Jessica Piper

Maine Dems vying to replace Platner on the ballot are set to battle on the debate stage Thursday night. The debate will include former gubernatorial hopefuls — Troy Jackson, Shenna Bellows and Nirav Shah — and former 2nd District candidate Jordan Wood. politico.com/news/2026/07/1…

Latest on Biddeford shooting: — Man killed is a 26y/o Colombian, per advocates. — DHS Sec. Mullin told @SenAngusKing the man was under order to leave the US and "weaponized" car. — Witness: Agents chased, rammed the car and shot the man while stopped. bangordailynews.com/2026/07/13/cen…

Reports are coming in of a fatal shooting in Biddeford involving ICE. State police are on scene. Working to gather more info. @WGME

It actually all comes down to state law. Maine’s gives the party authority over the process—& they are up against a July 27 deadline, which is a majorly truncated timeframe to administer a full election SC law says, in these circumstances, the party *must* hold a snap primary

Lindsey Graham dies at 71 after ‘brief and sudden illness,’ his office says dlvr.it/TTTrvm

Several @nytimes journalists were subpoenaed by the Trump administration on Friday. – Reporters covering AF1 security concerns have been compelled to testify before a Manhattan grand jury next week – Federal agents turned up at some reporters' homes – NYT calls it a "brazen act"

@Hailey_Fuchs @politico Congrats! Will miss getting to team up

Today is my last day @politico after nearly 5 years, and I’m so grateful for all the incredible opportunities. I’ll be taking a little detour and pursuing my J.D. at Stanford Law School. I’ll also be writing freelance so if you need a West Coast legal contributor, let me know!

It's official: Graham Platner has formally withdrawn his candidacy from the Maine Senate race, according to election officials — triggering the process to name his replacement on the ballot. politico.com/live-updates/2…

Just in: Platner out. For real. No takesies-backsies. bangordailynews.com/2026/07/10/pol…

Over 1K likes for affirming what a self-selecting audience wants to hear. Never mind that a bunch of big-name Dem donors he claims fund the Maine Dem Party contributed to the DNC’s state party victory fund (which is distributed to many state parties !) The folks who work in + cover politics grasp that, know the claim is wildly misleading. But 90% of people scrolling on thru don’t and think, wow, Larry Ellison and Haim Saban are pulling the strings in Augusta Such a vivid sign of da times And there’s no penalty, of course, at least w said self-selecting audience (h/t: @PeterHamby for the catch)

How it’s going in Maine: “Geez, I hope it doesn’t turn into the ’68 convention in Chicago.” “Campaigns are always like building the plane while you’re flying it, but this is like building it while falling out of a helicopter.” “No one planned for this.” politico.com/news/2026/07/1…

Inshallah, the number of Acadia understanders will rise during this snap election.

Exclusive: The RNC midterm convention will be a fundraiser. Tickets are running up to $20,000 for those who want to attend the "Trumpapalooza" in Dallas -- and state parties decide what to do with the money. California is offering a $250k package. subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026/0…

Scoop: Graham Platner privately told staff that he is planning to officially file paperwork to end his Senate campaign on Monday — the drop-dead deadline for him to exit the race. axios.com/2026/07/09/gra…

A sense of the scramble and short runway for these new Senate candidates: not enough time to print new campaign signs. A mix of edited Shah for Gov and repurposed Platner for Senate signs here at the Shah kickoff in Freeport

Must-read @Politico homepage coverage of Platner fallout/what’s next in Maine from team: @lisakashinsky @C_Sommerfeldt @jsscppr @aaronpellish @andrewjfhoward

New: Graham Platner's top aides urged him to strike a "conciliatory" tone and focus on "gratitude" in his campaign termination announcement. But Platner refused & made it a condition of dropping out that he got to assail establishment Dems, per sources. politico.com/news/2026/07/0…

Platner still hasn't *officially* withdrawn, @erinpdoherty notes “A public declaration is not an official withdrawal, and a candidate must formally withdraw to the Elections office in writing, including signature,” a spox for Maine Sec of State said politico.com/live-updates/2…

We're using @politico's Congress Live Blog to capture the aftermath of Graham Platner ending his Maine Senate campaign following a sexual assault allegation first reported by my colleagues @adamwren @jsscppr. Follow along here for the latest: politico.com/live-updates/2…

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