Republicans Gleefully Celebrate Midterms Chaos in Maine

共和党人兴高采烈地庆祝缅因州的中期选举乱局

All eyes are on Maine this week. Political operatives in Trumpworld tell Inner Loop they hope embattled senate candidate Graham Platner will stay in the race as long as possible—the state’s electoral chaos can only help Republicans, they claim. 本周，所有人的目光都聚焦在缅因州。特朗普阵营的政治操盘手告诉《内环》（Inner Loop），他们希望深陷困境的参议院候选人格雷厄姆·普拉特纳（Graham Platner）能尽可能长时间地留在竞选中——他们声称，该州的选举乱局只会对共和党有利。

Platner, a US Marine veteran, overcame a string of controversies to easily win the Democratic primary last month. Platner is supposed to face incumbent Republican Susan Collins in the general election in one of the nation’s most closely watched races in November, but a litany of Democratic officials are now calling for him to drop out. 普拉特纳是一位美国海军陆战队退伍军人，他克服了一系列争议，在上个月轻松赢得了民主党初选。按计划，他本应在11月的大选中与现任共和党参议员苏珊·柯林斯（Susan Collins）对决，这场选举是全美最受关注的选战之一。但现在，一大批民主党官员正呼吁他退选。

On Monday, a woman in Maine accused Platner of sexual assault and told Politico that he had once forced her to have sex over her objections. (Platner’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment, though it previously denied the allegation in a statement to Politico.) 周一，缅因州一名女子指控普拉特纳性侵，并告诉《政客》（Politico）杂志，他曾违背她的意愿强迫她发生性关系。（普拉特纳的竞选团队未回应置评请求，尽管此前曾在给《政客》的一份声明中否认了这一指控。）

Platner had previously been accused of mistreating women, had covered up a Nazi tattoo, and was linked to multiple offensive online comments. Over the past 24 hours, Democrats from Senator Bernie Sanders to Senator Chuck Schumer have called for him to step out of the race. 普拉特纳此前曾被指控虐待女性、掩盖纳粹纹身，并与多条冒犯性的网络评论有关联。在过去24小时内，从伯尼·桑德斯（Bernie Sanders）参议员到查克·舒默（Chuck Schumer）参议员，多位民主党人已要求他退出竞选。

Trumpworld operatives say their hope—unsurprisingly—is that Platner stays in the race, given his increasingly toxic political brand, his growing horde of political enemies in his own party, and the knock-on effects on his fundraising operation. 特朗普阵营的操盘手表示，不出所料，他们希望普拉特纳留在竞选中。鉴于他日益恶化的政治形象、党内不断增加的政敌，以及对他筹款活动的连锁负面影响，这对他而言已是“毒药”。

Basically, it’s a dumpster fire, and Republicans are all but making s’mores. 简而言之，这简直是一场灾难，而共和党人正坐在一旁看热闹，甚至准备好烤棉花糖了。

“Platner should stay in and fight the liberal lobbyist establishment!” one strategist jokingly told Inner Loop. Like others interviewed for this story, they spoke candidly on the condition of anonymity. “普拉特纳应该留下来，与自由派游说建制派斗争到底！”一位策略师开玩笑地告诉《内环》。和本文采访的其他人士一样，他们是在匿名的情况下坦率发表意见的。

Funding is also going to be a problem, operatives noted with glee. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, or DSCC, has announced that it will not bankroll Platner’s campaign, should he stay in the race. 操盘手们幸灾乐祸地指出，资金也将成为一个问题。民主党参议院竞选委员会（DSCC）已宣布，如果普拉特纳继续参选，他们将不会为其竞选活动提供资金支持。

The operatives are thrilled by this: As a result, Platner would have to rely on small-dollar donors. Despite his fervent fan base, these donations would almost certainly not cover the tens of millions of dollars that both sides are expecting to have to pour into TV ads closer to the midterms. (The Boston-area media market is among the top 10 most expensive in the country, and Mainers do watch TV.) 操盘手们对此感到兴奋：这意味着普拉特纳将不得不依赖小额捐款。尽管他拥有狂热的粉丝群，但这些捐款几乎肯定无法覆盖双方预计在中期选举临近时投入电视广告的数千万美元。（波士顿地区的媒体市场是全美最昂贵的十大市场之一，而缅因州人确实会看电视。）

But Trump operatives also think even if Platner does step aside, the Senate race in Maine firmly tilts in Collins’ favor. 但特朗普阵营的操盘手也认为，即使普拉特纳真的退选，缅因州的参议院选战依然牢牢倾向于柯林斯。

Democrats have until July 13 for Platner to drop out, and a July 27 deadline for a special election to replace Platner’s name on the ballot. Democratic operatives in the state tell Inner Loop this could happen the weekend of July 25, but Trumpworld doesn’t think the alternative candidates would pose a major challenge. 民主党人必须在7月13日前让普拉特纳退选，并在7月27日前完成特别选举以更换选票上的候选人姓名。该州的民主党操盘手告诉《内环》，这可能会在7月25日的周末发生，但特朗普阵营认为，替代候选人不会构成重大挑战。

Janet Mills, the governor of Maine who dropped out of the Democratic Senate primary, is seen as one option. But Mills has a similar profile to Collins, who the operatives still think would edge out a victory, especially given her performance bucking Joe Biden in 2020. 缅因州州长珍妮特·米尔斯（Janet Mills）曾退出民主党参议院初选，她被视为人选之一。但米尔斯的形象与柯林斯相似，操盘手们仍然认为柯林斯会险胜，尤其是考虑到她在2020年大选中曾与乔·拜登（Joe Biden）唱反调的表现。

Another option is Troy Jackson, a former Maine state senator. But another longtime GOP strategist was skeptical whether voters would look past the baggage accompanying any Democratic candidate following the Platner saga. 另一个选择是前缅因州参议员特洛伊·杰克逊（Troy Jackson）。但另一位资深共和党策略师对此表示怀疑，他认为在普拉特纳事件之后，选民是否会忽略任何民主党候选人所背负的政治包袱。

“At the end of the day, Democrats have to run a perfect race to beat Collins, which they have not done. She’s still the least offensive candidate of the Senate Republican conference, and so the strongest candidate we could have in the race,” one longtime GOP strategist says. “归根结底，民主党人必须打出一场完美的选战才能击败柯林斯，但他们并没有做到。她仍然是参议院共和党党团中最不具争议的候选人，因此也是我们在这场选战中能拥有的最强候选人，”一位资深共和党策略师说道。

Still, Trumpworld and the Republicans’ Senate campaign arm expect a bruising fight in the Maine Senate race that could cost them hundreds of millions of dollars. And while they believe Collins can win, it could end up being tight. Get the graham crackers. 尽管如此，特朗普阵营和共和党参议院竞选部门仍预计缅因州的参议院选战将是一场惨烈的博弈，可能会耗资数亿美元。虽然他们相信柯林斯能赢，但最终结果可能会非常胶着。准备好烤棉花糖吧。

This is an edition of Hugo Lowell’s Inner Loop newsletter. Read previous newsletters here. 本文是雨果·洛厄尔（Hugo Lowell）《内环》通讯的一期。点击此处阅读往期通讯。