Graham Platner and Lindsey Graham are both hoping for comfortably big victories.
Welcome to another Primary Eve.
On Tuesday, Maine, North Dakota, Nevada and South Carolina are holding primary contests, and my colleagues and I will be covering key races in those states all day.
But tonight, I wanted to focus on a few big questions I have about two fascinating Senate primary races unfolding in Maine and South Carolina.
How divided are Maine Democrats?
I’ve been on hiatus from On Politics for the past week or so in order to write about some of the wild developments in the Maine Senate race, where Graham Platner is the presumptive Democratic nominee against Senator Susan Collins, a Republican. The contest is essential to Democrats’ hopes of retaking the Senate.
To catch you up quickly: Two Saturdays ago, my colleague Lisa Lerer and I (and our friends at The Wall Street Journal) reported that Platner’s wife told his campaign last summer that he had been exchanging sexual messages with other women. The conduct had stopped, a campaign official told us, before his candidacy began — but news of the sexting scandal seemed to rock the race.
Then, on Thursday, Lisa and I reported on three women — one a Virginia conservative, the other two Maine Democrats — who had been romantically involved with Platner, describing volatile and “toxic” relationships. One described physical altercations, a claim he has denied and suggested was politically motivated.
What does all of this mean for Platner’s showing in the primary tomorrow?
Technically, as Gov. Janet Mills has pointedly reminded everyone, her name remains on the Democratic primary ballot even though she suspended her campaign in April. Is there a sizable protest vote for her? Do some voters participate in the contested primary for governor but skip voting in the Senate race?