The Implosion of Graham Platner

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<p>The campaign for Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for Senate from Maine, imploded this week after he was accused of rape.</p> <p>Lisa Lerer and Shane Goldmacher, national political correspondents for The New York Times, discuss the battle over who should replace him on the ballot and the identity crisis inside the Democratic Party.</p> <p>Guest:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/lisa-lerer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Lisa Lerer</strong></a>, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.</li> <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/shane-goldmacher" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Shane Goldmacher</strong></a>, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.</li> </ul> <p>Background reading: </p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/06/us/politics/graham-platner-maine-assault.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mr. Platner’s Democratic support evaporated</a> after the sexual assault allegation.</li> <li>Progressives and moderates are gearing up for a fight over an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/07/us/politics/graham-platner-maine-replacements-democrats.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">as-yet-undecided process in Maine to name a replacement for Mr. Platner</a>.</li> </ul> <p>Photo: Sophie Park for The New York Times</p> <p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p> <p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>