Maine’s New Senate Candidates Sound a Lot Like Graham Platner

Indeed, they all sounded like Democrats, which was the point that Dickerson wanted to make in the second half. “The platform that we all have, I think, that we’ve heard tonight, is kind of simple,” she said. “But the thing that really keeps us from achieving this is one seat in the Senate, and that seat is currently held by Senator Collins. And it’s really important for people to vote blue to get that seat in Democratic hands for food security for all, health care for all, housing for all, to abolish ICE, and to reverse climate change and end the war.”

Since the choice to replace Platner will be up to convention delegates instead of primary voters, it was hard to see the point of the debate until then. What will people watching at home be able to do, if they can’t pick the party’s nominee? Instead, the debate served as a pitch for the Democrats in general, a plea to Mainers not to give up on the party this year just because of the Platner mess. Vote for us—whichever one of us is on the ballot in November—over Collins, they effectively argued. We’re all better than she is.

The delegates, meanwhile, will have a tough choice because instead of sharp ideological differences, they will be deciding based on the candidates’ résumés and vibes (or their personal or political connections to candidates, in some cases). The state party undoubtedly wishes it had more time—if not to hold a new primary, then at least to give the candidates more runway in their campaigns, to polish their talking points and policies. But the debate at least illustrated that Maine voters don’t have to choose between political beliefs and moral ones; that they don’t have to back a deeply flawed candidate just for the sake of a movement. Plenty of normal-seeming people were ready to show up and assume the mantle, after all.