Maine Votes as Graham Platner’s Past Poses New Conundrums

From the New York Times, I'm Natalie. Kitroof. [music] This is the Daily. [music]. On Tuesday, mayors will vote in a. primary [music] for a highstakes Senate. seat that Democrats think they can win. back from Republicans for the first. [music] time in decades. They're pinning their hopes on. progressive Democrat Graham Platner, a. [music] charismatic oyster farmer and a. combat veteran with a populist message.

But Platner's [music] faced a string of. accusations surrounding his personal. behavior, including new reporting in the. Times that broke last week. Today, my [music] colleagues Lisa Lair. and Katie Glick explain what this race. means for Maine and for [music] the. prospects of the Democratic Party. >> [music]. [music]. >> It's Tuesday, June 9th.

>> Hi, Lisa. >> Hi. >> Hi, Katie. >> Hi. So, we have you here because you two. broke this story late last week and I. think it's fair to say that it generated. a huge reaction. >> I think that's fair to say. It's been. quite the wild couple of days. I think. this story has really divided voters and.

strategists and the chattering political. class not only in Maine but just all. over the country. Just to lay it out, this was a story about the experiences. of past girlfriends of Graham Platner. Allegations of heavy drinking, physical. intimidation. These were not allegations. of anything criminal. No allegations of. domestic abuse, but some pretty rough. stuff. And we're going to get deeper. into that reporting. But before we do.

that, just explain for me the stakes of. what we're talking about here, the. stakes of this race. I think that in part it reflects just. how critical this race is. Maine is all. but essential to the Democrats path to. retaking the Senate. But, you know, even. before there was any serious talk of who. the Democratic nominee could or should. be, Maine loomed so large in the minds.

of Democrats because they thought last. time that Susan Collins was on the. ballot that she was finally going to. lose. Instead, she wins. And so going in. to 2026, people were extremely motivated. to finally mount a campaign that could. actually defeat Senator Collins. You. know, and I also think this race, it's a. place where they have really tested this. thesis, which many Democrats believe. that the party needs new energy, new.

leadership, more authentic messengers, and they are testing that through this. candidate, Graham Platner, who is likely. to be their Democratic nominee in this. race. >> Okay. So, a lot writing on this, both in. terms of the numbers, as you guys have. said, and in terms of these broader. ideas of what the Democratic Party's. identity is. Let's just talk about how. we got here. Set up this contest for us. So, at the very beginning of this.

contest, there was really a widespread. expectation that the Democratic nominee. would be Janet Mills, who is the. 78-year-old two-term governor of Maine. She was the candidate that was the pick. of Chuck Schumer who really is in charge. of Democrats ambitions for the Senate. She had the political staff. She was. just a well-known Democratic leader in. this state. And then over last summer, some progressive operatives and. activists decided that they were really. unhappy with Mills as the pick. And so.

they went up to Maine and started. looking for someone else who could. challenge. >> Janet Mills in the Democratic primary. And they found Graham Platner, who at. the time was running a small oyster farm. in coastal Maine. He had moved back up. in 2016 after spending some time in. Washington, serving in the military. He. had never run for any elected office, but they decided that this was the guy. who could challenge Janet Mills and.

should he win the nomination, eventually. Susan Collins. >> And why pick him? I get that he reads as. homegrown. You know, he's a little rough. around the edges in a kind of everyman. way, but what about him specifically. felt like the right choice for these. progressives? How did they actually land. on this guy? >> They had seen a video that he had done. as part of like an aquaculture. association sort of related to the. oysters. >> An aquaculture association. >> Yes, that's what the oyster made.

>> Yes. >> Got it. Um, and you know, he had been. involved with some very local political. fights over aquaculture in the bay where. he has his oyster farm. And they saw. that he could sort of speak compellingly. and what he had to say was essentially. an economic populist message talking. about taking on corruption, taking on. billionaires, and that sort of caught. their attention. And there was also this. idea of from the progressive democratic.

side of making this a test case for the. party establishment of this was a place. where they thought that they could sort. of send a message about the kind of. leaders they thought the party should. have. >> Okay. So these progressives find. Platner. They choose him. They see him. as the foil for Janet Mills. And what. happens? How does it go? In Maine, there. is a new Democrat trying to harvest a. political career, so to speak. >> He starts taking off. Let's talk about. Flatner who's completely unknown and.

untested. He. >> has just kind of exploded on the scene. >> He has a lot of natural political. talent. >> My name is Graham Platner and I am. running for United States Senate. [screaming and cheering]. >> He's sitting for every interview. >> My guest today is a veteran oyster. farmer and main Senate candidate, Graham. Platner. Graham, [music] great to see. you. >> Thank you. Our guest this Sunday is. Graham Platner who's running for Senate. in Maine. >> Let's talk to Graham Platner. >> Hours and hours and hours of podcasting. of interviews. >> Relatable. >> Relatable, right? Um he's doing these.

town halls. >> Until the Democratic Party at the. federal level is no longer beholden to. the same corporate interests that the. Republican party is, we're going to find. ourselves back in this position over and. over [cheering] and over. >> And he begins to sort of build a. following. We are hanging on by a threat. and we either organize and build power. in fight or we lose. and we can't lose. [music].

>> So he also benefits from two major. liabilities for Governor Mills. The. first is there is a real strain of. anti-establishment. fervor running through at least some. corners of the Democratic base right. now. People are upset with Democratic. leadership in Washington. And the other. thing is her age. Platner is 41. Mills. is 78. Coming off of the experience of.

the 2024 election, a lot of Democrats. are demanding a new generation of. leadership. And the thing that we would. hear from voters over and over is that. no matter how much they respected. Governor Mills, 78 is too old. >> So he takes off for all the reasons. you're saying, Katie. And then what. happens? >> So the flip side of finding new outsider. political candidates is sometimes they. have not gone through the kind of. vetting that veteran establishment.

politicians have done. and revelations. about a trove of comments he made on. Reddit, some of them quite inflammatory, come out. Revelations that he had a. tattoo on his chest that was widely. recognized as a Nazi symbol come out and. it sends his campaign into what looks. like freeall. You know, he has staffers. leaving the campaign. There's talk of. NDAs uh being required for the people. who stay. And a lot of people assume.

that these controversies are going to. doom him. >> Lisa, can you say more about both of. these things, both the tattoo and these. Reddit comments? Like, what are we. actually talking about here? >> So, the tattoo was a skull and. crossbones that Graham Platner had done. on his chest back in 2007 when he was in. the Marines. And it turned out that this. was not just any skull and crossbones, that this was in fact a Nazi symbol, a. toteen comb. >> Uhhuh. He actually revealed it himself.

His campaign had gotten word that the. tattoo was going to be put out there by. the media. So, he went on Pod Save. America, a liberal podcast. And. basically what he says is, "I got this. tattoo when I was in the Marines. I. didn't know what it was until this. campaign and what he calls DC insiders. and opposition researchers brought it to. my campaign's attention. And I regret. having it." And he eventually he gets it. covered up. And the phrase he used is, "I'm not a secret Nazi." He says he's.

lived his life like what he as a normal. person. He's taken his shirt off at the. beach and at the gym and no one in his. life ever told him that he had a Nazi. tattoo. >> Got it. And the Reddit posts, >> so the Reddit posts are a trove of about. 2,000 posts, comments really, that he. made on Reddit from about 2009 to 2021. when he says he stopped posting. It's. clear that he deleted some of the posts. before he entered the campaign. But as.

with all things on the internet, deleted. things can often come back and be. refound. And they're just a trove of. commentary. Some of his comments are. quite controversial. Made a few comments. about women sort of poo pooing women who. get raped and sort of questioning why. they are getting so drunk that they end. up raped. He used slurs about gay. people, about mentally disabled people. And how does Platner explain these. messages? He has said that many of the most.

inflammatory comments he wrote at a very. dark time in his life. Platner is a. combat veteran who served in Iraq and. Afghanistan. And he says that they do. not reflect the man he is today and. urges mayors not to judge him for as he. paraphrasing here the worst thing he. said on the internet on a particularly. bad day 14 years ago. >> Part of his response is to say look I. served this country. I came out deeply. damaged. That's what you're seeing in. these posts and I regret them. So how.

did that land? I think Democratic. strategists immediately see this as a. major liability, not only for his. candidacy in the primary, but also in. the general, given that Republicans have. already said they're going to spend tens. of millions of dollars on ads, no matter. who is the nominee. So, the Mills. campaign sees an opportunity in all of. this and they start running ads. featuring women, particularly featuring. his comments about rape to try to swing. Maine voters towards their side and.

build her support. But, you know, it. doesn't really matter if Democrats in. Washington and Millstra just see this as. a liability. What matters, of course, is. what Maine voters think, >> right? >> So, we went up to Maine to hear about. that. And there were really a range of. reactions. Some people are really. worried about his comment about women. and the tattoo, and they're worried that. something else could maybe come out. about him that could be damaging. I think perhaps one of the most striking. moments we observed was a woman who.

stood up at a town hall and asked point. blank, "What else do voters need to know. about you?". >> I hear your heart saying, "You've. changed. You're a different person now.". But they're going to try to find. whatever they can. >> And specifically, is there an account of. a woman who's going to come out and say. you mistreated her? Is there anything. from your past that they can dig up on a. woman that maybe. no didn't mean no at the time?

>> No. >> His response was equally striking. >> I've never had some kind of like weird. relationships with people. I have a lot. of ex-girlfriends. They're all still my. friends. >> He promised the audience there was. nothing else that would come out. But it. was also really clear that his message. was hitting something really deep that. these Democratic primary voters wanted. >> Graham Platner has given me hope. He is. a good old boy. He is a regular person. He is relatable.

>> I think the authenticity of him, his. ability to speak to everyday issues that. are facing mayors. There were a lot of. people who said that he was speaking for. them for working-class voters. >> The affordability crisis, he definitely. spoke to that and was something that I. personally am struggling with. And you. know, >> there were a lot of people who believed. he was a new kind of messenger for a. broken political system, >> marginalized communities, working-class. communities. I mean, we're definitely. been left out of the conversations of. politics for quite some time, right? And.

so. >> that he could create sort of a new kind. of politics. [music] For me, a big part. of it is like the apologeticness, just owning up to things that he's done. And. >> you know, there's another group of. people who feel a lot of empathy for his. explanation that he made these mistakes. at a very dark period of his life. >> We've all made dumb decisions and done. things that we wish we hadn't done and. trying to move forward from those kinds. of things. That's really relatable for. me. [music] So I think it becomes clear. that this is a movement and he has built.

something [music] here in Maine. It sounds like there were some doubts. about Platner in the minds of some. voters, but ultimately the enthusiasm. for him, the enthusiasm for his politics. outweighs those misgivings. >> That's exactly right. And a really. perfect illustration of this is the fact. that the day after we talked to all of. these voters at a town hall in Maine, same town hall where Platner is facing.

some of these really pointed questions, Governor Janet Mills ends up dropping. out of the race after spending months. trailing Platner in the polls, struggling to gain traction, and really. running a very low-key campaign. She. says it's because she runs out of money. And when you run out of money as a. candidate, that's a pretty good sign. that you have not effectively connected. with the voters. Meanwhile, Platner is. continuing to do well in the polls. He's. continuing to rake in the fundraising.

And with Mill's shock decision to drop. out, he effectively immediately becomes. the presumptive Democratic nominee and. the general election is off to the. races. Hm. >> So, like happens in any sort of marquee. Senate race along with the front runner. status comes the scrutiny. >> and this is when more allegations start. to surface. >> This is when the rumors that were. already surrounding him go into. hyperdrive. So the first big story that. breaks and it breaks by us in the New.

York Times and also in the Wall Street. Journal is that he had been exchanging. explicit messages with multiple women as. recently as May 2025. Of course, his. campaign launches in August 2025. And it. is his wife who confirms the story to. the national media. And the story is. basically that, you know, within the. first two weeks after he announced his. campaign, she went to a campaign staffer. and flagged these messages as a. potential political liability. She says.

that they are working through it, that. they're in marriage counseling. They. post a four minute long tearful video. message from her where she sort of. explains the impact this coming out in. the public has on their lives. But it. also sets off this frenzy around what. else there is in terms of Graham. Platner's interactions with women. >> And this brings us, I assume, to last. Thursday when your story broke. >> Yes. On Thursday, we published this. story that has been months in the making.

that is rooted in more than two dozen. interviews. And it's really based on. allegations from three different women. who dated Platner. [snorts] They. describe reckless and unsettling. behavior. They describe heavy drinking, infidelity, and in at least one case, there is the description of physical. intimidation. >> When you say physical intimidation, what. do you actually mean by that? Well, a woman who now lives in Virginia, Lindseay Field, dated Platner from about.

2013 to 2015. And she described several. instances of what she said was physical. intimidation. There was one where she. said Graham Platner yanked her out of a. taxi by her wrist. >> She said that he would kind of grab her. by the shoulders hard enough to leave. marks and kind of move her around from. place to place. And she said once when. they had both been drinking and were. having a fight over infidelity, he. pinned her arm behind her back and sort. of pushed her into a room and held the.

door closed. And she says it hurt, you. know, but it didn't break her arm, but. it hurt. But it is important to note. that Lindsay Field said that Platner. never hit her. He never punched her. That this was physical, but it didn't. cross that line. But beyond the issues. of physical intimidation that Lindseay. Field was alleging, there were other. concerns that she raised. Uh she said. that the way that Platner could talk. about violence would leave her uneasy uh.

at times. She says he left an AR-15. lying around his apartment on Capitol. Hill. She also recalled that he would. say pretty disturbing things. For. example, she told us that he would say. the following quote, "If anybody ever. broke in here, I would rape them." Um, she said that he added that it would not. be quote in a sexual way, not in a gay. way, but that he would quote rape them. to show them that I'm dominant, she. said. And she also added that he knew.

the tattoo was a Nazi symbol and he. would joke about it being a Nazi symbol. and called it affectionately mine toten. comp. Wow. And this is notable because. Platner, as you told us, has said. throughout the campaign and recently to. our colleague Lulu Garcia Navaro, that. he didn't know it was a Nazi tattoo. >> Exactly. And what Lindsay says is not. only did he know, but he and other. members of his unit and the Marines. selected the tattoo because they were,

as she says, quote, like a death unit. They were killers. and they saw a. parallel between what they were doing. and the Nazi SS unit. >> And how did you evaluate these claims? I. mean, she's telling you these really. explosive things. How do you corroborate. them? [gasps]. >> So, we looked at texts over the years. between uh Miss Field and Mr. Platner. We looked at uh Ghat conversations at. Facebook messages between Lindsay and a. number of her friends uh both during and.

after the relationship. We saw some of. her diary entries after the relationship. had ended. And we talked to two of her. friends who told us that indeed the pair. had had an emotionally volatile. relationship at the same time. And and. we're clear about this in the story. Uh. you know, those friends could not offer. corroboration from the time regarding. the physical altercations, the most. controversial comments that Lindsay. described. and she told us that she. didn't expect them to be able to offer.

that real time cooperation from that. time because she said she didn't tell. anyone at the time, saying that she was. embarrassed. But to be clear, we spoke. with three women who dated Platner on. and off over a period of years, as. recently as 2021. They said spending. time with him could be exhilarating, but. they also recounted patterns of heavy. drinking, of womanizing. One of the. women, for instance, told us about an. incident in 2021 in which Platner was.

very drunk. She told him not to come. over. He did anyway. Uh, and she. describes his behavior uh that night as. reckless and unsettling and says she. goes on to cut off contact with him. So. the other element that we had to contend. with in this story is that Lindsay Field. is a conservative and she is someone who. has a long history of working in. Republican politics. She worked for the. Heritage Foundation which is of course a. conservative think tank. She worked for. Independent Women which is a. conservative women's organization and.

she worked briefly on Nikki Haley's. primary campaign. These were not things. that she hid from us. She was very open. about her political views and her. political background and said that they. had no influence on the allegations that. she was making against Platner. But, you. know, as part of our corroboration. process and certainly on behalf of Times. readers, we had to look into those. claims and really investigate whether. she did have any ties to the Collins. campaign. And in the end, we could not.

find any evidence that she did. And. since the story ran, Susan Collins. herself came out and said she had never. met Lindseay Field or even heard her. name. >> But of course, just because she doesn't. have a connection to Susan Collins's. campaign doesn't mean that she doesn't. have an agenda, right? H how did you. think about that? >> Well, I think that was an important. question in the reporting. And so we. dealt with it in a number of ways. We. asked her directly about it and she said. very clearly that she would have brought.

the allegations even against a. Republican. And the other thing we did. is we felt it was really really. important to be transparent with Times. readers about what we knew and what we. did not know about her political. background. >> And how did the Platiner campaign react. when you brought them this reporting. before you publish when you're letting. them know this is what our reporting has. revealed? So, we went to the campaign. with the allegations and ran them. through the story a number of times and.

they chose to respond in a few different. ways. First, they chose to specifically. deny two things. One, that Graham. Platner knew what his tattoo symbolized. and knew that it was a Nazi symbol at. any point in time, but specifically when. he got it. Second, being any allegation. of any kind of physical intimidation. And beyond those two specific denials, they offered two blanket statements. One. was from Graham Platner himself uh where. he talked about being a less than.

perfect boyfriend and said he took. responsibility for that behavior, but. anything beyond that was categorically. false. They also offered a second. statement that came from the campaign. where they really attempted to undercut. Lindseay Field's allegations by pointing. out her conservative background and. really painting her as a Republican. political operative. And they also. connected us to five people including. three former girlfriends who could. testify to Platner's character. And and.

so we called all those people and they. described a far more positive. interaction with him and far more. positive characterization of his sort of. intimate relationships. And then we felt after a pretty. intensive editing and standards process. here at the times, we were ready to. publish after all those months of. reporting. [music]. And so we published. and then all hell broke loose. [music].

>> [music]. [music]. >> We'll be right back. >> Okay, Lisa, talk us through the hell. breaking loose. So almost immediately it. was absolute mayhem on all the places. that political gadflies, commentators,

strategists gather online. >> So X. >> X social media, Facebook, all those. kinds of places. And look, you have to. remember everyone across the country is. invested in this race because both sides. want to win control of the Senate. But. they also see at least among Democrats. as this really big struggle over what. the path forward is for this party that. is so deeply in the wilderness right. now. So people really went crazy across. the political spectrum and on the right.

and on the left they had a lot of views. about this story. People on the right. said the story downplayed real. allegations that we had intentionally. chosen not to report things that we had. that were more serious than the various. allegations included in our story. And. what was particularly interesting about. that was the people making those claims. included Lindseay Fifeld herself who. said there were much more serious things. out there than we had reported. So the.

critics on the right and this source. Lindseay Field are saying you didn't go. far enough. You intentionally protected. Platner. >> Yes. They're saying that this story. which revealed really serious. allegations about Graham Platner's. conduct in the past was actually a gift. to his campaign because it functioned to. bury more serious allegations that they. believe are out there. And look, that's. just categorically false. The Times is. not in the business of holding back for.

any candidate or agenda. We published. everything credible that we had. >> And what about Democrats? Like what was. the tenor of their response? >> For more moderate Democratic officials, this is exactly what they have been. worrying about. >> I look forward to the day where I am not. answering every single week a question. about bad behavior by another dude. I I. just you saw Senator Alyssa Slaken from. Michigan expressing exasperation about. being asked about yet another Platner.

controversy. >> Being a dirt bag is not authentic. You. know, being a dirt bag is being a dirt. bag. >> You saw Senator John Federman of of. Pennsylvania go much further in. condemning this. And more broadly, there. is this fear that what should be an an. eminently winnable seat this year and a. year that is looking to be quite. challenging for Republicans is in fact. going to end up backfiring for the. Democrats. And on the progressive left, there was a very different reaction.

They rallied behind Graham Platner. >> So I think when you look at politics in. general, uh there are no saints uh in. the United States Senate. People can. argue about this aspect of Grab or. another, but to my mind right now, we. need allies in the United States Senate. who have the guts to take on the big. money. >> Senator Bernie Sanders restated his. support for Platner and said he was. still standing by him. >> I'm going to do everything I can to make. sure that Graham Platner is the next.

senator from the state of Maine. [applause]. a number of sort of progressives, strategists and professionals, activists. online really attempted to downplay the. allegations. And Platner himself kind of. takes the same tact in an interview with. Chris Hayes on MS Now where he denies. the physical allegations and really. pushes this idea that Lindseay Fifeld is. a right-wing operative. And those kinds. of claims about her political background.

being the driver of her desire to make. these allegations are really echoed. across the whole ecosystem of the. progressive left. >> Got it. So, some worry it sounds like. from moderate Democratic officials who. see this as a flashing red warning sign. and progressives on the other hand. saying this doesn't matter. This is not. going to be a problem in a way kind of. more of the same. Talk about voters and. how they reacted to this. Well, our.

colleague, Daily producer Caitlyn. O'Keefe, spent the weekend calling main. voters and asked them what they were. making of all this. Do you know who you're going to vote for. on Tuesday primary day? >> Absolutely. Supporting Graham Platner. >> I'm going to vote for Graham Platner. >> I just can't bring myself to support. [music] Platner. >> So, there's a couple different groups of. people. >> At the end of the day, you kind of just. have to figure out if you believe in. someone's character or not. And I.

haven't believed in anyone's character. other than Graham Platner for a very. long time. >> Some of them are just all in on Graham. Platner. I am not marrying the man. I am. not dating the man. I am not expecting. him to be flawless. >> They think he's flawed. But who isn't. flawed? >> I don't see any evidence that supports. the fact that he's an abusive person or. did anything ridiculously out of line. >> And some of those people also question.

whether to believe Lindsay Field because. of her conservative background. since. the primary accuser has worked for the. Heritage Foundation. I mean, seriously, >> on the other hand, there's a set of. people who are really against Graham. Planner. >> I don't think he has the demeanor that. we need in a US senator. I think he's a. clown. >> They were wary of him before, and this. is just confirmed their concerns. >> Just because that woman happens to work. for the Republicans, the one who is the.

chief accuser, doesn't mean she's not. telling the truth. He clearly dated her. And I thought we were supposed to listen. to women. >> And they're saying, [music] "Aren't we. supposed to believe women?". >> If we as progressive women are saying, "Believe women, except for the ones that. were on the opposite political spectrum. of that is wrong and gross.". >> And some of these people were lifelong. Democrats are lifelong Democrats. And. now they're really thinking about. whether to support Collins in the. general election. Like I never thought. that I would be factchecking Susan.

Collins record to see if there's. anything redeemable in it. And here I am. being like gh like how bad is she? Like. it like makes me gross even thinking. about potentially. >> I'm not a fan of Susan Collins by any. stretch. But I know that she won't. embarrass the state and I'm really. afraid that he will. [music]. >> And lastly, there's just a group of. people who don't know what to do. They're really torn. I want to vote for. someone who I can fully stand behind and. in an ideal world that would be the.

candidate that we have. But if it's not. Platiner, then who is it? Just pitching forward to that general. election scenario, it does seem entirely. possible that despite all of these. accusations, Platner could still win, right? It seems clear obviously that. this drip drip drip of revelations has. had an impact on his campaign, but we.

don't know if this is actually. disqualifying in the eyes of voters yet. >> No. And we're a long way to go from the. general election. I know for people who. have been following this race closely, it feels like we've been in it for a. long time, but there's still many months. to go before a general election. And. this is of course a year that by all. indications and granted it's still. fairly early is likely to favor. Democrats. So it's definitely possible. Graham Platner is the next senator from. Maine. Okay. Just talk about what.

lessons Democrats would take from either. outcome here from voters in a general. election rejecting Platner in part. because of his flawed past or of him. winning. Does this race seem like a. referendum on whether this kind of. political scandal matters to Democratic. voters in an era when Republicans seem. to have abandoned morality tests for. some of their most high-profile. candidates? >> I might look at it slightly differently.

The 2028 presidential election will. start the moment the midterm elections. are over. And people are already using. this race and other key races around the. country to advance their theories of. what it's going to take to win in 28. And I think no matter what happens, the. result in Maine is going to fuel. arguments about who the next. presidential candidate should be. So if.

Platner wins, you are going to see a lot. of the more progressive Democrats who. have rallied to him, who have embraced. his candidacy, say this is the path. forward. We need more candidates who are. speaking out boldly on Medicare for all, on confronting the oligarchy, on taking. a a much harder line uh toward Israel, for example, and you know, arguing that. that finding candidates maybe from. outside the traditional system, that. that's the way to connect with. disaffected voters, in particular,

working-class voters. >> If he loses, uh, the recriminations are. going to be extraordinary. more moderate. Democrats will say this is exactly why. you don't nominate someone who in their. view is too far left, someone who has. far too much personal baggage. We need. to go with someone who has been far more. vetted and experienced. So no matter the. outcome, this race and its outcome is. going to be a microcosm of the. Democratic fights to come over the real. future of the party, which I think will. not be decided until 28. You're saying.

Democrats may very well take the result. in Maine as a verdict not just on. Platner but on what they should do in. 2028 in the national election. >> Right. Basically what you're saying is. that this Platner Collins race and what. Democrats ultimately draw from it is. reflective of something that we as a. country have been grappling with. this. rethinking of what we want from our. political leaders. President Trump.

represented this huge shift for the. Republican party, someone who's an. outsider who'd never been elected to. anything, who can easily connect with. regular people because he reflects raw. anger that voters have. And now the. Democrats are grappling with something. very similar. It's a different flavor of. that. But that is at its core the. dilemma. What do we actually need our. politicians, our leaders, our.

representatives to be for us? I think. that's right. I I think the country is. going through a period of rethinking. what kind of experience they want their. political leaders to have and also what. kind of things that were traditionally. seen as political baggage they're. willing to accept. And we're at a moment. where the country and voters on both. sides are re-evaluating how they view. both experience and baggage. [music]. And I think this main race is testing in.

a really big, really high-profile way. how much Democratic [music]. primary voters are willing to prioritize. someone that they feel authentically. represents them over things they may not. like about the person or even questions. of their personal character. Well, Lisa, [music] Katie, thank you. both so much. Thank you. Thanks for. having us.

[music]. >> We'll be right back. Here's what else you need to know. Today, [music] a US Army Apache. helicopter gunship went down near the. straight of Hormuz on Monday and the two. crew members were safely rescued. according to two people briefed on the. incident. It wasn't immediately clear.

whether the Apache was shot down by. Iranian fire, [music] experienced. mechanical failure, or ran into some. other problem. The incident came after days of ups and. downs in the fighting in the Middle East. as Israel and Iran exchanged [music]. military strikes before stepping back. The Trump administration had not. disclosed news of the downed helicopter. by the time the New York Times reached. out to the White House for comment on. Monday [music] night.

>> [music]. >> Today's episode was produced by Caitlyn. O'Keefe, Nina Feldman, Asta Chathurvedy, and Chris Benderev [music] with help. from Alex Young. It was edited by MJ. Davis Lynn, and Paige Cowat, and. contains music by Dan Powell, Pat. McCusker, [music]. and Marian Lozano. Our theme music is by. Wonderly. This episode was engineered by. Chris [music] Wood. >> [music].

[music]. >> That's it for the daily. I'm Natalie. Ketro. See you tomorrow.