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<\/a><\/p>\nU.S. Senate candidate from Maine Graham Platner speaks during a campaign event on May 2, 2026, in Appleton, Maine. (Graeme Sloan\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd then there\u2019s Maine,\u201d Rosenberg said, eliciting laughter \u2014 some of it uneasy. The race and its presumptive Democratic nominee, Graham Platner, had been on people\u2019s minds on Wednesday during the confab, the national summit of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, but no one had yet mentioned him from the stage.<\/p>\n
The omission was notable because Platner is seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party. He was initially battling in the primary against Maine Gov. Janet Mills, whom the JDCA had endorsed. But he effectively clinched the nomination when Mills dropped out of the race two weeks ago, and now is expected to challenge Rep. Susan Collins in November.<\/p>\n
Among Jewish Democrats, there is a debate over whether to support Platner, who has caused concerns with his past Nazi tattoo and staunch criticism of Israel but also has a chance to unseat an incumbent Republican and help the party take control of the Senate.<\/p>\n
Rosenberg revealed at the summit where he stood in that debate \u2014 somewhere the JDCA\u2019s leadership has not been willing to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Maine party is excited, ready to go, and we\u2019re all going to be along the Platner train in a few weeks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The laughs gave way to murmurs and groans. Some attendees shook their heads at one another. One woman mouthed something to her neighbor, motioning \u201cNo\u201d with her arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s going to be the candidate, and let\u2019s hope the very best of him comes out in the next five, six weeks,\u201d said Rosenberg, who hosts the \u201cHopium\u201d podcast. \u201cBut that is going to be an interesting race.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moderator Jill Goldenberg piped in, easing the tension. \u201cWe are not leaving on that note!\u201d she said, asking Rosenberg a final question about what gives him hope.<\/p>\n
Platner, the left-wing candidate and former oyster farmer, has drawn concerns from some Jewish groups with his Nazi tattoo, which he recently covered up with another design, and his anti-Israel rhetoric and calls to end U.S. military assistance to the country. The JDCA is among them.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as I\u2019m concerned, you can regret having a Nazi tattoo, you can try to cover it up, but it\u2019s still there,\u201d said Halie Soifer, the group\u2019s CEO, told reporters on Wednesday. \u201cAnd to me that symbolizes reasons for deep concern about his views and values.\u201d<\/p>\n
JDCA has not taken a position on the race since Mills dropped out. Soifer did not entirely rule out the possibility of getting behind Platner, but said he would \u201chave to demonstrate great assurances on a range of issues of concern to our organization to receive our endorsement.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added, \u201cBut we may just not get involved in that one.\u201d<\/p>\n
A key Jewish Democrat, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, said after Mills stepped aside that he would support Platner\u2019s bid to unseat Collins. Schumer, who had initially recruited Mills to run, also spoke at the JDCA summit. He did not mention the Maine race during his remarks and declined to talk to the press afterwards.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe disagree \u2014 we can disagree with them potentially!\u201d Soifer said, when asked about party leadership backing Platner, adding that the JDCA is backing a number of other candidates in hopes of taking control of the Senate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could be that at the end of the day, we just stay out of Maine, don\u2019t get involved, even if the party has decided to fully embrace Platner,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ami Fields-Meyer, a former Biden White House adviser who spoke more critically of Israel than most of the summit\u2019s speakers, did not weigh in on Platner specifically. But he echoed Rosenberg\u2019s call for building coalitions that include \u201cpeople we don\u2019t agree with,\u201d and advocated for the Democratic Party and Jewish community to embrace a wider range of viewpoints on Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love to talk about a big tent. It\u2019s our favorite thing to talk about,\u201d Fields-Meyer said. \u201cThis is the moment. This is the moment to open up the party and to open up our Jewish community to the hardest conversations that we can be having about the future of Israel and the future of the Jewish people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fields-Meyer\u2019s comment drew loud applause.<\/p>\n