What makes Graham Platner’s rise so destabilizing is not just his agenda, but the timing. In a state that once prized split tickets and soft-spoken pragmatism, he is forcing voters to decide whether caution is now a form of surrender. Susan Collins, long the avatar of moderation, suddenly looks like a relic from a vanished era, speaking the old language of bipartisan tweaks while the electorate seethes over seismic rulings and vanished rights.

Platner is gambling that clarity beats nuance: say the quiet part out loud, name the Court as the problem, and treat institutional “norms” as shields for one side’s power. If he wins, Democrats everywhere will face a brutal new test: match his willingness to wield authority or risk being branded complicit. If he loses, Washington will read it as a last reprieve for restraint—perhaps the final one.