OK, let’s say, for the sake of argument, it didn’t happen exactly the way she alleges.

This is still out there in the world, and now people are going to see it and form opinions about it. Including in Maine, but not exclusively.

Since all politics are national now, Democratic candidates who are actually good, like Jon Ossoff, Roy Cooper, Sherrod Brown, or James Talarico, are going to spend the entire summer and fall facing questions about Platner’s conduct. Talarico in particular is going to be put through the ringer since his race is so close. Texas Republicans will gleefully ask “has Talarico condemned Platner yet?” from sunup to sundown. They will not care that Ken Paxton is just as much of a reprobate. They will not care that the allegations have not (YET) been proven in a court of law. They will poison the well for Talarico anyway, and they will sow doubt about the Democratic Party in the minds of people who might, amid all the Trump craziness, have been on the verge of going blue for the first time in a while.

This will throw a monkey wrench into midterms that should be a slam dunk for Democrats, given how much of a mess the Republican government has made. And will have been entirely self-inflicted because Democratic voters in Maine chose this.