Too Middle School to Check: Team Totenkopf’s ‘Do You Like Me’ Survey Tests Survival Chances

Remember passing notes in class in middle school in which someone asked the question, “Do you like me?” Below it would be two check boxes, Yes and No, to determine whether one’s crush reciprocated interest. In my day, that’s what social media meant. “Going viral” meant that everyone spread the rumor about the unrequited romance through the entire school, and getting blocked meant … pretty much what it means today, actually. 

Now, from the campaign trying to sell the middle-aged man who creeped on Kik for years, we get the modern version of the “do you like me” note. Graham Platner’s campaign and the Maine Democrat Party have spent the last 24 hours trading potshots over what comes next now that Der Oysterführer has been credibly accused of rape as well as domestic violence. Reportedly, Platner will meet with strategist Morris Katz later today to decide whether to withdraw, but in the meantime, his campaign manager sent out a defiant text to supporters in response to the MDP’s plans to find a new nominee:

NEW: Ben Chin, campaign manager for Graham Platner in #MESEN, blasted out a mass text

Chin slams the Maine Dem Party for allowing the DSCC to send staffers to plan “a nominating process behind closed doors”

It also includes a Survey Monkey link for feedback? pic.twitter.com/uFY0MgtSQ4

— Ally Mutnick (@allymutnick) July 8, 2026

That does not sound like a campaign attempting a wind-down in the face of collapse. It sounds more like a campaign prepared to burn down the forest to find itself a toothpick. 

Speaking of toothpicks, let’s look at the survey. The Bangor Daily News reported on the Survey Monkey questionnaire sent out to Chin’s mailing list, reportedly for the purpose of determining Platner’s next steps. Note the survey time limit in particular:

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner’s campaign escalated another fight with the state party on Wednesday, asking supporters to answer a 48-hour survey aimed at influencing the process of replacing him on the ballot. …

The survey asks supporters two questions: what message they have for the Maine Democratic Party, and what message they have for Platner. Chin said the campaign would collect responses for 48 hours, review them and share them with the party.

“If the Maine Democratic Party hopes to harness our movement, and avoid disillusioning the hundreds of thousands of supporters who came into the fray because of our movement’s policies, it must consult the feedback and proposals of the people who built and sustained this,” Chin wrote.

It was the firmest timeline that the Platner campaign has put in writing ahead of a potential exit.

A 48-hour survey would conclude mid-afternoon on Friday. The process of “review” would take at least several hours, or perhaps even a few days. The timing of the survey would indicate that Team Totenkopf doesn’t plan to budge until the weekend arrives, if it plans to budge at all. Chin’s message and the survey don’t match up well with what CNN is reporting from behind the scenes at the campaign:

Graham Platner and a small team of strategists behind his candidacy are trying to navigate an exit from the consequential Senate race in Maine without entirely squandering the movement he built, people familiar with the matter said, rather than digging in or trying to find a path forward for his candidacy.

“We’ve said from the very beginning that this campaign was never about Graham but about a movement of working people united to take back power,” Ben Chin, the campaign manager for Platner, said in a message to supporters on Wednesday.

Platner is expected to announce his decision through a recorded video, which could come later Wednesday. As of this morning, the message had not been taped, the people familiar said. He did not speak during an early-afternoon conference call with campaign staff, but aides told people on the line that they would likely hear from him soon.

If they plan to shut down tonight, why launch a 48-hour survey at all? Why fuel a public feud with the MDP if the goal is to maintain the movement and dial down the disruption? CNN left out the part of Chin’s message that explicitly rejected the MDP’s plans to find another candidate, which indicates that Platner intends to fight rather than withdraw.

If the MDP thought Platner was about to walk away, they would likely stay quiet themselves to keep from antagonizing Platner further. Instead, the party will meet in an emergency session thirty minutes from now to start planning next steps regardless of what Chin and Platner get out of their survey:

The Maine Democratic Party said they are working to develop an inclusive process to selecting a new U.S. Senate nominee, shortly after the Democratic State Committee was notified of an emergency meeting taking place Wednesday, according to two sources who received the notice.

The notice stated that a meeting would be called for Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., according to an email shared with NEWS CENTER Maine from Maine Democratic Party Chairman Charlie Dingman.

“Pursuant to the Maine Democratic Party Charter, notice is hereby given that an emergency meeting of the Democratic State Committee has been called for today (July 8th, 2026) at 4:30 p.m.,” officials said. 

The notice did not specify the subject of the meeting. A public statement later came from Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson and addressed where the party currently stands with their current U.S. Senate nominee, Graham Platner.

The MDP is still firing back publicly against Platner and Chin, too:

“While the Platner campaign remains focused on distracting from the job of defeating Susan Collins in November with false accusations against us, the Maine Democratic Party remains hyper focused on developing a representative, transparent and inclusive process to select a new…

— Maine Democrats (@MaineDems) July 8, 2026

… nominee when he chooses to withdraw from the race. While we may be frustrated with Graham Platner’s continued efforts to manipulate this process, we are so thankful for his supporters and all of their efforts to defeat Susan Collins – they are a vital part of our Party and deserve to participate in an open process to select Platner’s replacement.” – Devon Murphy-Anderson, Executive Director of the MDP

The public feud alone indicates that a resolution is still a ways off. It’s possible that Platner may simply tire of the futility and call a halt regardless of what the Survey Monkey data tells them. At the moment, though, it looks like both sides are getting ready for more fighting. Perhaps one might even call it Maine Kampf. 

Stay tuned. And get your popcorn ready. 

Update: VIP member anon-tc4h offers up this musical salute to those bygone days:

Also, my friend Caleb Howe has discovered that anyone can answer this survey. Be sure to make your feelings known!

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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