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Things Not Bad Enough for LA To Change Course?
Could things ever get bad enough in a big, liberal-run city for one to elect a mayor like Rudy Giuliani again?
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NYT > U.S. > Politics
5 Things to Know About Graham Platner, Democratic Senate Candidate in Maine
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Mr. Platner, an oyster farmer running for a Senate seat on a progressive platform, has drawn a large following among Democrats in Maine. His campaign has also surfaced damaging reports about his personal history.
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Platner's big night: 5 takeaways from Tuesday's primaries
Maine Democrats handed progressive firebrand Graham Platner an easy win in Tuesday's Senate primary, looking past his personal scandals in hopes he can oust five-term GOP Sen. Susan Collins in November.Why it matters: Tuesday's results set up what's sure to be a nasty, expensive battle for a seat that will go a long way toward determining control of the Senate. They also illustrated the huge contrasts now animating the political parties:GOP voters are almost always in lockstep with the leader of their party, President Trump, whose pick for South Carolina governor advanced to a runoff.As for Democrats, the combination of being desperate for victory and having no one with enough clout to stop an embattled outsider helped set the stage for Platner's big win over Gov. Janet Mills, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's pick in the race.Zoom in: Platner's victory was also the latest one for Democratic progressives in their ongoing civil war with the party's moderates.Standing behind a sign that defiantly read, "They Don't Know Maine," Platner delivered an acceptance speech that mixed talk of his past regrets and slammed elites who'd opposed him."The national pundits, the political establishment, they keep looking for that one story, that one headline, that one moment in my life that they can define the campaign by," Platner said. "But in trying so hard to understand me, they failed to understand that this is not about me at all. This is a movement about us."Late Tuesday, Schumer and Senate Democrats' top super PAC put out statements making clear they support Platner.Key takeaways from Tuesday:Platner's latest round of scandals haven't hurt him — yet. His campaign has been a roller coaster ride of revelations, from the Nazi-linked tattoo he covered up to the recent reports that he'd sent sexually suggestive texts to women who weren't his wife. The reports gripped D.C. and made lots of ad fodder for Republicans, but didn't appear to damage Platner in Tuesday's primary. Early returns showed him with about 72% of the vote— close to his poll numbers before the latest headlines.Here come the attacks: In a preview of the smash-mouth assaults headed for Platner, Republican National Committee chair Joe Gruters called the Democratic nominee a "racist, sexist, Nazi-loving domestic abuser." Platner, a Marine combat veteran, kick-started his campaign against Collins by casting her as a corrupt warmonger who "handed out billions of dollars to defense companies" while "I got blown up."The parties' role-reversal: On one side, there's a scandal-plagued man running as a populist that the political establishment tried and failed to stop. On the other, a moderate woman who's been in D.C. for decades. It's not the 2016 election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton — it's the match-up between Platner and Collins that looks like the Senate version, with the parties switched. Dems warm to controversy: Blame it on Trump lowering the bar for candidates' personal conduct, Democrats losing trust in their leaders to know what it takes to win, or something darker. Platner's primary victory signals that Democratic voters have become more willing to accept skeletons in a candidate's closet. Trump picks a winner, while Rep. Nancy Mace hits a dead end: In the latest affirmation of Trump's power over the GOP, his pick in South Carolina's gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, advanced to a runoff with state Attorney General Alan Wilson. Mace, a former Trump loyalist who fell out of favor with him after pushing for the release of the Epstein files, was running fifth in the primary.
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The Hill News
Platner sails through primary amid controversy: 5 takeaways from Tuesday’s elections
Progressive oyster farmer Graham Platner easily won the Democratic contest on Tuesday to take on Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) — officially teeing up one of this year’s marquee Senate races. Planter was expected to win the Democratic primary, but recent revelations over a sexting scandal and his alleged toxic conduct from several ex-girlfriends have rocked his campaign and rattled…
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Bloomberg Politics
Nevada Attorney General Wins Democratic Gubernatorial Primary
Aaron Ford, Nevada’s attorney general, has prevailed over a crowded field of Democrats to face off against first-term Governor Joe Lombardo, a Republican, in a race that will test voters’ willingness to back President Donald Trump’s economic agenda in the midst of headwinds caused in part by his policies.
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NYT > U.S. > Politics
Takeaways From Tuesday’s Primary Elections in Maine and South Carolina
Graham Platner won the Democratic primary for Senate in Maine and quickly turned his populist message against Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent.
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NPR Topics: News
In Nevada, Trump's policies are making things tough for Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo
In one of the most competitive races for governor this year, Nevada Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford will challenge Republican Gov. Joe Lomardo for his office in November.
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Politics - CBSNews.com
Nevada GOP Gov. Lombardo projected to face Democrat Ford in highly competitive race
Democrats are aiming to unseat Nevada GOP Gov. Joe Lombardo in one of the country's most tightly contested gubernatorial contests this year.
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Alternet.org
Controversial Platner pulls off political upset in Maine
Overcoming a series of scandals that experts feared would sink his campaign, former oysterman Graham Platner defeated Gov. Janet Mills in the Maine Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday.Platner entered the election with high hopes, as supporters embraced his economic populist message. Yet despite receiving high profile endorsements, including from the democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Platner’s campaign was bogged down by a series of scandals. First it came out that he had a Nazi tattoo on his chest, which he claims he chose without realizing its fascist origins. Then it was revealed that he had made racist, homophobic and sexist comments on Reddit boards, including claiming Black people are bad tippers and that victims of sexual violence needed to take accountability. Next it was revealed that he had shared intimate tests with multiple women while married, with a former campaign adviser accusing him of misleading people about this and other aspects of his past.Despite these potential political liabilities, Platner convinced enough Democratic primary voters that he could defeat the incumbent Republican to prevail in the primary. He will now face off in the general election against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) — with one caveat. If more scandals come out against Platner, Democrats can try to convince him to withdraw and pick a replacement candidate at a convention in July.
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