ME-SEN: Maine Democrats to Chuck Schumer: Stay Out of Our Senate Race

[RandySF]

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York is accustomed to getting his way in Democratic primaries for Senate.

But even as Mr. Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate for nearly a decade, has successfully recruited a number of nominees in marquee races this year, he is getting a clear message from his party’s voters, candidates and local leaders in all-important Maine: Stay away.

In Maine, a pivotal battleground in the fight for control of the Senate, Democrats are trying to flip the seat of Senator Susan Collins, a five-term Republican. In the spring, they soundly rejected Mr. Schumer’s choice, Gov. Janet Mills. Graham Platner, an oysterman running on a progressive and anti-establishment message, forced Ms. Mills out of the race weeks before Primary Day.

Now that Mr. Platner has ended his campaign after a rape allegation that he denies, voters and state party leaders are warning Mr. Schumer and other Democratic leaders in Washington, D.C., not to intervene in the process the state party is using to replace Mr. Platner. All the leading candidates running to replace Mr. Platner have signaled interest in replacing Mr. Schumer as leader after the midterms.




https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/13/us/politics/maine-democrats-schumer-stay-out-senate-race.html

[lostincalifornia]

1. Fine, and others outside of Maine should ALSO keep there nose out of it in that case. Do you

hear that Bernie?

Vermont isn't Maine, and the populous of Maine can decide who they want.

and while I am at it, f**k the NY Times, doing their usual "Democrats are in disarray" bulllshit.

[Lovie777]

2. DSA threatening again?....

[RandySF]

3. TBF, the Mills recruitment was a disaster.

I heard in a podcast that there were multiple potential candidates until Schumer chased them off in favor of a reluctant Janet Mills who became the main alternative to Platner.

[DFW]

5. There was a selection available

Schumer went with name recognition and experience, and Janet provided both. She could have done the job, even if her heart wasn’t really in it. I’m sure Schumer did some pleading, because he wasn’t aware of anyone else. That’s on him. He should have looked harder. He got lazy.

So should Sanders, for that matter. His working class hero oyster farmer worked an oyster farm donated by his parents, and whose only customer was his mom’s restaurant. Sanders’ people never bothered to do their due diligence, and the damaged goods they celebrated did not become any less damaged. He got lazy, too.

I don’t blame the Maine Democrats for wanting to try to find a candidate on their own. It seems a given at this point that they couldn’t do a worse job than the boys from New York did so far.

[LisaL]

6. The oyster farm origins is not what did Platner in.

It's all his other extracurricular activities.
Which Sander's people should have vetted before convincing him to run. So, yes, Sanders should stay out of it too.

[eShirl]

10. So she agreed to run, then dropped out because (she said) she didn't have enough cash to keep going.

It was shocking. I'd been looking forward to the debate, then after she dropped out Platner cancelled and we never got a debate.

[GPV]

4. Not threatening. Trying to maintain the momentum that Platner had, but

without his baggage.

[ColoringFool]

7. Wait! Schumer DIDN'T WANT Platner, so SCHUMER Is Now Persona Non...

Grata?

Make it make sense.

[QueerDuck]

8. You've figured out the code!

Uh-ho! You're saying the quiet part out loud. Oops! (No more "knowing glances" and smirks and "evil-eyes" among those who hate the "outside influence" of Schumer, but who otherwise appear to look the other way, or openly welcome it from certain other outsiders.)

Interesting, no?

[LisaL]

9. Strange, isn't it?

Schumer isn't the one who recruited Platner to run. Which should have never happened with Platner's obvious baggage.
It didn't do anyone any good. But Schumer isn't the one responsible for this debacle.