Anti-establishment playbook shows no sign of fading
An allegation of sexual assault has left Graham Platner’s U.S. Senate campaign in Maine teetering, but the structural conditions that fueled his rise — low institutional trust and the ability to raise money and draw attention — remain in place, according to the Associated Press.
Platner, a 41-year-old Maine oysterman and progressive political neophyte, has denied the allegation. MSI previously reported that the allegation was made by a former partner and dated to 2021 (Platner denies 2021 sexual assault allegation) and that he faces mounting calls to withdraw from the race (Platner faces mounting calls to withdraw). The controversy has renewed arguments from party veterans and rival campaigns that the candidate was always too risky for a key Senate race.
But according to the Associated Press, the structural conditions that enabled Platner’s rise show no signs of abating. The AP reported that his “starburst candidacy” followed an increasingly familiar pattern in American politics: the outsider who defies the warnings of party veterans, captures the allegiance of primary voters, and advances despite accumulating liabilities that complicate the odds of winning a general election.
Seth Masket, a political scientist at the University of Denver, told the AP: “I think there’s going to be a lot more of this.”
With so many ways to raise money and draw attention, and so little faith in longstanding institutions, the country remains “primed for new waves of anti-establishment campaigns, no matter how erratic,” the AP reported.
MSI previously reported that Platner defeated Maine Gov. Janet Mills in the June Democratic primary, setting up a general election race against Republican incumbent Susan Collins. (Platner wins Maine Senate primary) The trajectory of his campaign — from anti-establishment outsider to Democratic nominee to a candidate whose viability is now in question — mirrors the volatile pattern the AP described.