{"id":3883,"date":"2026-07-10T19:07:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T19:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3883"},"modified":"2026-07-10T19:07:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T19:07:22","slug":"collins-team-casts-platners-replacements-in-u-s-senate-race-as-a-low-wattage-bench","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3883","title":{"rendered":"Collins team casts Platner\u2019s replacements in U.S. Senate race as a low-wattage bench"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sen. Susan Collins\u2019 campaign is giving her would\u2011be rivals the \u201cJeb!\u201d treatment, casting them as low\u2011energy losers who have a long climb before they can recreate the Graham Platner buzz.<\/p>\n

Read more British police arrest man, accuse him of killing Ann Widdecombe, a Brexit-backing politician<\/a><\/p>\n

They started the \u201cCampaign Energy Check\u201d to mock the competition almost as soon as Mr. Platner\u2019s replacements started lining up.<\/p>\n

Mr. Platner \u2014 a Marine\u200b veteran, oyster farmer and political newcomer who electrified the left wing of the Democratic Party \u2014 ended his Senate campaign Wednesday after a woman he once dated accused him of rape, capping a series of scandals that included his Nazi tattoo and sexist and racist social media posts.<\/p>\n

Ms. Collins, a Republican\u200b seeking a sixth term, posted the \u201cCampaign Energy Check\u201d on social media. It started with a video of Mr. Platner crowdsurfing at a roaring Dropkick Murphys concert, stamped with the tag: \u00a0\u201cHow It Started \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

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A record\u2011scratch cuts to another video labeled \u201cHow it\u2019s going \u2026\u201d It featured a bespectacled Nirav D. Shah, an epidemiologist and leading contender to replace Mr. Platner, driving down a quiet road in a collared shirt and a zipper sweater while narrating his excitement about the dogs he sees along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at all these doggos,\u201d he says. \u201cThey are such good boys and girls. They are so excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vibe is reminiscent of the line of attack Jeb Bush suffered in the 2016 presidential race, when Donald Trump repeatedly branded the former Florida governor as \u201clow energy\u201d \u2014 a jab at his subdued style, his difficulty electrifying voters, and a contrast with Trump\u2019s own high\u2011octane persona.<\/p>\n

Others made fun of his \u201cJeb!\u201d slogan, laughing it off as a desperate attempt to infuse energy into his bid.<\/p>\n

But unlike Mr. Bush, most of the Democrats now vying to replace the gravelly-voiced Mr. Platner are coming off primary losses, giving the Collins team an opening to paint them as a bench of political also-rans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey only have losers running,\u201d said Collins adviser Dave Carney.<\/p>\n

Democrats likely need to defeat Ms. Collins to flip control of the U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n

Maine Democrats, meanwhile, have released the criteria \u2014 including a July 2\u200b1 voter\u2011signature deadline \u2014 for qualifying candidates in the race to replace Mr. Platner on the ballot. He is expected to officially suspend his bid on Monday. \u00a0As long as he follows through on that promise, the state party will have two weeks under state law to name a replacement.<\/p>\n

Read more Songwriters sue South Korean entertainment giant Hybe, say BTS song \u2018Swim\u2019 copied their demo<\/a><\/p>\n

Mr. Platner built his winning primary coalition over nearly 300 days. The Democrats looking to fill his shoes will have roughly two weeks to win over Democratic convention-goers, and then have 100 days to win over the rest of the electorate before the November election.<\/p>\n

Mr. Platner\u2019s exit triggered a sprint to fill the vacancy, with a long list of Democrats jumping in and providing an early sense of how they will try to harness the movement that helped him push Gov. Janet Mills to suspend her Senate bid in late April and capture nearly 72% of the vote in the June primary.<\/p>\n

The early contenders include former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, a favorite of the socialist wing, and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows \u2014 both of whom finished behind Mr. Shah in the gubernatorial primary.<\/p>\n

Mr. Shah, an avid dog lover who served as director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention during the coronavirus \u200bpandemic, is seeking to assure voters he shares the policy vision and fresh face that Mr. Platner brought into the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is very little light between us,\u201d he said on CNN. \u201cWhat voters in Maine want is a clearly progressive candidate who can make issues like Medicare for All an actual reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cThe other thing voters in Maine are looking for is someone who is an outsider.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Jackson, who served in the Maine Senate and House from 2002 to 2024, is staking his claim to the working\u2011class mantle that Mr. Platner dominated in the primary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are sick and tired of getting screwed and struggling to get by while greedy corporations get more and more,\u201d he said in a video posted online this week, standing in front of a stack of wood. \u201cI\u2019ve been in tough fights, and I know how to win because working people know I have their back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Bellows is also echoing the Platner vision.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s at stake is standing up to Donald Trump, protecting our neighbors, passing Medicare for All, and fighting for the working class, and holding big corporations and billionaires accountable,\u201d Ms. Bellows said in an online video, speaking into a camera, seemingly in a room by herself.<\/p>\n

Read more Investor sues \u2018The Chosen\u2019 founder, saying shareholders were squeezed out<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Sen. Susan Collins’ campaign is giving her would-be rivals the “Jeb!” treatment, casting them as low-energy losers who have a long climb before they can recreate the Graham Platner buzz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nCollins team casts Platner\u2019s replacements in U.S. Senate race as a low-wattage bench - Home Buyer Relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3883\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Collins team casts Platner\u2019s replacements in U.S. Senate race as a low-wattage bench - Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sen. 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