Episode
The Platner Post-Mortem: Rieckhoff Takes On the DNC Establishment
- Published
- Jul 13, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 833
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Summary
Paul Rieckhoff joins the roundtable to dissect the wreckage of Graham Platner's Maine Senate campaign — alongside Bangor Daily News political editor Michael Shepherd, former DNC chair Jaime Harrison, and Puck's Leigh Ann Caldwell. Paul called this one early: Platner was a ship with holes in it from the start, and progressives were so desperate for a gravelly-voiced tough guy that they were willing to ignore the Nazi tattoo, the Reddit posts, and a vetting operation that missed most of it. His bigger point — Maine is an independent-minded state with a Republican senator and an independent one, and the answer isn't another progressive heartthrob but a moderate bridge-builder who can reach the 300,000-plus independents who actually decide these races.