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Graham Platner is running out of friends.

Establishment Democrats never liked him, of course. They made that clear when they threw in behind his opponent in the Maine Senate primary. Progressive office holders have lined up to retract their endorsements in the wake of recent sexual assault allegations. Whether he’s forced out when his coffers run dry or he opts to bow out on his own, it’s only a matter of time before Platner calls it a wrap.

To be clear, that’s absolutely what should happen. Scandals have dogged Platner’s campaign from the outset, and the latest fiasco makes his campaign, and the idea of voting for him, untenable. Unfortunately, the Chuck Schumers and Democratic National Committee higher-ups of the world will take and promote exactly the wrong lesson in the coming post-mortems. What should be a cautionary tale about vetting candidates will instead be used by the Adults In The Room to chastise younger, upstart progressives in the Democratic Party.

Platner’s downfall will be used to paint all attempts to push the party platform left as the wrong-headed work of wreckers. But it doesn’t follow that the candidate has bad politics just because he might be a bad man.

Platner’s economic populism was resonating in a state that hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly 40 years. His pledges to fight for workers and universal healthcare inspired a massive swell of party support statewide. He received more primary votes than any Democrat in the history of the state. He more than tripled the vote total of Janet Mills, the state’s governor who was backed by the moderate wing of the party in the Senate primary. Prior to his most-recent scandal, he was primed to give Susan Collins, the GOP incumbent, her first real challenge since she entered the Senate in 1997.

This isn’t just because Mainers thought Platner was a cool dude. If being the type of guy you would like to grab a beer with was enough to sway the electorate, another Democrat would have inspired this kind of support in the last 30 years. Platner pushed voters to the polls not because of who he is, but because of what he believes.

If Democrats want to win red states, they should look around for more Platners. Having spent my entire life in Florida and Louisiana, I know there are plenty of frustrated progressives in GOP-controlled states. A few of them might even look good on a poster.

All we can ask is that Democrats learn from their mistake in Maine. Before you start throwing down campaign cash for drone shots of rural America and branded flannel shirts, we beg you, do your research.

What do you think? Will Platner’s downfall spell doom for left-wing Democrats? Sound off in the comments.

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