'Bullshit': The Dividing Line Between The Progressives Who Could Replace Graham Platner
Maine Democrats are selecting a new nominee to challenge Senator Susan Collins following the withdrawal of Graham Platner. The race highlights a ideological and background divide between credentialed technocrats like Nirav Shah and populist candidates like Troy Jackson.
Why it matters
It illustrates the internal tensions within the Democratic Party regarding the value of professional credentials versus grassroots experience in electoral politics.
LOADING ERROR LOADING When Nirav Shah, a former leader of Maine’s Center For Disease Control, was running for governor earlier this year, he would often argue his law degree ― he has both a J.D. and an M.D. from the University of Chicago ― made him better equipped for the job than his major opponents for the Democratic nomination.
“In an era where Donald Trump is doing his thing, it’s the courts that are the sword and shield through which we push back,” he told HuffPost in an interview a few days before the election, where he would ultimately finish second to former state House Speaker Hannah Pingree.
This talking point, though, had long rubbed one of his opponents for the nomination the wrong way.
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