Latest / DEEP INSIGHT / Maine Gov. Janet Mills bid for Senate reignites Democrats age debate

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Maine Gov. Janet Mills bid for Senate reignites Democrats age debate · DEEP INSIGHT

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  Speaker 1: Means Democratic governor is jumping in the race to unseat
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  Speaker 1: the Republican Senator Susan Collins. There you have it. Her
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  Speaker 1: pitch puts the focus squarely on President Trump.
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  Speaker 2: There are too many politicians in Washington, including Susan Collins.
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  Speaker 2: Susan Collins, we want to think who've forgotten their principles
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  Speaker 2: and let bullies like Trump have their way and it's
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  Speaker 2: hurting main people. I've never backed down from a bully,
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  Speaker 2: and I never will.
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  Speaker 1: The seventy seven year old Mills would be the oldest
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  Speaker 1: freshman senator in history, but she has at least two
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  Speaker 1: major challengers in the Democratic primary, including military veteran and
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  Speaker 1: oyster farmer Graham Platner. Plattner captured the hearts and the
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  Speaker 1: wallets of progressives, including Bernie Sanders. He's seen been seen
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  Speaker 1: in town or crowds, big crowds, Liberal strongholds on the
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  Speaker 1: coast of rural Maine. He says, Mills entering the race
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  Speaker 1: doesn't change much for him.
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  Speaker 3: I've gone around the state now, from Portland all the
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  Speaker 3: way to Madawaska, from Rumford, de Caallus, and it is
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  Speaker 3: the same story everywhere you go. They're very angry about
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  Speaker 3: the fact that the system has brought them to this
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  Speaker 3: point that we are living in a system that has
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  Speaker 3: given them no choices but to struggle daily. And they
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  Speaker 3: look at our politics, they look at our politicians, and
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  Speaker 3: they see something that doesn't, in any way, shape or
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  Speaker 3: form represent them.
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  Speaker 1: My smart reporters are back here. This is going to
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  Speaker 1: be I think the most fascinating Senate race in twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty six Two dynamics here. One is who's going to
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  Speaker 1: be the Democratic candidate? But two, why are they running?
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  Speaker 1: They're running to unseat Susan Collins. And just to give
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  Speaker 1: you a sense of how hard it's been to get
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  Speaker 1: rid of this Republican even though it's a blue state.
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  Speaker 1: In twenty twenty, Collins one by fifty one percent in
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  Speaker 1: twenty sixteen, I mean, it was a total blowout. And
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  Speaker 1: now she's up again. Carl you have spent countless hours
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  Speaker 1: with the Senator and focusing on this race.
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  Speaker 4: What do you think Susan Collins has been underestimated multiple
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  Speaker 4: times by Chuck Schumer, who has kind of made it
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  Speaker 4: almost a religion to try and knock her out of there.
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  Speaker 4: So we'll see what happens. But there is I think
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  Speaker 4: Susan Collins would like to run against the governor because
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  Speaker 4: the governor has a record, right and running against these
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  Speaker 4: novices without records can be tricky. The governor has also
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  Speaker 4: said good things about Susan Coverlins runs right very you know,
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  Speaker 4: Maine is kind of like that political family. Susan Collins
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  Speaker 4: is the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. She gets
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  Speaker 4: to bring a lot of goodies to me.
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  Speaker 1: Assuming the propriation system works well ahead.
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  Speaker 4: You still get to do something. But the so you know,
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  Speaker 4: it's going to be tough. It's going to be tough
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  Speaker 4: to knock her out. But obviously it's a you know,
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  Speaker 4: a mid term there's a lot of pushback to Trump.
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  Speaker 4: I think Janet Mills will make this about Trump, not
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  Speaker 4: about Susan Collins.
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  Speaker 1: And so now to the DYNA inside the Democratic Party,
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  Speaker 1: because the reason that Mills is running is because Chuck Schumer,
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  Speaker 1: the Democratic leader, has been trying to recruit the people
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  Speaker 1: he thinks are the best candidates to overturn seats, and
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  Speaker 1: he thinks that's Janet Mills. Dan Pfeiffer, who worked for
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  Speaker 1: Barack Obama and also worked in the Senate, said the
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  Speaker 1: following In twenty twenty Democrats ran an establishment politician against
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  Speaker 1: Collins and got their asses kicked. Mills would likely run
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  Speaker 1: a better campaign than Sarah Gideon, who was that nominee.
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  Speaker 1: But at the same time, when voters hate politicians, are
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  Speaker 1: down on Democrats and are yearning for younger leaders, is
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  Speaker 1: a seventy seven year old, two term incumbent governor really
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  Speaker 1: the best choice?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah?
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  Speaker 5: I mean, if you ask about what were the lessons
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  Speaker 5: that Democrats learned from twenty twenty four, it is that
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  Speaker 5: American Democrats want somebody who is able to accurately express
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  Speaker 5: what they're feeling and have become how did it come
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  Speaker 5: off as honest and transparent across all mediums that include
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  Speaker 5: social media. They want somebody from a younger generation, and
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  Speaker 5: they want somebody who fundamentally believes that they that they
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  Speaker 5: believe understands what they are going through. And so if
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  Speaker 5: you look at Janet Mills, is that that candidate? I
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  Speaker 5: think a lot of young people in the state potentially
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  Speaker 5: would question that. Of course, this is what Chuck Schumer wants,
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  Speaker 5: and he is leading a Democratic Party right now, and
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  Speaker 5: so therefore he kind of gets what he wants. This
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  Speaker 5: is a big win for him specifically, but she's not
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  Speaker 5: clearing the field. And I think you know, she already
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  Speaker 5: told NBC News that she would just be a one
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  Speaker 5: term senator. That sounds a lot like Joe Biden. He
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  Speaker 5: didn't actually say those words, but certainly his advisor said it.
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  Speaker 5: And so, you know, is the method of going the
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  Speaker 5: Joe Biden way right now the best after twenty twenty four,
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  Speaker 5: I'm not quite sure a lot of Democrats would agree.
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  Speaker 1: Schumer wants the seat, he thinks that Mills is the
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  Speaker 1: best way to get it. And then you have the
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  Speaker 1: sort of Bernie Sanders wing of the party, which of
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  Speaker 1: course supports Platner. And this is the dynamic that we
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  Speaker 1: have seen in other potential matchups in other states where
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  Speaker 1: the Senate is going to be hanging in a balance for.
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  Speaker 6: Sure, and this is going to be one of the
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  Speaker 6: most fascinating races, There's no doubt. Because of the incumbents,
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  Speaker 6: she will be the most vulnerable. However, to Carl's points,
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  Speaker 6: Susan Collins has understood many races before. Age is one issue,
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  Speaker 6: There's no doubt, but Bernie Sanders is endorsing Planner in
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  Speaker 6: this as well, So age, I'm not sure is the
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  Speaker 6: only thing in Maine because people establishment, but people have
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  Speaker 6: a strong connection with her main but I think beyond
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  Speaker 6: that ideology sort of rit large. Look at the Michigan
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  Speaker 6: primary as well. Look at the Main primary. Now we're
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  Speaker 6: going to learn a lot about what Democrats believe the
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  Speaker 6: direction of the party should be. We'll get our first
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  Speaker 6: sort of hint of that next month in Virginia and
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  Speaker 6: New Jersey and New York, and we will get sort
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  Speaker 6: of a sense of that. But in Maine, I think
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  Speaker 6: it's a little.
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  Speaker 3: It's such a small state.
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  Speaker 6: To Carl's point, it is really a place that television
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  Speaker 6: ads are not going to probably win this race. It's
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  Speaker 6: going to be how it evolves and how the ideology
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  Speaker 6: were balls. But it's gonna be fascinating to see Susan
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  Speaker 6: Collins probably in the toughest race of her life, but she's.
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  Speaker 4: Won them before. Susan Collins, you know, makes it a
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  Speaker 4: point to meet people from Maine who come here. You know,
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  Speaker 4: they all get their picture taken with her. She's gonna
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  Speaker 4: be tough to knock off.