From the New York Times, I'm Natalie Kittrowaf.

This is the Daily.

On Tuesday, Maynors will vote in a primary for a high-stake Senate seat

that Democrats think they can win back from Republicans for the first time in decades.

They're pinning their hopes on progressive Democrat Graham Platner,

a charismatic oyster farmer and a combat veteran with a populist message.

But Platner's faced a string of accusations surrounding his personal behavior,

including new reporting in the times

that broke last week. Today, my colleagues Lisa Lair and Katie Glick explain what this race

means for Maine and for the prospects of the Democratic Party. It's Tuesday, June 9th.

Hi, Lisa.

Hi.

Hi, Katie.

Hi.

So we have you here because you two broke this story late last week. And I think it's fair to say that it generated a huge reaction.

I think that's fair to say. It's been quite the wild couple of days. I think the story has really divided voters and strategists and the chattering political class, not only in Maine, but just all over the country.

Just to lay it out, this was a story about the experiences of past girlfriends of Grand Platner, allegations of heavy drinking,

physical intimidation. These were not allegations of anything criminal, no allegations of

domestic abuse, but some pretty rough stuff. And we're going to get deeper into that reporting.

But before we do that, just explain for me the stakes of what we're

talking about here, the stakes of this race. I think that in part it reflects just how critical

this race is. Maine is all but essential to the Democrats' path to retaking the Senate. But even before

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