Susan Collins

I just got back from a three-day swing across Maine, home of the hottest Senate race in the country — at least for this week.

As you probably know by now, Gov. Janet Mills, 78, abruptly exited the Democratic Senate primary contest yesterday, effectively handing the nomination to Graham Platner, 41, a progressive political newcomer who is an oysterman and a military veteran. He is set to go up against Senator Susan Collins, 73, a Republican, in a general election that Democrats must win to retake the Senate.

My colleague (and travel buddy) Lisa Lerer and I had some political takeaways for you this morning about what the shake-up in the Senate primary tells us about the mood of Democratic voters, and what we know about the scorched-earth race to come.

Tonight, I wanted to share with you a few other things I learned, rooted in reporting and observations from the ground and interviews with both Platner and Mills.

The anti-establishment mood is palpable, and it’s propelling Platner.

There’s a lot of talk these days about whether Democrats are having their own anti-Washington, throw-the-bums-out Tea Party moment, about 16 years after the movement on the right radically reshaped the Republican Party.

I think it’s too soon to say whether that is a fair comparison, much less whether it is a winning strategy for Democrats. But in major competitive primary contests so far, Democratic voters have made clear that they are excited about younger candidates, and are receptive to political newcomers who vow to take on both President Trump and the Democratic establishment.

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