Maine Votes as Graham Platner’s Past Poses New Conundrums
Maine Votes as Graham Platner’s Past Poses New Conundrums  
Podcast: The Daily
Published On: Tue Jun 09 2026
Description: On Tuesday, Maine will vote in a high-stakes primary contest for a Senate seat that Democrats think they can win back from Republicans for the first time in decades. Democrats are pinning their hopes on Graham Platner, a progressive who has faced a string of scandals. Today, Lisa Lerer and Katie Glueck discuss what this race means for Maine and for the prospects of the Democratic Party. Guest:  Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent for The New York Times. Katie Glueck, a political reporter at The New York Times. Background reading:  Several women who dated Mr. Platner recall “unsettling” behavior. Politicians, officials and strategists have wrestled with how to respond to new reporting on Mr. Platner’s past behavior. Photo: Amanda Sabga/Reuters For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.