Jul 18, 2026 · 59 min · 15 segments
What lessons have Democrats learned from the Graham Platner debacle…and what are their chances of finally unseating Senator Susan Collins with a campaign timeline that’s evaporating faster than you…
Alex Seitz-WaldGuest
Jon FavreauHost
I'm Jon Favreau, and you just heard from this week's guest, Alex Seitz-Wald, a former NBC political reporter who's now the deputy editor of The Midcoast Villager in Maine.
I haven't really had a chance to talk about the Graham Platner fiasco because I was on vacation when it happened, in Maine of all places, staying with Emily's family in Biddeford.
I kept Twitter off my phone for the week, wisely it turns out, so I had some extra time to think and even talk to some real-life Maine voters about the whole thing.
Mostly, I'm still furious at Platner for his dishonest and selfish and reckless behavior that's left so many people feeling hurt and betrayed: Jenny Rascott and Lindsay Fifield, his wife Amy, and others who care about him, the staffers, volunteers, and voters who believed in him, many who finally allowed themselves to feel a glimmer of hope about politics that was just snuffed out by yet another reason to stay cynical and disengaged.
People keep looking for lessons Democrats are supposed to learn from Platner's downfall.
Clearly, his campaign and consultants should have demanded more thorough vetting.
But honestly, even the most extensive vetting can't help a candidate who refuses to be honest with his closest advisors.
Platner lied to his campaign, the press, the public, and honestly, my first reaction after watching his exit video was that he may even be lying to himself.
I didn't actually endorse him over Janet Mills because, as I said at the time, I wanted to keep an open mind and let the primary process play out, which is why we made it a point to interview both candidates on Pod Save America.
I believed him when he said that his life started getting better a few years ago because he finally got help and reconnected with his community and met his wife, when he talked about how he's grown and changed.
And now it turns out that I gave him a lot more trust than he deserved, and that feels shitty, as does the fact that I'll probably approach the next candidate I'm inspired by with more skepticism.
A principle I try to live by in life and in politics is to assume well of other people and to show grace when they ask for it, even if it's possible they'll make me regret it.
I've noticed over the last week that some of the people who've been longtime Platner skeptics, rightly so, are now trying to make sure that the scandal's blast radius reaches beyond the candidate.
It's not at all surprising that this has become part of a factional war within the Democratic Party that's already making me wish I could spend the 2028 primary in a medically induced coma.
But I have to say, the effort to dismiss the entire Platner campaign as some kind of a left-wing psyop that was foisted upon unsuspecting Mainers just does not reflect the reality of what actually happened.
I'm Jon Favreau, and you just heard from this week's guest, Alex Seitz-Wald, a former NBC political reporter who's now the deputy editor of The Midcoast Villager in Maine.
I haven't really had a chance to talk about the Graham Platner fiasco because I was on vacation when it happened, in Maine of all places, staying with Emily's family in Biddeford.
I kept Twitter off my phone for the week, wisely it turns out, so I had some extra time to think and even talk to some real-life Maine voters about the whole thing.
Mostly, I'm still furious at Platner for his dishonest and selfish and reckless behavior that's left so many people feeling hurt and betrayed: Jenny Rascott and Lindsay Fifield, his wife Amy, and others who care about him, the staffers, volunteers, and voters who believed in him, many who finally allowed themselves to feel a glimmer of hope about politics that was just snuffed out by yet another reason to stay cynical and disengaged.
People keep looking for lessons Democrats are supposed to learn from Platner's downfall.
Clearly, his campaign and consultants should have demanded more thorough vetting.
But honestly, even the most extensive vetting can't help a candidate who refuses to be honest with his closest advisors.
Platner lied to his campaign, the press, the public, and honestly, my first reaction after watching his exit video was that he may even be lying to himself.
I didn't actually endorse him over Janet Mills because, as I said at the time, I wanted to keep an open mind and let the primary process play out, which is why we made it a point to interview both candidates on Pod Save America.
I believed him when he said that his life started getting better a few years ago because he finally got help and reconnected with his community and met his wife, when he talked about how he's grown and changed.
And now it turns out that I gave him a lot more trust than he deserved, and that feels shitty, as does the fact that I'll probably approach the next candidate I'm inspired by with more skepticism.
A principle I try to live by in life and in politics is to assume well of other people and to show grace when they ask for it, even if it's possible they'll make me regret it.
I've noticed over the last week that some of the people who've been longtime Platner skeptics, rightly so, are now trying to make sure that the scandal's blast radius reaches beyond the candidate.
It's not at all surprising that this has become part of a factional war within the Democratic Party that's already making me wish I could spend the 2028 primary in a medically induced coma.
But I have to say, the effort to dismiss the entire Platner campaign as some kind of a left-wing psyop that was foisted upon unsuspecting Mainers just does not reflect the reality of what actually happened.
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