast, bordering Canada, is at the centre of a fierce debate within the party, the consequences of which are potentially seismic. Democrats looking to win back control of the Senate in this November's midterms need to win Maine. But can they do it with the candidate they have picked? Graham Plattner, an oyster fisherman from Maine, no political experience, multiple allegations about his conduct and his behaviour, particularly towards women in his past. He says he's changed.
I've made mistakes in my life, mistakes that I regret that I live with and that I continue to learn from. And I'm still far from perfect. But every day I wake up and I try to be a little bit better. and a little bit kinder than I was the day before.
Everyone agrees he's not a typical candidate for the Democrats, and Graham Plattner is going to be running against the Republicans' longest-serving female senator. So, will the Democrats' massive gamble pay off, or have they potentially messed up their chances of taking back the Senate? Welcome to AmeriCast.
I have four words for you. Turn the volume up.
Hello, it's Anthony, and I'm here in the BBC Bureau in Washington, D.C., but that's not where I started my day. I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning in Bangor, Maine.
And it's just in the worldwide headquarters of AmeriCast in London, England. And the time in Britain is just ten past three or so in the afternoon on Wednesday. And Anthony, what a trip and what a time to go there, because, oh, my goodness, you've witnessed history in the making and something that let's be blunt about it. This could be enormously influential what you've just seen and experienced when it comes to November and the Democrats chances.
Yeah, we've talked about this race before. Of course, it's the Graham-Plattner race to become the Senate Democratic nominee to take on Susan Collins, the incumbent who has served in the Senate for 30 years now. This is the high stakes race in the upcoming midterms. This is a state that could decide which party controls the Senate after November's midterm elections. And that's because this is the one state that Kamala Harris won in 2024 that a Republican senator is up for reelection in. In fact, a Republican hasn't won for president statewide, won the state of Maine since 1988. So this has been a state that has been on Democrats' target for quite some time. And Susan Collins keeps defying gravity, but they think that this is the year.
And if they can get Maine to flip, then it'll make it much easier to find the three other states, Republican states, they need to flip to take back control of the Senate.
And just set the main scene because you've got a fantastic time of year, haven't you?
What are the new allegations against Graham Platner?
And I mean, it's not all politics, is it, to put it mildly, which is kind of quite important, actually, for what we're going to be talking about. But it's just such an amazing place. It's mostly my memory of it. It's got a lot of sea and then Canada, pretty much. And it's hardly attached to the rest of the United States.
The northeastern tip of the United States, and it's very rural. And it's bigger, I think, than a lot of people imagine geographically, but still very small as far as the population goes.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–4:08
2
What are the new allegations against Graham Platner?
4:08–6:54
3
How does Graham Platner justify his past behavior?
6:54–10:02
4
What challenges does Platner face against Susan Collins?
10:02–11:27
5
How did Graham Platner become the Democratic candidate?
11:27–18:37
6
Why is the counting of ballots in California taking so long?
18:37–36:42
7
How do recent media reports impact Platner's campaign?
36:42–40:50
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Americast
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