> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://ivn.us/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Graham Platner Just Got Joe Biden'd - URL: https://ivn.us/graham-platner-just-got-joe-bidend/ - Published: 2026-07-09T19:16:15.000Z - Updated: 2026-07-09T19:16:15.000Z - Description: Plus: DSA & Trump are winning because of closed primaries - Author: IVN Editorial Board - Tags: Weekly Newsletter When POLITICO dropped a sexual-assault allegation on Graham Platner this week, Maine’s Democratic establishment didn’t rush to defend its own primary front-runner. It went looking for the exit. We called it. Before the national press connected the dots, IVN’s Cara McCormick laid out exactly how [Graham Platner is about to be “Joe Bidened”](https://ivn.us/exclusive-graham-platner-is-about-to-be-joe-bidened/) — pushed aside not by the voters who backed him, but by party insiders working a quiet provision of Maine election law that lets them hand-pick a replacement if he’s gone by July 13. Sound familiar? It’s the same machinery that retired Joe Biden from the 2024 ticket without a single primary vote being recast. [Prediction markets are already pricing in a Platner exit](https://ivn.us/kalshi-has-a-new-candidate-in-striking-distance-of-susan-collins-as-odds-point-to-platner-exit/). This is the part the two-party story never tells you: the same insiders who lecture the rest of us about “protecting democracy” keep a trapdoor under every primary winner they decide they can’t afford. It's the same reason why [Mike Madrid said Latino voters backed Trump ... and Mamdani](https://ivn.us/podcasts/why-latino-voters-backed-trump-then-mamdani-not-what-you-think-mike-madrid/) on the latest episode of the Independent Voter Podcast. And it's the same partisan incentives we cover everyday on IVN. This week, Open Primaries president John Opdycke went on Meet the Press to explain why [America’s primary system is feeding both MAGA and the Democratic Socialists](https://ivn.us/americas-primary-system-is-feeding-both-maga-and-the-democratic-socialists/) — and why nearly half the country never gets a real say. Check out more stories that go outside the two-sided narrative below. ### *FEATURED ▶▶▶* ## America’s Primary System Is Feeding Both MAGA and the Democratic Socialists [![Zohran Mamdani and Donald Trump](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/2026/07/mamdani-trump.jpg)](https://ivn.us/americas-primary-system-is-feeding-both-maga-and-the-democratic-socialists/) IVN’s Shawn Griffiths breaks down why closed primaries reward the loudest 4% on each side — fueling the MAGA right and the DSA left alike — while nearly half the country watches from the sidelines, and what the nonpartisan fix actually looks like. [READ FULL ARTICLE](https://ivn.us/americas-primary-system-is-feeding-both-maga-and-the-democratic-socialists/) ### *POPULAR ON IVN ▶▶▶* [Exclusive: Graham Platner is About to Be Joe Bidened ](https://ivn.us/exclusive-graham-platner-is-about-to-be-joe-bidened/) By ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w30/2026/02/Cara-McCormick-IVN.png) Cara Brown McCormick [ ![Exclusive: Graham Platner is About to Be Joe Bidened](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w320/2026/07/Graham-Platner-scandal.jpg) ](https://ivn.us/exclusive-graham-platner-is-about-to-be-joe-bidened/) [Kalshi Has a New Candidate in Striking Distance of Susan Collins as Odds Point to Platner Exit ](https://ivn.us/kalshi-has-a-new-candidate-in-striking-distance-of-susan-collins-as-odds-point-to-platner-exit/) By ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w30/2026/02/dJY12ln-_400x400.jpg) Shawn Griffiths [ ![Kalshi Has a New Candidate in Striking Distance of Susan Collins as Odds Point to Platner Exit](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w320/2026/07/Susan-Collins.jpg) ](https://ivn.us/kalshi-has-a-new-candidate-in-striking-distance-of-susan-collins-as-odds-point-to-platner-exit/) [Maine Democrats Are About to Lock Independents Out of the Process—Again ](https://ivn.us/maine-democrats-are-about-to-lock-independents-out-of-the-process-again/) By ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w30/2026/02/dJY12ln-_400x400.jpg) Shawn Griffiths [ ![Maine Democrats Are About to Lock Independents Out of the Process—Again](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w320/2026/07/image-faacdac7-9f4f-4788-ae08-d8162864290e.jpg) ](https://ivn.us/maine-democrats-are-about-to-lock-independents-out-of-the-process-again/) [Who Is Troy Jackson? The Progressive Populist in Maine Who Has Won In Trump Country ](https://ivn.us/who-is-troy-jackson-the-progressive-populist-in-maine-who-has-won-in-trump-country/) By ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w30/2026/02/dJY12ln-_400x400.jpg) Shawn Griffiths [ ![Who Is Troy Jackson? The Progressive Populist in Maine Who Has Won In Trump Country](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w320/2026/07/Troy-Jackson.jpg) ](https://ivn.us/who-is-troy-jackson-the-progressive-populist-in-maine-who-has-won-in-trump-country/) [6 US Cities that Show America What Independent Leadership Looks Like ](https://ivn.us/6-us-cities-that-show-america-what-independent-leadership-looks-like/) By ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w30/2026/05/matt-shinners.png) Matt Shinners [ ![6 US Cities that Show America What Independent Leadership Looks Like](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w320/2026/07/independent-cities-riverside-california.jpg) ](https://ivn.us/6-us-cities-that-show-america-what-independent-leadership-looks-like/) [12 Groups Building a Political Escape Hatch from the Two-Party Duopoly ](https://ivn.us/12-groups-building-a-political-escape-hatch-from-the-two-party-duopoly/) By ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w30/2026/05/matt-shinners.png) Matt Shinners [ ![12 Groups Building a Political Escape Hatch from the Two-Party Duopoly](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w320/2026/07/independent-canddiate-organizations-endorsements.jpg) ](https://ivn.us/12-groups-building-a-political-escape-hatch-from-the-two-party-duopoly/) [The Two Parties Built Safe Seats. Independents Are Learning How to Break Them ](https://ivn.us/the-two-parties-built-safe-seats-independents-are-learning-how-to-break-them/) By ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w30/2026/07/NAthan-Smolensky.webp) Nathan Smolensky [ ![The Two Parties Built Safe Seats. Independents Are Learning How to Break Them](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w320/2026/07/independent-candidates-break-safe-seats-gerrymandering-2026.png) ](https://ivn.us/the-two-parties-built-safe-seats-independents-are-learning-how-to-break-them/) ### *NEW EPISODE ▶▶▶* ## Independent Voter Podcast Political strategist and author Mike Madrid joins the Independent Voter Podcast to unpack why so many Latino voters swung to Trump — and then to Zohran Mamdani. His answer is the one neither party wants to hear: these aren’t ideological voters, they’re anti-establishment ones the two-party system keeps misreading. [WATCH NOW](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe2h8sedyR8&ref=ivn.us) ### *NEED TO KNOW ▶▶▶* ## 10 Organizations Independent Voters Need to Watch From ballot access and open primaries to independent candidates and ranked choice voting, these are the groups quietly building the next phase of the voter-first movement. The list runs from Open Primaries and the Independent Voter Project working to crack open closed primaries, to the Forward Party building an alternative to the two-party system, to American Promise’s fight for a campaign-finance amendment and Unite NY’s ranked-choice push — 10 organizations every independent should have on their radar. [READ FULL ARTICLE](https://ivn.us/10-organizations-independent-voters-need-to-watch/) ### *VIDEO CLIP ▶▶▶* ## Mike Madrid: Neither Party Is Going to Fix a System They Built [![Mike Madrid: Neither Party Is Going to Fix a System They Built](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/2026/07/Madrid_Clip_Preview.png)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DaTpd2HDPp%5F/?ref=ivn.us) Can either party fix a broken political system? Not a chance, argues strategist Mike Madrid — because fixing it was never their job to begin with. [WATCH NOW ON INSTAGRAM](https://www.instagram.com/p/DaTpd2HDPp%5F/?ref=ivn.us) ## NEW: Join the Conversation Now, when you [sign-up for an account on IVN](https://ivn.us/#/portal/signup), you can help frame, change, and inform the discussion. In fact, you can [submit your own news stories](https://ivn.us/publish/), as long as you follow the simple [IVN Etiquette](https://ivn.us/etiquette/). [SIGN UP NOW](https://ivn.us/#/portal/signup) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/2026/05/omp-320x50-1.gif)](https://openmyprimary.org/?ref=ivn.us)