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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
High-Stakes Primaries Underway In Four States; CNN Projects Graham Platner Will Win Dem Nomination In Maine; Vance: Iran Deal Could Happen In A Week Or Months From Now. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired June 09, 2026 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Thanks, everyone, for watching. CNN's coverage of Primary Night in America continues. I'll see you tomorrow.
"THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN HOST, THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS: And we do begin with breaking news as we come on the air tonight.
And results are coming in from Maine, in a race that could end up deciding control of the Senate here in Washington. Right now, Graham Platner, who is the controversy-plagued oyster farmer and marine veteran, is leading in that race. It's still too early as we come on the air right now, to make any projections. Obviously, we'll be tracking that closely throughout this hour.
And it comes as the state's governor, Janet Mills, suspended her campaign back in April, but she kept her name on the ballot against Graham Platner. Now, the number of votes that she gets could be an indication of just how uncomfortable voters are with the controversies that have surrounded Platner's candidacy.
The winner of tonight's primary will take on the Republican senator in this race, Susan Collins. And Democrats are hoping that this will be the year they can succeed in flipping that seat in a state that Donald Trump has lost three times.
We're also tracking races, this hour, in South Carolina, North Dakota, and Nevada. It is a busy Election Night here in America. That means we start with John King, who is at the Magic Wall, where he always is on these Election Nights.
And John, what's your read on the numbers that we're getting in Maine so far tonight?
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: My read at the moment is have a cup of coffee, check back, and let's let them count.
Kaitlan, we're at about 1 percent. You see -- I'll just move Maine up a little bit. Maine is a great number of small townships, great townships. I love traveling the State of Maine. But as you can see, we just have a smattering of votes right now, and most importantly, no offense to where those votes are coming from, by any means, every vote counts. But about half of the population of Maine lives under that line I just drew, and that's also the most Democrat, the most overwhelmingly blue part of the state. So, if Democrats are making a statement tonight about Graham Platner, either in support or trying to voice some reservations because of the recent character controversies, temperament controversies, that's where we'll find it.
Portland is the largest city in Maine, it's the most populous, and along the coast right here is where you find all the Democrats. So, at the moment, if you look over here. You know, every vote counts. Graham Platner has a 71 percent of the vote so far, but that's 1,182 votes. The only -- the number on the screen that counts at the moment the most is that, which is that we have about 1 percent of the vote counted. So, we have a long way to go. At the end of the night, Kaitlan, the expectation is that Mr. Platner will be the Democratic nominee, that he will win this race.
At the end of the night, what we'll be trying to figure out is add up for Governor Mills who, as you noted, suspended the campaign but still on the ballot. David Costello, an active candidate but a long-shot candidate. At the end of the night, we're going to see what's his number, add up their number, and that will open the door to a big debate about, are these Democrats just venting at the moment, and they'll come home to Platner in November? Or are these Democrats venting, and does Platner have a problem? When we know these numbers at the end of the night, then we'll know sort of the baseline for that debate, which will start tomorrow.
COLLINS: Well, and as we're waiting for more numbers to come out of Maine, there's a lot of movement that's happening in South Carolina already tonight. What are we seeing there, John?
KING: So, we're going to go down to South Carolina. I'm going to pop this up here, and I'm going to come over here. This is the race a lot of people were watching here in Washington.
The President's friend at the moment, but he has been the President's foe and friend and foe and friend and foe. Kaitlan, you've been through this over the -- over the years. Lindsey Graham, CNN now projects will win the Republican primary and win it by a margin that keeps him out of a runoff. In South Carolina, you need 50 percent plus one to avoid a runoff, and Lindsey Graham is getting 59 percent at the moment against the conservative challenger Mark Lynch.
Mark Lynch has run against Lindsey Graham, saying he shouldn't support the Iran war, shouldn't talk so much about military intervention, that's not America First. Had Lindsey Graham been forced into a runoff, he would have had to ask his friend at the moment, Donald Trump, to help him out.
But Lindsey Graham is going to be the Republican nominee for Senate, and now the overwhelming favorite, Kaitlan. In this year, we talk about Democrat momentum in a lot of places around the country. There's no great expectation that Democrats have a shot at Lindsey Graham in South Carolina. So, winning the nomination there virtually guarantees, I shouldn't say it that clearly, but makes him the overwhelming frontrunner in November.
A quick look at the governor's race. This one appears like it could be going for a runoff, but we're not there yet. The President's preferred candidate, Pam Evette is Lieutenant Governor. Alan Wilson is the state attorney general. So, two conservatives, two established statewide winners in South Carolina, at the top of that race right now, but still counting votes.
COLLINS: I mean, we're looking at those top three people. I don't see Nancy Mace's name on that list.
KING: So--
COLLINS: She's obviously running in that race.
[21:05:00]
KING: It's funny you would ask that, right? We're talking about the Trump dynamics there. You're right. Lieutenant Governor Evette has the President's endorsement. Alan Wilson, for all the talk of anti- establishment, anti-incumbent sentiment, as you know, being from the South, South Carolina is a pretty establishment Republican state. They're both establishment Republicans there. They're running a competitive race at the top.
You've got to come way down here, below the businessman, Rom Reddy. Rom Reddy got into this race thinking maybe the anti-incumbent new- faces theory will come to South Carolina. Not at the moment. Nancy Pelis -- Nancy Mace, excuse me, the Congresswoman, Trump foe, at the bottom of the pack,
COLLINS: And I should note, John, as we are looking at those numbers, we'll check back in with you for more of what's happening in Maine and throughout South Carolina.
To John's point, though, that he was just making, we do have some news in that competitive Republican primary that's playing out there. We can now project that it will go to a runoff. That's because the President's candidate there, Pamela Evette, and the Attorney General, Alan Wilson, are going to be advancing to that runoff. And we'll see, obviously, what happens--
KING: All right.
COLLINS: --as we continue watching that in South Carolina.
KING: Clear off TV. Someone take this earpiece out.
COLLINS: John King at the Magic Wall. We'll check back in with you.
We've also got my colleague, Arlette Saenz, who's over at Graham Platner's headquarters in Maine.
Arlette, how are they feeling as, I mean, the numbers are still incredibly early coming in tonight, but what are you hearing so far?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kaitlan, Democratic Senate candidate, Graham Platner, is planning to go on the attack in his speech here tonight, when he addresses attendees at his primary watch party in Blue Hill.
A source familiar with a draft of his speech tells me that Platner is set to cast Collins as a spineless politician, arguing that she has portrayed herself as bipartisan and independent, but she has sided with, critical votes, in support of President Trump's priorities, including confirming Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
This is really highlighting how Platner is planning to shift very quickly into general election mode, trying to drive that contrast between himself and Senator Susan Collins. But at the same time, Platner will have a lot of work to do to ease some voters' concerns about the controversies around his campaign.
Senator Susan Collins, earlier today, told our colleague, Manu Raju, that she finds the latest allegations of the way he treated past girlfriends as being very troubling and serious, and that Platner needs to give full explanations to the voters of Maine.
Republicans have made very clear that they plan to put Platner's controversies front and center in their messaging, heading into November, and there are some national Democrats who worry that this could complicate their chances of flipping this seat blue. In the midterm elections, Maine will be critical for both parties' quests to try to get the majority next year.
COLLINS: Yes.
Arlette, obviously, we'll check back in with you.
Especially, if we plan to hear from Graham Platner, in this hour, we'll bring that to you live.
Joining me tonight here in studio.
Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California, who is supporting Graham Platner.
And also, CNN Political Commentator, and Republican strategist, Shermichael Singleton.
And CNN's Chief National Affairs Correspondent, Jeff Zeleny.
And obviously, Jeff, as we've been watching all this play out. This race in Maine is incredibly important to Democrats here in Washington in terms of what happened in November.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It's remarkably important, and here's why. I mean, the math just is so difficult. It's an uphill challenge, anyway, for Democrats. They must win five seats currently held by Republicans, and hold their own. But without Maine, the math is just so much more difficult here. But as Arlette was just saying there, one thing that Graham Platner is going to try and do tonight is to make this a referendum on Susan Collins. Up until now, it has been a referendum on him, and that obviously is what Republicans are going to try and do as well. So, this is not what anyone was expecting this Maine race would look like, obviously. Because his margin is important.
But one thing also, I was talking to a couple Republicans, earlier today, who they say, you know, Look, Susan Collins always wins. And she does. She's a five-term senator. But this environment is also different. She's running for the first time in the wake of Roe versus Wade being turned over.
So, we do not know what November is going to bring. One thing we do know? That Democrats really can't win the Senate without winning Maine. And boy, it's a lot more risky than they thought it would be.
COLLINS: Yes, I mean, and Congressman, you're backing Graham Platner in this race. Obviously, we've seen people come out and talk about where this stands, whether or not they're still standing by Graham Platner. It's made a lot of your colleagues uncomfortable, what has come out about him. Why not you?
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Well, I was up in Maine, there were huge crowds. I think the key issue today is the anti-war platform. I mean, on a day we're retaliating against Iran, Graham Platner is running, saying, I served three tours of duty, and I'm opposed to these foreign wars. And he's also going to take on Susan Collins in terms of being -- putting Kavanaugh on the court and rolling back women's rights, and cutting health care. And that's why he's resonating.
[21:10:00]
Now, if he's over 70 percent, and obviously it's early, I think that's going to be decisive. I mean, he's beaten a sitting governor, granted she suspended her campaign, but she kept playing cute, saying, My name is still on the ballot, you can vote for me. For someone who's not held elective office, to beat a sitting governor and be around 70 or higher, I think, would be pretty decisive.
COLLINS: But Jeff mentioned the margin that we'll be watching tonight. That means you know, who does vote for Janet Mills in this race, given she suspended her campaign. If that number is significantly high, what will that tell you about how voters do feel about what they've learned about Graham Platner?
KHANNA: Well, if there was a real protest vote, and you had 40 percent or something still voting for other candidates, then people -- he'd have work to do. But a sitting governor who's saying, I'm still on the ballot, is going to get some percent of the vote. And if he is anywhere near 70 or above, I think that's going to be pretty decisive, given the enthusiasm.
And I think Democrats will rally around him on an anti-war platform, on someone who's going to take out Susan Collins who put Kavanaugh on the court, and who's voted to cut health care. COLLINS: Shermichael, I mean, you heard Arlette's reporting about what he's going to say about Susan Collins.
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I have, and I find that a bit ironic.
For a long time now, Democrats have long-argued that what fueled their passions against Trump was a sense of righteous indignation, that they were standing up for justice, they were upholding morality that they said Trump was an affront to. And now, what we all realize is that that was all the facade.
You have this guy who said he's going to make a speech to make a contra -- or draw contrast against himself and Susan Collins, he stands up for women, she does not because she voted for Brett Kavanaugh. Yet we just had, not more than a week ago, very serious allegations against this very same guy who's now the defender of women?
So, to me, it seems like maybe a defender of women for my Democratic friends when it's convenient for them. But now that there's a political electoral opportunity to maintain their majority in the Senate, and Graham Platner could out-seat Susan Collins, you know what? It doesn't necessarily matter the 10-plus years of arguments we've made about morals and ethics against Trump and Republicans who've empowered Trump because we can win a seat. It's very Machiavellian in many ways.
And to me, any argument that Democrats have framed against Trump, against Republicans, is not null and void. They have revealed themselves to be nothing but hypocrites, nothing but liars.
And I think as we get into the general election, you're going to see the case made by Susan Collins, made by the NRSC, that Democrats are not the people that they said that they are. Look at who they're supporting, the guy with the Nazi tattoo.
COLLINS: I mean, Congressman?
KHANNA: My argument against Donald Trump was that he didn't recognize a legitimate election. My argument was that he's given tax breaks to billionaires, that he has betrayed his promise to the working class and gotten us in foreign wars. He had four criminal trials against him.
So, the idea that someone who served three tours of duty had post- traumatic stress disorder and is acknowledging it a dark chapter in his life, and his redemption, is far closer to George W. Bush's story than Donald Trump's story. I mean, he has said he was addicted to alcohol, he had an ugly chapter, and he has redeemed himself. And Americans love redemption stories.
By the way, Donald Trump has never said -- I haven't heard him express shame or guilt--
SINGLETON: But who-- KHANNA: --for anything.
SINGLETON: But Congressman, if I could just rebut quickly. Is Graham Platner running against Donald Trump or Susan Collins? I understand PTSD, I know a lot of soldiers--
KHANNA: I know you do.
SINGLETON: You know, I'm a gun guy.
KHANNA: I know you do.
SINGLETON: That's a big issue to me, and I care a lot about it. And the alcoholism, I don't take that for granted, a lot of Americans deal with that as well, and we should support those who are recovering from that issue.
That said, this is a guy who's trying to draw a contrast against a woman who's been there a long time. She is, by all accounts, even by many of her colleagues on the Democratic side, a moderate, someone that they can work with, they have accounted on her for many times in many very serious votes against her own party.
And yet Democrats are making the argument that now, everything they said about Trump, about those who supported Trump, like Susan Collins, was wrong, yet somehow we should excuse them for saying that Graham Platner is OK?
KHANNA: Well no one--
COLLINS: Well--
SINGLETON: Because they could win?
KHANNA: No one is questioning Susan Collins' personal character. Because Harry Reid--
SINGLETON: How do you maintain any moral authority when you make that justification?
KHANNA: --Harry said -- Reid had said, you can always count on Susan Collins when you don't need her. And the reality is Democrats are very upset that she put--
COLLINS: Well--
KHANNA: --Kavanaugh on the court.
COLLINS: --and to be fair, Susan Collins once said, she didn't trust Harry Reid when she was trying to keep her record in terms of voting.
But I want everyone to listen to what AOC had to say, in terms of what Democrats are saying about Graham Platner here in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): There's a lot in that behavior that's really challenging, it's hard to stomach, you know, in some of it. But, but at the end of the day, I think that this is a choice.
If that choice on the ballot is between that and a senator who's voted to take health care away from millions of Americans, that's the situation that we have to weigh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I mean, you can hear that in her voice, in terms of what their -- where this race stands.
ZELENY: No question about it. And I mean, I think that at the end of the day, there's going to be so many outside forces coming into Maine.
[21:15:00]
There are a lot of options that could happen. I mean, there could be overreach here, and there could be Maine voters just becoming so angry by the outside spending and things to do, some unknown things. So, I think Maine is going to be a wild card until the end. There's no doubt about it. But I'm surprised by just the number of Democratic women I speak to as well, who do believe it's Platner versus the President.
And yes, I mean, perhaps early in the Trump administration they might have been more willing to stand on principles. By year 10, I think that let's play by the same rules, that's their thinking.
We shall see. I mean. But the reality here is that this is going to open the door to some other races being more competitive, probably across the country, like Iowa, other things. But let's watch his margin tonight.
COLLINS: Yes.
ZELENY: I think that will tell us a lot. And it's far too early right now because, Maine counts sort of slowly. But let's watch his margins.
COLLINS: And we'll be checking in with John King on what those margins look like throughout the hour. Everyone's going to stick around.
And as those votes are being tallied, we do have a new projection for a key race in California. More Republicans have been trying to defend the President's baseless allegations of fraud. What's the latest?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:20:00]
COLLINS: Tonight, CNN can project that the Trump-backed Republican businessman and the former Fox News host, Steve Hilton, will advance to November's general election for governor of California. He'll face off against President Biden's former Health Secretary, Xavier Becerra, in what will be a heated race to lead the most populous state in the nation. And yes, this means a Republican is advancing in a deep-blue state, despite what we've been hearing here in Washington, as Republican leaders have sought to defend President Trump's baseless allegations of election fraud in California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): It's incompetence, if nothing else. And, you know, whether or not there was actual rigging is something that have to be proven. But clearly, this is a system in California that doesn't work and doesn't inspire confidence and trust in voters.
REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): They just keep finding ballots and finding ballots until the election results change. That -- look, whether -- whether you can prove fraud or not, it does undermine voter integrity in -- in the vote.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Some of these efforts are so diabolical and so far upstream, it is impossible to prove. But I think everybody knows, instinctively, something is wrong here.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's four days and they aren't even close to coming up with the--
KRISTEN WELKER, MODERATOR, "MEET THE PRESS," NBC NEWS: That's how they -- that's how they count the votes in California.
TRUMP: Do you know why they're doing that? Because they're cheating on the election.
WELKER: There's -- What? Do you have evidence to support that?
TRUMP: It's -- all I have to do is look. All I have to do is look.
WELKER: But that--
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Now, there's no evidence of anything fraudulent about California's election results.
But one California Democrat, Congressman Ro Khanna, has been publicly agreeing that his state's election system needs to change. He is back, along with our sources.
And Kaitlan will be back here with us in a second.
Now, Congressman, you endorsed Tom Steyer in this contest. Now that he's out of the running, what are your plans?
KHANNA: Well, first of all, the fact that I endorsed Tom Steyer and that Tom Steyer is conceding to Stephen Hilton, a Republican, shows that there's not some conspiracy or fraud. I mean, imagine if we had said that we won it fraud, we would want two Democrats there to help down ballot. But what I did say is that California needs to figure out how we count faster. We can have more people at the registrar offices, we can have more capability, so that we can get the bulk of the vote counted in 48 hours. Because otherwise it creates this uncertainty and these conspiracies.
ZELENY: I mean, do you believe that this has done irreparable damage to just the voters' confidence in the elections, and what impact could it have on congressional races in California, some of which will be very central to the House majority?
KHANNA: I think we're going to win five seats in California. We're going to be winning four pretty easily, and then Randy Villegas who's an extraordinary candidate, I think, will take out David Valadao.
But of course, if we had two Democrats, it would have helped us even more, which is why I'm saying that there's not some conspiracy or fraud. Otherwise, my candidate, Tom Steyer, would have made it. And I just want to let you know that you got a Republican there. But yes, let's count these votes faster.
SINGLETON: Despite spending tons of money, Jeff--
KHANNA: Right.
SINGLETON: --he still got what, third place, I believe, so.
KHANNA: Close.
SINGLETON: And so, this goes to show us, first of all, there isn't any fraud.
ZELENY: Right.
SINGLETON: I just want to say quickly--
ZELENY: I mean, why does the President keep harping on this if there's no fraud? Do you believe that he is trying to sort of create a predicate for November, to have people question the results heading into November?
SINGLETON: Jeff, I would hope not. And part of my concern as a strategist is that you may have some Republican voters who really trust in the President and believe, Well, my vote may not count, so maybe I shouldn't turn out at all--
KHANNA: That's right.
SINGLETON: --in very key -- in close races. We want the opposite of that.
That said, a Republican is not going to win in California. I mean, God bless Arnold Schwarzenegger, but that was a very different time. When you compare what Steyer received and the guy at the top of the ticket, you put those numbers together, it's very obvious he's going to win by at least a million votes. But the fact that we have a Republican who was competitive suggests to me that the level of angst, anxiety, frustration among the American people is there, it's fervent, and people want someone who speaks to that. And look, I have just criticized the heck out of Graham Platner, but I think that's probably why he's doing so well.
ZELENY: And let's listen to what Steve Hilton had to say about these baseless claims that California is rigging elections.
[21:25:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE HILTON, (R) CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: There's so many things wrong with the system, I've been saying all along that we take it very seriously because, we don't want to let people down, and we've been very vigilant on it. We're keeping an eye on it. We've got teams standing by, lawyers standing by. And actually is the same answer that actually I've been giving for a few days now. We've seen nothing that would give us cause to intervene in that way.
I'm looking for positive practical changes we can make to the system to speed it up, but also to prevent the opportunity for people to look at what's going on and say, Look, there's got to be something fishy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Now, breaking news: CNN can now project that Graham Platner will win the Democratic nomination in Maine to run against Republican Senator Susan Collins in November.
Let's go back to John King at the Magic Wall to look at the votes we're seeing so far.
KING: So, Jeff, we have the projection. The question is, we need a lot more results to understand, now that Graham Platner will be the Democratic nominee, what is the debate in Maine? What is the debate at your table? What is the debate among national Democrats and national Republicans about, is he weakened, and if so, how much is he weakened by the last couple of weeks of character and temperament news reporting, and the like.
But if you see the very early results, the reason I say we need to wait for those results is, you see, 8 percent of the vote counted. He's got 75 percent of the vote. Our Decision Desk is quite comfortable that Graham Platner is going to win the Democratic nomination tonight, which is why we project the race.
But we have no votes counted in down here, very few votes counted down here, the southeastern part of the state, right along the border, half the Maine population lives in the 1st Congressional District, that is the overwhelmingly blue Democratic district. So, if there is a Democratic protest vote, is there some sign of Democratic discontent, or a rally to Platner, and he wins big in these communities? We don't know yet because we don't have the votes.
ZELENY: Right.
KING: But that is where we will get the verdict, if you will, or at least the votes that will help us begin that debate, as you play it out right here.
At the moment, though, Platner with 75 percent, very early on, he will be the nominee. The question is, how big--
(CROSSTALK)
ZELENY: John, I hate to interrupt you here but--
KING: Please, go ahead.
ZELENY: John, I hate to interrupt you here. We are going to go to Graham Platner, who is on stage right now in Blue Hill, Maine. Let's listen.
(CROWD chanting Amy)
GRAHAM PLATNER, (D) MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: Amy Jane, you are my best friend and the love of my life, and thank you.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: Over the last nine months, I have seen Mainers come together behind a vision to take back our power from corporations and billionaires.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: I love every single one of you, everyone who has shown up at a town hall, who has knocked on a door, who cast their vote, not for me, but for a vision of a life in Maine that you can afford.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: A life of dignity and a government that actually serves its people.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: I want to thank our incredible campaign team and all 15,000 volunteers.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE) PLATNER: You have built the most powerful grassroots movement in the history of this state.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: This is because of you. And when we finally defeat Susan Collins?
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: That will be because of you too. You don't just believe in a different kind of politics. You have dedicated your time and your talents to it. It is a service to our state and to our nation. And thank you.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: I also want to thank Governor Janet Mills for a lifetime of service to a state that we both love. We are eternally grateful.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: And any of those who feel let down, or disappointed, or disillusioned, it is my job to earn your trust, faith, and support, and I will spend every day of this campaign, and if I have the privilege, every day in the United States Senate, doing exactly that.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
[21:30:00]
PLATNER: It is -- it is deeply humbling to stand here as your Democratic nominee.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: It is an honor, and I will not let you down.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: Until recently, I thought that Harbor Master would be the height of my political career. (LAUGHTER)
PLATNER: It now appears that things have changed.
(LAUGHTER)
PLATNER: But it's funny, this morning, this morning was a normal one. I woke up in my home, just a few doors down from the house I grew up in. Amy and I shared a pot of coffee. We walked our dogs on the same road that I've spent most of my life on. We spent the afternoon, knocking on doors and getting ready for this evening. And then we drove down here to Blue Hill, where I was born.
(CHEERING)
PLATNER: Born in a maternity ward that has since closed.
(BOOING)
PLATNER: I am a son of rural Maine. I was a kid who picked blueberries under the July sun. And then one day, I was a kid who signed up and left to fight for his country. And when I returned, I carried with me the weight of forever wars, and the struggle and the alienation that came with it. But I'm also a lucky one who found his way back, who found a living on the sea, and a home, and a community that offered love and redemption.
Redemption is not just some simple or easy destination, it's a journey. I've made mistakes in my life, mistakes that I regret, that I live with, that I continue to learn from. I'm still far from perfect. But every day I wake up, and I try to be a little bit better and a little bit kinder than I was the day before.
And if you give me the chance, I will be a senator for the people who cannot afford to buy a senator.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: I will stand up for you, and against billionaires and greedy corporations.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: I will serve you, the people of Maine, not some lobbyist or party boss. I will be the champion for your dreams, as if it were my own. No matter the challenge or the expense, I will fight for you.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: I have been willing to die for my country. There is nothing that I will not do for the State of Maine.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: You have lifted me up. You have had my back. This is the state that raised me, and this is the state that saved me.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: Now I am -- I am not a deeply religious man, and yet I cannot help but think tonight about a hymn. I once was lost, but now I'm found, found because of the grace of the people of Maine.
Grace comes when a tree falls and your neighbor brings over a chainsaw. Grace comes when your truck gives out late at night, and someone you've never met stops to help you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(CHEERING)
PLATNER: Grace comes when you need it most and expect it least, when your parents need a hand, and an old friend doesn't hesitate to go shovel the driveway. Or when a teacher, as underpaid as they are, stays late after school, gives up their own precious free time to help a kid who has fallen behind.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: Grace, grace is not inevitable. But here in Maine, sometimes it feels like it is. And that is something I will never take for granted. It is a mighty gift, and one that I am committed to extending outwards.
(CHEERING)
PLATNER: Maine, I love you.
CROWD: Love you.
PLATNER: I love this state.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
[21:35:00]
PLATNER: Now -- now, the national pundits, the political establishment, they keep looking for that one story, that one headline, that one moment in my life that they can define the campaign by. But in trying so hard to understand me, they failed to understand that this is not about me at all.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: This is a movement about us.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: About the far too many, working far too hard and struggling far too much, at the hands of the ruling class. It is not a story of my hardship. It's of our hardship.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: A story of the hardship of every working Mainer, people that used to be able to stern in the summertime, plow in the winter, dig clams, and be able to send your kid off to college, but you can't anymore. Because that hard work, it isn't enough now.
This story, the story of this campaign, is not about how the political establishment counted me out. It is about for how far too long the political establishment has counted out the voices of every single person without the money to buy influence.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: But they don't know Maine.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: Those who think we can be fooled by a handful of billionaires, who think they can just buy elections like they buy yachts or other houses. But they don't know Maine.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: We will continue to show up for one another. We will be the people that fight for each other in the places that we love. We are ready for change.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: And they will try to make this race about everything other than what it absolutely is, a simple choice for who will represent us in the United States Senate.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: Susan Collins may have started--
(BOOING)
PLATNER: --may have started her career decades ago in Washington with good intentions. But she has become just as spineless and corrupt as the establishment she now serves.
(BOOING)
PLATNER: She got elected, promising to protect Roe versus Wade, only to turn around and put on a justice -- put a justice to Supreme Court who overturned it. She lied to us.
(BOOING)
PLATNER: Susan Collins has used her privilege and power to funnel $60 million in federal contracts, $60 million of our tax dollars, to her lobbyist husband.
(BOOING)
PLATNER: If that's not corruption, I don't know what is.
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: Susan Collins, Susan Collins has gotten 21 times wealthier just in the last 15 years. Has anybody else gotten 21 times wealthier since Susan Collins was elected to office? Does Maine have 21 times the schools and hospitals?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
PLATNER: No, we have less. Susan Collins is getting rich while we're getting screwed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
PLATNER: The last time she ran for office, she received more money from private equity than any other member of Congress, including--
(BOOING)
PLATNER: --including some of the same private equity companies that shuttered the mills here in Maine.
(BOOING)
PLATNER: And ever since then, she has stood by and done nothing, while they have bought up nursing homes, local businesses, the last of the houses we could afford, stripped our communities for parts. Hell, they bought the Boston Red Sox.
(BOOING)
PLATNER: And Susan Collins has never met a war she didn't like. She's been supporting endless wars since I was a teenager, and I know, I had to fight in two of them.
[21:40:00]
Senator Collins, I got blown up by you handing out billions of dollars to defense companies that invest in you -- sorry, that you're invested in. You and your friends profited, and my friends died.
Susan Collins has voted to send billions of our taxpayer dollars to fund other people's wars.
Susan Collins, how do you justify closing hospitals in Maine while using our tax dollars to destroy them halfway around the world?
(BOOING)
PLATNER: If you reflect Maine's values, why are you funding masked agents who are ripping our neighbors off the streets, driving them off in unmarked vans? That is not the freedom that I served four tours defending.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: If you are an independent voice, why do you vote with Donald Trump 95 percent of the time?
(BOOING)
PLATNER: If you're so bipartisan, why were you the deciding vote to put Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court?
(BOOING)
PLATNER: The deciding vote to defund our health care and our hospitals? Why did you--
(BOOING)
PLATNER: Why did you rubber-stamp the greatest redistribution of wealth from the working class to the ruling class in the history of our nation?
(BOOING)
PLATNER: Susan Collins is only bipartisan when it doesn't matter.
Susan Collins calls herself the gold standard of commonsense. Commonsense would be Mainers not having to choose between seeing a doctor or paying your mortgage. Commonsense would be banning billionaires from buying elections, and it would also be giving workers the same seat at the table as CEOs.
CROWD: Yes.
PLATNER: Commonsense would be a minimum wage that's a living wage.
CROWD: Yes.
PLATNER: It would be keeping our hospitals open and our schools funded, and our kids from having to fight in another generation of forever wars.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: Commonsense would be releasing the Epstein files.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PLATNER: Should be unafraid of upsetting the wannabe king to whom Susan Collins bows.
CROWD: Yes.
PLATNER: Susan Collins said she would only serve two terms--
COLLINS: You have been listening to Graham Platner, fresh off a projection that he will be the Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine.
And if his speech that you've just been listening to, to voters, is any indication of what the next several months here are going to look like, it's going to be an incredibly ugly race there in Maine. He named Susan Collins, multiple times, as you heard directly in that speech, as Arlette Saenz previewed earlier, was expected after it was projected that he would be the winner of this tonight.
My political panel is back with me.
And Jeff, thank you for earlier. But I mean, just listening to that, I mean, his -- one of his most cutting line, and there was a lot about Susan Collins in there, he said, she's only bipartisan when it doesn't matter.
ZELENY: Look, I mean, as we were saying, Susan Collins has had a lot of races. This will be her toughest race, there's no doubt about it. Just listening to everything that he was saying there, talking about she voted for a war that he was in. But I think this is still about Graham Platner. And he started to pivot. The question is, can he successfully pivot?
I think, perhaps the most important line, and the biggest question for the next five months, Do Maine voters trust him? And he said, To all those who feel let down, disappointed, or disillusioned, it's my job to earn your trust. So, that is, I think, the challenge for him to earn the trust, as Republican ads start pummeling him about his character and things.
So, if there's no shoe to drop, perhaps this moves on, but that's an open question for one. But for two, I think the challenge is still making this about Susan Collins. And yes, he's doing it in this speech here. But this is the easiest night of the rest of the campaign for him. It gets much harder, come morning.
COLLINS: Yes, I mean, Susan Collins has obviously been a political powerhouse in Maine, as Jeff noted earlier, you know, how she's prevailed in these races before.
[21:45:00]
When you listen to that, Congressman, as someone who has obviously endorsed him. He's going after Susan Collins. He mentioned the Epstein files, and obviously that's been something that you've led the charge on here in Washington. He said that she's never met a war she didn't like. I mean, do you think those are going to be effective attacks, come this November?
KHANNA: Susan Collins is formidable.
But Graham has had a terrific night, when it looks like he's going to be near 75 percent of the vote, that's a big thing. And his speech showed both humility and strength. He talked about Maine giving him grace, Maine giving him a second chance. He talked about the need to earn people's votes. So, this was not an arrogant speech. He understands he needs to do work, and he understands they're giving him a chance at redemption.
And yet he was strong. He said, I'm going to tax the billionaires. I'm not going to have these foreign wars. I'm going to take on the corporate interests and PAC money. I'm going to call for the release of the Epstein files.
We have not had a candidate with that kind of clarity and strength run against Collins.
SINGLETON: Perhaps clarity, but not moral clarity. He talked about grace. He had several different lines about grace.
What about the grace for the women who made serious allegations against him, reported in The New York Times?
He talked about Susan Collins being corrupt. He talked about Susan Collins voting to give funding to ICE, taking our neighbors and putting them in unmarked vans.
So now, he's a warrior for minorities, the same guy with a Nazi tattoo, and he didn't know it was a Nazi tattoo. Or the only people I know who get Nazi tattoos on their chest are actual Nazis.
This is going to be an election about character. Now, the voters in Maine may not like every single thing about Susan Collins. Well, Susan Collins is a woman who broke a lot of history, who does have bipartisan support, who has not always voted with her party. She's not a person who supports women merely when it's convenient for her, as we're seeing with Graham Platner, who I thought it was very ironic that he was surrounded by a ton of women in the midst of giving this campaign speech. This will come down to someone they know versus a guy who uses and says whatever he has to say to get his way, and I don't think it's going to work.
COLLINS: We will see what happens. Obviously, it's going to be an ugly campaign between the two of them.
We're also following other breaking news tonight, as we're watching these races. The U.S. is launching strikes against Iran again. Iran now says they are retaliating. My Global Affairs source will join us, right after this.
[21:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Moments ago, the United States military announced the U.S. has completed its strikes against Iran, in response to the downing of an Army Apache helicopter off the coast of Oman, last night.
Earlier, we heard the United States confirming, they had launched what officials were describing as, quote, "Self-defense strikes," at 05:00 p.m. Eastern, at President Trump's direction, which they described as a mission of a proportional response to the helicopter's downing. Now, two Army pilots had been rescued, uninjured, last night, by an uncrewed drone boat.
And the U.S. attack on Iran came after we heard from the President, saying earlier that the United States must respond, of necessity, and respond to this attack.
Iranian media reported that explosions had been heard in southern Iran after the U.S. announced those new strikes. And shortly after, Iran's military said that it launched missiles and drones toward United States' targets in the region, including the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
Now, all of this is happening, after President Trump predicted just yesterday, to voters in South Carolina, that the United States was two weeks away from what he described as total victory in Iran.
And Vice President JD Vance told Robert Costa of CBS News this, just today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JD VANCE (R), U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Right now, I feel that we are in a position to get a deal that is good for the United States economically, and that really does deal with the Iranian nuclear program, not just now, not just while Donald Trump is president, but for the long term, to where my kids can say, when they're adults, Iran is not going to have a nuclear weapon. ROBERT COSTA, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT FOR "CBS NEWS SUNDAY MORNING," CBS NEWS CHIEF WASHINGTON ANALYST: You say, very close.
How soon? Could the deal happen before the midterm elections?
VANCE: Oh, absolutely. No, I think we're going to know a lot before the midterm elections. Look, I think that the deal could happen in the next week, but the deal could also happen months from now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Also joining us tonight is National Security, are -- is the former Middle East and North Africa Coordinator at the National Security Council, Brett McGurk, as well as my political sources, Shermichael and Jeff.
And Brett, when you listen to what the Vice President's saying there, what the President was saying yesterday, then you see these attacks between the United States and Iran. What's your sense of what's going on?
And also, some people might see that Iran was able to down an Apache helicopter and say, I thought their capabilities were totally decimated.
BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, FORMER MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA COORDINATOR, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Yes, Kaitlan, the White House really, really, really wants a deal, and Iran is showing no indications they're ready to do a deal, other than on the terms they're demanding, which includes a lot of upfront unfreezing of assets, which the President said he's not going to do.
But if you go back just in the last eight days, Kaitlan. The Iranians attacked a ship off the coast of Kuwait. They fired missiles and drones at Kuwait and Bahrain. They attacked the civilian airport in Kuwait City. We had another exchange of fire, a few days ago. And then we've had this incident.
[21:55:00]
This is kind of the new normal in the Gulf until there is a deal. Because what's happening, at night, ships are getting through. The Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, said today that actually a meaningful number of ships, in his words, didn't put a number on it, are getting through. These ships are turning off their responders. We're kind of helping protect them. I'm sure that's likely what that Apache helicopter was doing. And Iran is trying to target those ships with the Shahed drones. That's happening every night, right now in the Gulf. So, until we have a deal of some kind, this is the new normal.
And I -- what I am predicting here is that this is going to continue for some time. I just don't see the stars aligning for the agreement the White House keeps talking about.
COLLINS: When CENTCOM described this as a proportional response. Is that how you see what we know about these attacks so far tonight? MCGURK: Yes, I read -- I saw that. That language was very carefully -- it said, Complete, we have completed our response. They are sending a message that this is over.
Now, here's the thing about the Iranians, Kaitlan. They always demand the last thing. In a negotiation, they always demand the last edit to a text. In an exchange of fire, they always demand the last shot. You might remember, when President Trump ordered the strike against Soleimani, Iran then launched a series of missiles at our base, and they kind of put a ceiling on it there.
So, what's happening now, as I understand it, there are sirens in Bahrain, the Iranians are saying they're launching some missiles towards Bahrain. That could be it. But I -- again, until there's a deal, this is going to keep going on because, Iran is targeting ships in the Gulf, and we're trying to protect those ships.
COLLINS: Yes.
I mean, Jeff Zeleny, as you look at what's happening. And you heard what the Vice President said to Robert Costa. I mean, he's saying, absolutely by the midterms. I mean, we also had heard that the war was going to be four to six weeks at the beginning of this.
ZELENY: And we're more than a 100 days now. He said, weeks or months.
I mean, the reality here is the time, the urgency is in the favor of the Iranians. I mean, the midterm elections are a huge pressure point for the President.
I was with the President in Wisconsin on Friday. He was trying to appeal to farmers that the Iran war will be over soon, your diesel prices will go down, your fertilizer prices will go down. He kept saying it would be over soon. But it doesn't really match the reality of what is actually happening on the ground in the Middle East there. So, how many times have we heard the President say it's on the verge of being over, and it's not that case at all?
So, I think that it is as big of a challenge, and we'll see what morning brings, I mean, when these strikes happen. I mean, this is a new retaliation that we haven't seen for a while.
COLLINS: Yes, and we saw Iran's foreign minister saying that they're going to respond to this.
I mean, when we look at this in terms of the context of tonight, Shermichael, and the midterm elections.
SINGLETON: Sure.
COLLINS: I mean, Graham Platner is bringing up wars right now, while going off on Susan Collins in that speech tonight.
SINGLETON: Yes, and many Democrats have lately, as they prepare for the midterms, and prepare for the general elections, as they make it out of their primaries. I see two problems here. One, you have Iran as a quasi-superpower. What do I mean? They don't have nuclear capabilities, but they now have the capability to constrict the world's economy. That is just terrible for our allies in that part of the world, and terrible for the American consumer as the costs are going through the roof.
Two, you have the electoral component of this, where Republicans want to make the case to Republican voters, but also to Independent voters in the general election, that we are prioritizing cost of living, energy costs. We do recognize that things are still a bit unaffordable, we're working on tackling those things to lower cost. It's very, very difficult to do that, so long as this is a prolonged issue.
So, I understand why the President wants to expedite this. I just think we have to get there quicker. You have early voting that starts in September. It's almost July, I guess I could effectively say. That gives you, really, 60 days to try to wrap this up. We've seen months, of the President trying to wrap this up, and so far I don't think we're any closer today than we were just a month ago.
COLLINS: Yes, I mean, and Brett, as you look at this. Obviously, the President, he has said he doesn't care about the midterms, that that's not a determining factor in his decision-making here. But obviously, there's a lot of people in the White House who work on the political side of this that are looking at this.
MCGURK: Yes, the Iranians are looking at that calendar too, and they're going to try to string this out, and that time is going to go fast. Shermichael just put the calendar -- political calendar on. Two months ago today, we were supposed to start a ceasefire because, President Trump announced, two months ago, they have a ceasefire, and the Strait would open. That was on April 8th. And that did not happen. The Strait is still closed. So, those two months will go by fast.
The Iranians are going to wait this out, Kaitlan. That's my prediction. They know they got a squeeze. They're going to wait this out. Now, their economic pain is compounding too inside because of our blockade. But in terms of the two runways, I think ours is a lot shorter than theirs. That's at least how they see it. So, I don't see them coming to the table to do the deal on the terms that the President seems to be demanding, at least.
COLLINS: Yes. I mean, obviously, that is certainly something that is clear, and they've been happy to invoke it, even in terms of domestic politics here at home.
Brett McGurk, we'll obviously be watching this closely with you.
Jeff Zeleny. Shermichael Singleton. It's great to have all of you here tonight.
[22:00:00]
And thank you all so much for joining us on this busy Election Night here at CNN. We're going to continue following all the results here. And "CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" starts right now.
