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Platner controversies fuel speculation about little-known Maine ballot replacement provision
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As controversy surrounding Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner continues to mount, attention is turning to a little-known provision of Maine law that could allow Democrats to replace him on the general election ballot after the primary.
The question has taken on new significance because Maine election law provides a mechanism for replacing a nominee who withdraws after winning a primary.
Under Maine law, a candidate who wins the June 9 primary and subsequently withdraws by 5 p.m. on July 13 may be replaced by a nominee selected by party officials. Any replacement candidate must be chosen no later than 5 p.m. on July 27. The timeline would give Democrats just 14 days to settle on a replacement candidate and prepare for the general election campaign.
GRAHAM PLATNER VOWS TO ‘COME AFTER’ BEZOS AS SENATE HOPEFUL ESCALATES BILLIONAIRE TAX FIGHT
Senate candidate Graham Platner, D-Maine, speaks at a town hall at the Franco Center in Lewiston, Maine, on Oct. 15, 2025. (Libby Kenny/Sun Journal via AP)
While there is no public indication that Democrats are pursuing such a strategy, the provision has fueled speculation about what options the party would have if concerns about Platner’s candidacy continue to grow.
The scrutiny comes as Platner has faced a series of controversies in recent weeks, including criticism over a tattoo with links to Nazi imagery, resurfaced Reddit posts in which he made inflammatory comments about veterans, sexual assault and political opponents and reports about sexually explicit messages exchanged with other women during his marriage.
Platner, a Marine veteran and oyster farmer, has defended himself against the criticism and retained the support of prominent Democrats, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Still, some party figures have questioned whether the allegations could complicate Democrats’ efforts to unseat Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races.
BERNIE SANDERS DEFENDS MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE UNDER FIRE FOR REDDIT COMMENTS
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner stand together during a «Fighting Oligarchy» tour stop at the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus in Orono, Maine last weekend. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Among the Democrats who have publicly criticized Platner is Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., who described the candidate’s tattoo controversy as «personally disqualifying.» Former Maine state Rep. Genevieve McDonald, who previously served as Platner’s political director, resigned from the campaign and has publicly questioned his viability, reportedly describing him as unelectable.
Although Maine law provides a post-primary window for Democrats to replace Platner on the general election ballot if he voluntarily withdraws, any such effort would face significant political hurdles. Platner remains the overwhelming favorite to win the June 9 primary, and there is currently no public evidence that party leaders are organizing a campaign to force him from the race.
Sen. Susan Collins blasts Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner’s mocking of a U.S. wounded soldier as the two are headed toward a likely November showdown as resurfaced Reddit posts continue to resurface from Platner. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
But the political reality may be more important than the procedural one. Following former Gov. Janet Mills’ decision not to run, much of the Democratic establishment has consolidated behind Platner, and national Democratic figures have continued to support his candidacy despite the controversies.
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For now, the question remains largely hypothetical. While Maine law provides a mechanism for replacing a nominee under certain circumstances, Democrats have shown little public appetite for revisiting the race absent a major new development.
midterm elections, bernie sanders, democrats elections, primary results, senate elections, maine
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El precio del petróleo volvió a subir ante la posibilidad de una extensión en las negociaciones entre Estados Unidos e Irán
El precio del petróleo subió más de un 2% impulsado por el aumento de las tensiones en Medio Oriente y por las señales de que las negociaciones entre Estados Unidos e Irán para alcanzar un acuerdo podrían extenderse más de lo previsto. A ello se sumó una nueva escalada militar entre Israel y el grupo terrorista Hezbollah, lo que reforzó la tendencia alcista del crudo en las primeras operaciones.
El barril de West Texas Intermediate (WTI), referencia para el mercado estadounidense, avanzó cerca de un 2,5% hasta situarse en torno a los 89,60 dólares. En paralelo, el Brent del mar del Norte, utilizado como referencia internacional, superó los 93 dólares por barril, con una ganancia superior al 2% respecto al cierre de la semana anterior.
El movimiento representó un cambio de tendencia respecto de los últimos días. Durante la semana pasada, los precios habían registrado una caída acumulada superior al 11% impulsada por las expectativas de un entendimiento entre Washington y Teherán que facilitara la reapertura del estrecho de Ormuz, uno de los corredores marítimos más importantes para el comercio mundial de petróleo y gas.
Sin embargo, el escenario cambió durante este fin de semana. Informaciones conocidas en Estados Unidos señalaron que la administración de Donald Trump presentó a Irán una nueva propuesta de acuerdo con condiciones más exigentes que las discutidas previamente. La noticia redujo el optimismo de los inversores sobre una solución cercana al conflicto y volvió a instalar temores sobre posibles interrupciones prolongadas en el suministro energético.
A ello se sumó el deterioro de la situación en la frontera entre Israel y el Líbano. El ejército israelí ordenó ampliar sus operaciones terrestres en territorio libanés pese a la tregua anunciada semanas atrás. La decisión alimentó la percepción de que la inestabilidad regional podría extenderse y afectar aún más las perspectivas de seguridad para las rutas energéticas de Medio Oriente.
La posibilidad de una reapertura parcial o total del Estrecho de Ormuz había contribuido a la caída reciente de los precios. Sin embargo, nuevos reportes sobre actividades militares iraníes en las aguas cercanas volvieron a alterar las expectativas. Según distintas versiones, Teherán habría incrementado la colocación de minas marítimas en la zona, un factor que podría retrasar cualquier intento de normalización del tráfico comercial incluso si se alcanzara un acuerdo político.
El analista de mercados Tony Sycamore señaló que las preocupaciones sobre la seguridad en Ormuz continúan siendo determinantes para la evolución de los precios.
“Incluso si se alcanza un acuerdo, no traerá una avalancha de suministro”, afirmó. Según explicó, cualquier reapertura requerirá operaciones de seguridad y limpieza que podrían prolongarse durante semanas.
Las tensiones geopolíticas lograron eclipsar incluso los datos económicos procedentes de China. Durante el fin de semana se conocieron indicadores que mostraron un estancamiento de la actividad manufacturera en la segunda economía mundial, una señal que normalmente habría ejercido presión bajista sobre los precios del petróleo debido a las perspectivas de menor demanda.
Los inversores, sin embargo, concentraron su atención en los riesgos de oferta. La preocupación por posibles interrupciones en el flujo de crudo desde Medio Oriente terminó pesando más que las señales de desaceleración económica global.
Mientras continúan las negociaciones diplomáticas, el mercado energético permanece pendiente de cualquier avance entre Estados Unidos e Irán. También sigue de cerca la evolución de los combates en el sur del Líbano y la situación en el estrecho de Ormuz. En un contexto donde una parte significativa del suministro mundial depende de la estabilidad de la región, cualquier cambio político o militar tiene capacidad inmediata para alterar los precios internacionales del petróleo.
(Con información de AFP y Reuters)
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Mojtaba Khamenei touts new anti-US alliance as Gulf backchannels seep into Tehran: analyst
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Iran’s supreme leader has launched a sweeping counteroffensive against President Donald Trump, attempting to rally Middle Eastern nations into an anti-American alliance, an analyst warned Sunday.
The aggressive maneuvering came hours after Trump pitched an expansion of the Abraham Accords, as an analyst said Tehran is seeking to position itself as the region’s «new sheriff» while forcing Gulf states with backchannels to Iran to choose between Washington’s security umbrella and a «New Islamic Civilization.»
On Sunday, negotiations between Iran and the United States appeared to be ongoing, with Trump not yet signing off on a potential peace agreement.
Trump recently held a phone call with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain to discuss expanding the 2020 Abraham Accords, followed by a May 25 post on Truth Social.
IRAN’S KHAMENEI LAUNCHES BLISTERING ATTACK ON TRUMP AFTER MIDDLE EAST VISIT
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump, Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan stand during the Abraham Accords signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 15, 2020. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg)
Mojtaba Khamenei issued a direct counter-response on X on May 26, issuing a call for a «New Islamic Civilization» aimed at those same regional capitals.
«I, with sincerity and purity of intention, invite all Islamic countries and governments to friendship and cooperation in goodness, so that by working together we may take steps toward the advancement of the Islamic Ummah and the resolution of the Islamic world’s problems,» Khamenei posted.
Highlighting «the nations of the region» and «common interests that will shape the new order and the future architecture of the region and the world,» he spoke of «the Islamic Ummah and the #New_Islamic_Civilization.»
«The United States will no longer have a safe haven for its mischief and for establishing military bases in West Asia,» he also warned.
«Mojtaba Khamenei’s statement is that the Muslim world should consolidate under Iran’s leadership — the ‘Ummah,’ the ‘new Islamic civilization’ — against the American-led order,» Dr. Omar Mohammed told Fox News Digital.
«That is the theme, and it runs straight into the Accords narrative. This is a bid to build an alliance against the Abraham Accords,» said Mohammed, director of the Antisemitism Research Initiative Program on Extremism at George Washington University.
TOP ISRAELI MILITARY OFFICIAL REVEALS OPERATION AGAINST IRAN INVOLVED ‘STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL DECEPTION’
In this picture obtained from Iran’s ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images)
«In his statement, he also frames American bases on Muslim soil as an occupation to be expelled while wrapping it in religious language that casts the regime as God’s instrument.»
The counterterrorism expert noted that while the «Ummah» doctrine itself is not new — having been used by Mojtaba’s father for years — the timing and targeted nature of the pitch represent a major escalation.
«This came into the Ummah with Iran, not into normalization with Israel under Washington,» Mohammed explained. «Same audience, opposite frame, 24 hours apart, and a bid to assemble that alliance.»
«The statement was published in full and carried by Iranian state media. It also tracks with his first statement as leader on March 12, when he demanded that U.S. bases in the region close.»
«This was not a stray post,» the expert warned. «While the doctrine is old, aiming it at these regions the day after Trump’s pitch is what is new.»
The posturing comes as Khamenei establishes his footing on the world stage, though his hidden nature complicates traditional diplomacy.
IRAN’S ‘STUNNING STRATEGIC MISCALCULATION’ COULD ACCELERATE GULF TIES TO ISRAEL, EX-CENTCOM DIRECTOR PREDICTS
President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pose for photos with leaders during the Gulf Cooperation Council Leaders’ Summit at The Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 14, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
«Tehran is selling itself to the region as the new sheriff of the neighborhood,» Mohammed warned.
«The Saudis, Qataris and Omanis have channels into the Iranian state, but you can’t open a back channel to a man no one can locate. This has all been running through Pezeshkian and Araghchi.»
Despite Iran’s sudden rhetoric of «friendship,» regional reality is defined by months of Iranian aggression against its neighbors.
Tehran’s forces have actively fired upon Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait.
Mohammed added that Tehran wants to peel Gulf states away from Washington, while its threats remain aimed at both the United States and the countries that host American forces.
«Iran spent this war firing on them — it hit Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait, the same capitals it’s now inviting to brotherhood, and the UAE alone reported intercepting close to 2,000 drones and hundreds of ballistic missiles since Feb. 28,» Mohammed said.
«These are the states that host our forces: the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, Al Dhafra in the UAE and Al Udeid in Qatar. You don’t take three months of Iranian fire and then sign onto its alliance.»
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Ultimately, Gulf capitals remain deeply skeptical of Tehran, Mohammed said, but they are equally watchful of American resolve.
«What actually worries the Gulf isn’t Mojtaba’s invitation — it’s the deal Washington might sign,» Mohammed noted, «one that hands Iran its money back with its missiles intact and reads as rewarding the regime that just attacked them.»
mojtaba khamenei, middle east, donald trump, alliances, iran
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Left-wing streamer blasts New Jersey governor over state police response at ICE facility protests
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Marxist political commentator and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker blasted New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill during a livestream Sunday, accusing the Democratic governor of aiding the Trump administration’s immigration agenda through her response to anti-ICE protests outside a Newark detention facility.
Piker’s criticism came after Sherrill defended the deployment of state police around demonstrations outside Delaney Hall, an ICE detention center in Newark, saying she would not allow unrest to provide a pretext for expanded federal immigration operations in New Jersey.
«I refuse to let that happen in New Jersey. I will not give ICE a pretext,» Sherrill said in remarks aired during a news segment Piker was reacting to on stream.
Piker quickly mocked the governor’s explanation.
GOV. SHERRILL BLAMES ICE, DEFENDS RIOTERS AFTER DEPLOYING TROOPERS TO QUELL VIOLENT MOB
Marxist political commentator and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, left, criticized New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill during a livestream, accusing the Democratic governor of aiding the Trump administration’s immigration agenda through her response to anti-ICE protests outside Delaney Hall in Newark. (Getty Images)
«Yeah, I won’t give ICE a pretext. So I’m going to ensure that they don’t have to do anything because I’m going to do it myself,» Piker said. «That’s basically what the meta is here for this blue state and its new blue governor.»
The political commentator then broadened his criticism beyond Sherrill’s handling of the protests.
«This is the centrist wing of the Democratic Party, ladies and gentlemen. This is what happens,» Piker said.
ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS CLASH WITH AGENTS OUTSIDE NEW JERSEY DETENTION CENTER AS GOV. SHERRILL DENIED ENTRY
Federal immigration officers clashed with protesters outside Delaney Hall in Newark, N.J., on Thursday. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu)
The comments came as anti-ICE demonstrations continued outside Delaney Hall, where activists have alleged detainees are being held in poor conditions and not receiving adequate food. The Department of Homeland Security has disputed those claims.
Later in the stream, Piker accused Sherrill of helping advance President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
«The story is not the far-left activists continuing to rage at ICE in New Jersey,» Piker said. «The real story is the horrifying conditions inside of this facility … and the governor acting as though she’s powerless to put a stop to it, and using what power she does have to basically work alongside the MAGA movement alongside the Trump administration, because these are state troopers in anti-riot gear on horseback.»
FEDERAL AGENTS IN NEW JERSEY BEAT BACK ANTI-ICE AGITATORS IN CHAOS OUTSIDE DELANEY HALL DETENTION FACILITY
Protestors, politicians, and ICE agents gather outside Delaney Hall, an immigration facility in Newark, N.J., on May 27, 2026. (Rashid Umar Abbasi/Fox News Digital)
«These are state troopers that are brutalizing New Jerseyans,» he added.
Piker further accused authorities of mistreating journalists covering the demonstrations.
«They’re doing Israeli occupying force s—. It’s disgusting,» he said while discussing reports that an Associated Press photographer was injured while covering the protests.
WATCH: POLICE ABSENT FROM DELANEY HALL CHAOS AS AGITATORS BLOCK ICE VEHICLES AND AGENTS USE PEPPER SPRAY
Mikie Sherrill attends an election night event in East Brunswick, N.J., on Nov. 4, 2025, as she campaigns for governor. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The streamer also used the broadcast to criticize Democratic lawmakers over immigration policy.
«Democrats have absolutely participated in this process,» Piker said, arguing that some members of the party have supported legislation and funding measures related to immigration enforcement.
«I want to change that system,» he later added. «Part of that also revolves around getting people elected who will make a big fuss.»
NJ DEMOCRATS PUSH ‘F—ICE ACT’ TO LET RESIDENTS SUE OVER IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT
Hasan Piker speaks with an interviewer during a protest in New Jersey. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
Later in the stream, Piker told viewers, «That’s what I’m trying to f—ing change.»
In recent months, Piker has crisscrossed the country canvassing for candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America.
During Sunday’s livestream, he also voiced support for billionaire gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer and quoted Mao Zedong, the founder of the Chinese Communist Party.
Piker has previously drawn scrutiny for his support of progressive candidates and activism surrounding immigration policy.
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Earlier this year, he campaigned in New Jersey for congressional candidate Adam Hamamy, a Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidate whom Piker publicly defended following media scrutiny over his background.
Sherrill’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
homeland security, tom steyer, immigrant rights, mikie sherrill, new jersey
Milei felicitó a Abelardo de la Espriella tras las elecciones en Colombia: “Refleja el anhelo de libertad del pueblo colombiano”
El Gobierno adelanta el calendario electoral
Renunció un miembro del equipo económico: el ministro Luis Caputo ya anunció su reemplazo
Argelia confirmó a sus convocados
El precio del petróleo volvió a subir ante la posibilidad de una extensión en las negociaciones entre Estados Unidos e Irán
Javier Milei felicitó al candidato presidencial colombiano Abelardo de la Espriella de cara al balotaje
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