Issue 010 · July 13th 2026
the UNMUTED brief
two minutes. one story. the best arguments. a question we’re asking. And some spicy in-person events.
And with *that*, Platner’s Senate run is over. Could this have been avoided?
- ISSUE PRIMER -
Yep, that rape allegation was the last straw. Graham Platner is out. On July 10, 2026, Maine's Democratic Senate nominee formally withdrew after a former girlfriend, Jenny Racicot, told Politico and CNN he raped her in 2021. He calls the allegation categorically false. The withdrawal came a month after he won the primary with more than 150,000 votes, the most of any Democratic Senate candidate in Maine history, and after a year of public damage: a chest tattoo resembling the Nazi SS death's-head, Reddit posts disparaging rural Mainers, and accounts from former partners describing volatile relationships. Maine Democrats now have until July 27 to seat a replacement at a 601-delegate convention. The seat may decide the Senate. Let's get into it.
→ Condemning Democrat Endorsers
The red flags were known on Day 1. The tattoo was public. The Reddit posts were public. The ex-partners were talking to reporters months before Racicot came forward. Democrats saw all of it and endorsed him because he was winning. Character was a price they were willing to pay for a Senate seat, and they paid it in public, in advance. Democrats spent a decade telling Republicans that character was non-negotiable, then discovered that a must-win Senate seat functions as a waiver. Every party eventually finds a candidate it decides is too important to lose, and finds out its principles were tests it only ever administered to other people.
← Condoning Initial Endorsers
Purity and prudence are luxuries of the safe district. It’s silly to think this could have played out any other way. What mechanism was available, actually? Platner won the primary by a landslide against a field that included the sitting governor, who quit rather than face him. The invisible primary, where party elites converged on a nominee before voters weighed in, has been hollowed out by insurgents who raise money without asking permission. Trump proved it in 2016, and every Republican who tried to stop him was consumed by the attempt. For Democrats who think the Republican Senate is stripping Americans of fundamental rights, caution on character is a strange ask - knife the only candidate in a generation who could beat Susan Collins in the back? Before anything disqualifying was known? Ridiculous.
- NYC Event to Learn More -
How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter at a Time
When: September 8 at 92NY
What: A discussion between the CEO of the Bulwark (former Republican turned anti-MAGA) and Bulwark editor Jonathan V. Last on the CEO’s new book, which is about building lasting coalitions against Trump. Regardless of you like or hate Trump or her, I guarantee Platner’s failure will be discussed in detail.
- Relevant Articles -
Graham’s Campaign Implosion… (Nicholas Jacobs, The Conversation) - An interview between the Conversation’s Naomi Schalit and political scientist Nicholas Jacobs. Nuanced and level-headed, talks less about Platner specifically and more about how the "Establishment” and the Parties just don’t matter as much any more - and how that’s not a good thing.
Democrats’ extremism and stupidity are catching up with the GOP’s (George F. Will, Washington Post) - A Never Trumper (one of the few remaining) who lambasts the Dem’s decision to run with Platner. Argues that picks like this are squandering the Party’s opportunity to be the sane party.
My Graham Platner Apology (Ken Klippenstein) - This is very much a non-apology from a leftist who does not mind p*ssing people off. It’s kind of his whole thing. But shows the perspective of why many felt justified up to this point on Platner.
the UNMUTED question
The Room at UNMUTED - Thursday, July 30
Those damn elitists! Whether you attended one or not, you have an opinion on the Ivy League. Gatekeepers? Cultural institutions? Meritocracy? Aristocracy? Good for America or bad? We’ll hash it out with two elitists, one who thinks the Ivy League is the bee’s knees, and the other who would love to see it all burn, moderated by an elitist.
Our guest host of the night is the Recount’s Grace Weinstein, who runs Who Broke It? -an excellent Substack about the social media strategies and news on both the Left and the Right. She’s also hilarious.
Early Bird tickets on sale here until next Tuesday. Don’t miss it. BUT if you can’t make it, subscribe here to stay updated on all of our upcoming events.
Worth leaving the house for NEXT week in
NYC
Wed 7/22, 6:30 PM
An Unfinished Revolution
Elizabeth Hinton (Yale Professor) +
Ben Tumin (Skipped History Podcast)
Hate prisons? Like really hate them? Might be for you. Guided group discussion. Essay reading. History. Institutional racism, likely.
Produced by Center for Brooklyn History (CBH)
Hosted at CBH
Wed, 7/22 5:30 PM
Neighborhood Democracy in NYC
The NYC government????
I guess civic engagement starts with a Google Doc lol. A meeting about how to hold better meetings. Seriously tho, kind of cool - about redesigning gov’t pubic engagement.
Produced by National Civic League, Perfect City, and NYC Civic Engagement Commission
Hosted at The Forum at Columbia University
Tues, 7/28, 3 PM
The Constitution of 1789: A New Intro
Ilan Wurman (UMinnesota professor)
Lawyer? Not lawyer, but obsessed with men who wrote documents 200+ years ago? Both? Might be for you. Author is an originalist, which means he thinks the Founders’ original intent more important than evolving social perspective.
Produced by Federalist Society
Hosted at TBD, but probably the NY Bar Association in Midtown
That’s all for now. See you Space Cowboy…