Platner May Be Out But the Media Insists on Punishing Democrats in Maine
Major media outlets are fast at work tearing apart presumptive Senate nominee and progressive Troy Jackson, while the Trump administration continues to terrorize a pro-Palestine student protester.
On this day in 1937, the Senate buried Franklin D. Roosevelt's plan to add seats to the Supreme Court. But his pressure campaign worked, as the court began upholding New Deal laws it once struck down, and a wave of retirements let FDR reshape the bench. Will 2028 Dem presidential candidates learn a lesson from FDR?
Good morning! It’s Andrew here, reporting once again from the great state of Maine. You may have heard that Maine has a new presumptive Democratic nominee: Troy Jackson. Now that he’s set to face Susan Collins, the Beltway media has some thoughts – and they’re not great.
In today’s ‘First Draft,’ reporters aren’t about to let Maine’s Senate contest be about the candidates’ politics, policy views, or records, or even the hell that Donald Trump has unleashed. Plus, we look at the latest development in the Trump administration’s long-running campaign to silence and deport student protester Mohsen Mahdawi.
‘The Water Bottle Episode’
Democrats in Maine yearn for a different kind of politician in Washington – one who represents their political views and wants, rather than what the D.C. establishment thinks is best for them.
That was the throughline between Maine’s Democratic Senate primary, which saw populist outsider Graham Platner steamroll over the state’s two-term governor, and the conclusion of the hurried process that took place to replace Platner on the ballot after he was accused of rape.
The 17,000 Democrats who participated in the second primary overwhelmingly voted for delegates who support Troy Jackson, the former state Senate president whom Bernie Sanders had backed for governor. The contest wasn’t close. Jackson’s rivals dropped out. Upcoming debates were canceled.
So what was the national media’s response to this impressive organizing display from the new progressive Democratic Senate candidate in Maine?