Hoo boy.
If you missed the first set of debates for the Maine Democrats to decide who they’re going to put on the ballot to replace the disgraced and withdrawn Graham Platner because you had anything better to do with your life, I envy you.
Let me sum up what happened as quickly as possible: The first half was painful. The second half was laughable.
Eight candidates were competing to see who the Maine Democrats pick at a July 25 party convention. The first half included candidates who ran for different races during the primaries this year and lost but got at least 20 percent of the vote, according to CNN: Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, epidemiologist and public health official Nirav Shah, and Jordan Wood, former chief of staff for ex-U.S. Rep. Katie Porter who was third in the close vote for the Democratic nomination in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.
The second part was very politically called “an undercard of sorts, with four lesser-known candidates looking to break through in the abbreviated race” by CNN. It included the race’s potential breakthrough candidate to capture the same independent energy that Platner did: Dan Kleban, the Maine Beer Company founder who was squeezed out of the Senate race by Platner and establishment favorite Gov. Janet Mills.
It also included this guy:
MODERATOR: “What qualifications do you have to serve in the U.S. Senate?”
Maine Democrat Ashley Webb: “I’m a songwriter and I write my own books.” pic.twitter.com/csMIFkmt4Q
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 17, 2026
Will Susan Collins keep her seat in the Senate?
Yes: 0% (0 Votes)
No: 0% (0 Votes)
At the very least, Webb generated some interest in the second hour. The first included a bunch of people who mostly agreed with each other on far-left talking points that have become anodyne this election year, delivered in a manner that didn’t even rise to the low bar of performance that word implies.
From CNN:
None of the candidates in Thursday night’s debate could replicate the political skills that allowed Platner to emerge as a viral sensation, elbow a two-term governor out of the race and poll neck-and-neck with Collins before he ended his campaign after a woman accused him of rape — allegations he has denied. Shah’s delivery was one-note and Bellows’ was halting. Wood often turned to his notes. Jackson frequently cleared his throat and changed directions mid-sentence.
Bellows, who tried to get Donald Trump disqualified from Maine’s 2024 presidential ballot due to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, is arguably the favorite in this race, and even the moderators were calling her out for non-answer answers:
Maine Democrat Shenna Bellows gets called out by the moderator for giving a non-answer on funding Social Security.
MODERATOR: “You’ve gone 35 seconds and you didn’t give me any specifics.” pic.twitter.com/G7HoIk7Kuv
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 16, 2026
TL;DR: If you know what it’s like to not have money, Shenna Bellows knows how you feel. That means she’ll get the money. Trust her, she’s got the answer — unlike the thousands of other politicians who have made this empty promise, sometimes with specifics, and failed.
She did brag about trying to disqualify Trump, though. And while this might endear her to Democrats longing for the sugar high of Platnermania, swing voters considering Republican Sen. Susan Collins aren’t going to like this kind of stuff:
Maine Democrat Shenna Bellows – who is running to be handpicked by the Democrat establishment not Mainers – brags about interfering with elections and protecting illegals on voter rolls. pic.twitter.com/zWucrUd88E
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 16, 2026
Jordan Wood, meanwhile, made the mistake of bringing up his ex-boss, whose career ended in ignominy with a pitiful run at the California governorship amid spouse and staff abuse scandals:
Maine Democrat Jordan Wood says that his former boss Katie Porter is “a household name” for her work in Congress.
Speaking of households, how is Porter’s husband doing after she dumped a pot of hot potatoes on his head? pic.twitter.com/BJszuMMGJZ
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 17, 2026
Shah, meanwhile, argued such points as the fact that arresting and deposing narcoterrorist dictator Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela actually made America less safe:
Maine Democrat Nirav Shah says no one in the United States is “safer” after President Trump captured indicted narcoterrorist Nicolas Maduro.
Maduro is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans. pic.twitter.com/a6FxftDgs9
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 17, 2026
He also thinks money grows on trees:
Maine Democrat Senate candidate Nirav Shah says he “doesn’t buy it” that there’s not enough money in the budget for his policies.
Sounds like something a socialist would say… pic.twitter.com/jSoUFnMpUk
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 16, 2026
Then there was the undercard — mostly a second-chance for Kleban, but also for a few other local nut jobs like Elizabeth Dickerson, who’s running since she’s “very interested in climate.”
Maine Democrat Elizabeth Dickerson says she is running for Senate because she is “very interested in climate.” pic.twitter.com/nrl6kPrrKM
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 17, 2026
There was Webb, who seemed to be running (you will not be surprised to learn) on transgender issues:
Ashley Webb – a Democrat contender to replace Graham Platner for U.S. Senate:
“I don’t want to hurt anybody, I just want to use the bathroom…if they want me to use the men’s room I will but I don’t want to be assaulted.” pic.twitter.com/ckiNs08hi9
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 17, 2026
And then there was David Costello, who reminded us all why we were here by noting that Graham Platner allegedly voted for him:
Maine Democrat David Costello brags about accused rapist Graham Platner voting for him for Senate in 2024:
COSTELLO: “Graham actually said he voted for me…I argued then, and certainly Graham agreed, [that] we need to change the system.” pic.twitter.com/wIr4lDQ8tN
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 17, 2026
Kleban showed that he had some chops, although the non-answer answer was strong with him, too:
MODERATOR: What experience do you have in defense and national security?
KLEBAN: President Trump…
MODERATOR: The question was “what is your experience?”
KLEBAN: Well I wasn’t in the military pic.twitter.com/glktL0LYZC
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 17, 2026
And then there was this exchange:
MODERATOR: David Costello said he’s for Medicare for All. Is everybody?
KLEBEN: Yes.
DICKERSON: It’s incredible.
WEBB: I’m actually on Medicare.
MODERATOR: Oh…ok. pic.twitter.com/yfkqNhXTZg
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 17, 2026
You don’t say.
But that eight-for-eight in terms of Medicare-for-all is a pretty telling statement: For all the stiltedness of the first debate and the inadvertent hilarity of the second, there was across-the-board agreement in terms of far-left talking points. Yes on single-payer health care. Yes on illegal immigration, no on Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Yes on Gaza, no on Israel. Yes on whatever the Platner class tells them to do, no on Graham Platner’s behavior.
The problem is that Platner, for all of his abhorrent behavior, hateful positions, and clear mental health challenges that should have ruled him out as a candidate from the get-go, had some charisma. These people are a melange of striver functionaries and weirdos. Absent some transformation before the July 23 debate hosted by CNN, the Democrats are in deep trouble if these Temu Platners are who they hope to overcome Susan Collins with.
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