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Here's the Scoop
Two Battlegrounds, One Sprint: Dems in Michigan and Maine Focus on Decisive Senate Seats
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- [00:01]
Rebecca Keegan
So many Ryans at a Comic Con. There's Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Coogler, and this year Ryan Gosling, who had not previously appeared in a comic book movie. So this is kind of a big deal from the standpoint of his career.
- [00:16]
Yasmin Vesugin
So many Ryans. Hi, everybody, and welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vesugin. We got a lot of news coming out of Comic Con with regards to the Marvel Universe. I'll give you another little clue about something we learned Wakanda Forever that is coming up on the show today. There is also a Democratic candidate for Senate coming out of Maine replacing of course, Graham Platner. His name is Troy Jackson. He's got 100 days to beat out five term incumbent candidate Susan Collins. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Up first, though, President Trump is in Michigan today. He is touring a General Motors facility in the suburbs of Detroit and then giving a speech there. Trump won the swing state by a hair in 2024, but his recent round of tariffs could affect his support in the state. So with Trump backing the Republicans presumptive nominee, Democrats think they have a chance at picking up a Senate seat. So the question is, which Democratic primary candidate has better odds of defeating a Republican in a purple state? The establishment candidate, Haley Stevens or the progressive political newcomer, Abdul El Sayed? I want to bring in Rick Pluta from Michigan Public Radio and a co host of the It's Just Politics podcast that he happens to host alongside his wife. Rick has been covering politics in this state since 1987. Hi, Rick.
- [01:48]
Rick Pluta
Hi.
- [01:49]
Yasmin Vesugin
I will never host a podcast with my husband.
- [01:51]
Rick Pluta
Just FYI, only, only one person gets to be in charge at any given moment.
- [01:56]
Yasmin Vesugin
I love that. Let's talk about what's happening in Michigan. All eyes are in Michigan, obviously ahead of the primaries next week. Early voting is already underway. The Senate race is the one that Democrats are really focusing on. You have Haley Stevens, who was endorsed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer over the weekend. She's going up against progressive Abdul El Sayed. The winner is going to be facing off against Republican Mike Rogers, who is running unopposed. Give us a lay of the land here.
- [02:25]
Craig Melvin
Sure.
- [02:25]
Rick Pluta
Well, let's start with the Republican and then we could move into the, you know, Democratic campaign that Mike Rogers is a former member of Congress, but it's been a while. He ran for the US Senate but lost to Alyssa Slotkin, who is now the incumbent. And now he's coming back. He actually moved to Florida and is moving back to Michigan to, you know, run again for the US Senate, a Republican primary basically evaporated after President Donald Trump endorsed Rogers. And so that, that race, that that primary is kind of put to bed. So now you've got a very heated Democratic primary. You've got Abdul El Sayed, who is an ardent progressive who's not afraid to break things, that he is running against moneyed political interests, anti pa, anti US Support for Israel, at least in Gaza, and also anti APAC donations to candidates that he says that right now the US Government is beholden to aipac, it is beholden to big moneyed business interests, and he is running against all of that. Haley Stevens, who is a sitting member of the US House of Representatives, she also kind of runs in a progressive adjacent lane, but she runs a lot, lot on accomplishment. Her time in the House being elected multiple times and her work on President Obama's auto rescue task force, which of course is a big deal in a manufacturing state like Michigan.
- [04:07]
Yasmin Vesugin
So I want to focus first on El Sayed a little bit more because as I mentioned, Michigan narrowly went for Trump in 2024. And I focus a little bit myself during that election on Dearborn, Michigan and the Arab Muslim community and the way in which they were going to vote then. And we were kind of in the midst of the Israel Gaza war, and a lot of Muslim Americans and Arab Americans came out against Kamala Harris and voted either for Donald Trump and or for the third party candidate or just set it up or stayed home. Right. So how are we expecting, and especially from what you've been seeing, the, you know, Israel issue to play out in this midterm election, in this primary, more specifically, and the war with Iran as
- [04:59]
Rick Pluta
well, it is such a huge question, and it's what's causing ulcers in the higher ranks of the Democratic establishment because there are economic issues related to the sustained conflict with Iran. There's a lot of angst about Gaza, especially in southeast Michigan, especially among progressives and especially among the Arab American community that's in Dearborn and southeast Michigan. And it is a big Democratic constituency. Democratic leaders are very concerned that you will see either apathy, antipathy, or hostility based on whatever happens in the Democratic primary, which is why you've seen Gretchen Whitmer, governor, remains popular with the Democratic base coming out and saying that she wants Haley Stevens to be the nominee. But, you know, Abdul El Sayed also has support among the Democratic establishment. The United Auto Workers union, which is looking to, you know, get a little bit more progressive in the progressive lane, has endorsed Abdul El Sayed.
- [06:14]
Yasmin Vesugin
Is there a concern if you get an endorsement, you know, you see Gretchen Whitmer's endorsement of, of Haley Stevens. Is there a concern that EL Sayed can't win in a general.
- [06:25]
Rick Pluta
I was talking to a pollster who pays a lot of attention to Michigan about that, and he said that if EL Sayed is the nominee, there is a path to winning, but Haley Stevens has the stronger path. And that's what's got the Michigan Democratic establishment sort of moving behind Haley Stevens again, with the exception of the United Auto Workers and, and, you know, some other organizations like that. You know, unions are definitely a part of the Democratic establishment in Michigan. And the UAW is saying that, you know, we'll, we'll vote for shaking things up.
- [07:03]
Yasmin Vesugin
There is also the issue of tariffs. The president has just instituted a new round of tariffs on Canada as high as 50% on a bunch of products including cars and auto parts. Michigan, obviously, we all know geography right across the border. How could that affect presumptive Republican candidate Mike Rogers?
- [07:21]
Rick Pluta
Republicans right now are still remaining loyal to Donald Trump. Michigan is very, very sensitive to the economic headwinds that we're talking about here. And so, I mean, one of the questions is, will Mike Rogers have to make a pivot after the primary is over in order to gain some support among moderate, undecided, economically sensitive vot, or does he have to stick with Donald Trump to just keep that base fired up and kind of hope for the best when it comes to turnout on, on Election Day?
- [08:01]
Yasmin Vesugin
Rick Pluto, thank you, sir.
- [08:04]
Rick Pluta
Thank you.
- [08:06]
Yasmin Vesugin
All right, coming up, we're going to go from Michigan to Maine, where Democrats have just picked a candidate to replace Graham platner. With just 100 days to go, does Troy Jackson have a shot at taking down Susan Collins? That is next. And also, so while you're waiting, why not rate and review our show? Listener Teach Linds wrote recently that they liked our insightful guests and that listening made them feel more informed at the end of the day. Do you agree with Teach Lynn's? Let us know. I'll see you on the other side.
- [08:38]
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- [09:09]
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- [09:39]
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- [10:09]
Yasmin Vesugin
And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. So you are going to hear a lot about Troy Jackson in the coming months leading up to the midterm elections in November. Why, you ask? So hundreds of Democrats just chose him in a state convention in Maine as the Democratic nominee for Senate. Jackson is replacing Graham Platner, who dropped out of the race after a sexual assault allegation that he denies. Jackson has less than 100 days to run his campaign against five term incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins in what some consider a must win race for Democrats fight to win back the Senate. So how are Maine voters reacting and can Democrats pull off a win in this sprint to the finish? For this, I want to bring in Alex Seitzwald, who is a local reporter in Maine. He is also the deputy editor of the Mid Coast Villager and a former senior national political reporter for NBC News. Hi, Alex.
- [11:08]
Alex Seitzwald
Hey, Yasmin. Thanks for having me.
- [11:10]
Yasmin Vesugin
Great to have you. And great to have you up there as well.
- [11:13]
Rebecca Keegan
All right.
- [11:13]
Yasmin Vesugin
We talked a lot about Graham Platner. He's now gone. It is now Troy Jackson's turn. Who is he?
- [11:20]
Alex Seitzwald
So Troy Jackson is kind of the blue collar guy that Graham Platner claimed to be. He's from inland Maine, not coastal Maine. He's from this tiny town of Allagash way up on the Canadian border. I think it had a population of 237 in the last census. He's a fifth generation logger. He has this thick Acadian Northwoods accent which is unlike any other New England accent. Really, any other accent In America. He's an older guy. And he also has a lot more insider experience than Grant Platner did. He was in the Maine senate for about 20 years. He was president of the Maine Senate. He was Bernie Sanders political director in 2016. He's much less compelling as a speaker, I have to say, much less charismatic than Grant Platner, which is why, part of the reason why he just ran for governor and came in third in the Democratic primary there. But he has similar politics, similar policy to Graham Platner, just with a little less charisma, a little less baggage, Democrats hope, and a lot more experience.
- [12:21]
Yasmin Vesugin
You talked about how Graham Platner kind of delivered speeches. Right? He had the baritone voice. He had the story to tell as well. He kind of painted himself as an outsider. And you mentioned how Troy Jackson is more of a, an insider. He's a veteran, we should say, right? To, to Maine politics. How is his strategy in this next hundred days going to be compared to Graham Platner? Because, by the way, he also now has the endorsement of Senator Bernie Sanders.
- [12:51]
Alex Seitzwald
That's right, yeah. And Platner and Jackson were close allies when Jackson was running for governor and Platner was running for Senate. So their politics are very similar. Even though Troy Jackson started his political career as a kind of old school Catholic, pro life, anti gay marriage Democrat, then had a big conversion. But their campaigns are gonna be very different. And actually a lot of Democrats that I've spoken to are happy about that because Platner was starting to be a difficult personality to defend. And they feel like the more that they can make this race a referendum on Susan Collins and focus more on the D next to Jackson's name rather than Jackson himself, the better it will be for them.
- [13:30]
Yasmin Vesugin
So let's talk about Susan Collins, because she is a five term incumbent senator in the state of Maine, a Republican. And Troy Jackson is wanting to shape his strategy on linking Susan Collins to Donald Trump as much as possible. So I do have one question.
- [13:47]
Rick Pluta
Who has she served? She has served Donald Trump.
- [13:51]
Alex Seitzwald
She voted with him 96% of the time.
- [13:55]
Yasmin Vesugin
Do you see this as being an effective strategy? And how is the Collins camp responding?
- [14:00]
Alex Seitzwald
Yeah, I mean, if this race were to come down to a clear, just R versus D, let's line up everybody on either side, Democrats would win without a question. This is a blue state. It hasn't voted for a Republican president since 1988. But Susan Collins has had this ability, fairly unique ability, especially in more recent years, to split ticket, to get people to vote for Joe Biden at the top of the ticket in 2020, and then vote for Susan Collins right underneath her. Biden won the state by 9 percentage points. She won the state by 9 percentage points. So there's a significant number of people who will cross over. So the more that Democrats can make this race about Trump, about the Supreme Court, about abortion rights, about how they would argue that she essentially paved the way for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, about ICE raids, which have become pretty unpopular here, the more it's better for them.
- [14:54]
Susan Collins Campaign Representative
I do know Troy well. I have known him for more than 20 years. He has been an Augusta insider, and he's been very much a person who takes a hyper partisan approach to the issues. I think that's one of the big contrasts between us.
- [15:17]
Alex Seitzwald
For Collins, she wants to keep this race entirely focused on Maine and what she has done for Maine. She's the chair of the Appropriations Committee. Every little town has a bridge or a library, a historical society that she has helped fund, and people are genuinely grateful for that. She's been around so long that she's made personal connections with a lot of people. She is famous for having really good constituent services, like if you need, you know, if you have a problem with your VA benefits or your Social Security, she will help you get that taken care of. And all of her ads and the ads of outside groups, there's already been, like, $100 million spent is about. She funded this bridge, she funded this pier, she helped this woman get a new smile. And it's about local politics, whereas Democrats are gonna focus more on national politics. And, you know, one argument that I've heard some Democrats make, although they're not gonna say it out loud, is even if you think Susan Collins is good for Maine, she's bad for the entire country because it means, you know, no check on power for Trump. It means more conservative Supreme Court justices, and that's where they want to keep.
- [16:24]
Yasmin Vesugin
Is Troy Jackson gonna have an uphill battle considering he endorsed Graham Platner?
- [16:29]
Alex Seitzwald
That's certainly Republicans hopes. I mean, look, there's been one poll so far, so we don't have a ton of data, but he starts slightly ahead of Collins, according to that poll, even though there's still a significant chunk of people who don't know him. It was 49 to 46, but Republicans absolutely see Platner as a liability. A lot of the ads so far that they've made about Jackson are all about his ties to Graham Platner. They've done AI videos of Platner's face morphing into Troy Jackson. That said, Platner, you know, he became personally unpopular, but his politics, his movement, if you want to call it that,
- [17:03]
Yasmin Vesugin
was still very popular.
- [17:04]
Alex Seitzwald
Exactly.
- [17:05]
Yasmin Vesugin
I keep mentioning this hundred days and I think it's, it's interesting and kind of funny and kind of ironic considering the fact that the 2024 presidential election had the same amount of days, essentially. Right. I think it's 101 days, to be exact, as what Troy Jackson has. And Kamal Harris had 107 days to run for President of the United States. And we know all know how that turned out for Democrats. Any lessons learned that Troy Jackson's campaign is going to be applying as they make their way towards November?
- [17:30]
Alex Seitzwald
Well, that the 2024 experience is definitely on a lot of main Democrats minds where, you know, we switched the nominees and had the outcome that was not good for Democrats. Obviously chaos followed. The base never really got revved up. I just getting a sandwich at the local shop, the guy was like, who is this Troy Jackson guy? I don't know anything about him. I loved Graham. So there's still gonna be quite a bit of work that Jackson has to do to introduce himself. He's gotta stand up a whole campaign apparatus. He's gotta raise a ton of money. He's never been a great fundraiser, but, you know, Susan Collins is the most vulnerable Republican running for Senate right now. That says more about the map, frankly, than it does about Susan Collins. It's just a tough map for Democrats, but the money will get here, the staffers will get here because of Susan Collins and how big of a target she is for Democrats. He'll have lots of hell but doing that. But he's going to need every day to get there.
- [18:22]
Yasmin Vesugin
Alex Seitzwald, Maine is a great place to be all the time, but I think especially now, heading into this political season of what will be a very exciting midterms run. Thank you, Alex.
- [18:34]
Alex Seitzwald
Thanks so much.
- [18:37]
Yasmin Vesugin
All right, we are going to take a very quick break, but when we come back, there were some marvelous announcements at Comic Con this weekend, but will that be enough to give superhero movies the super boost they need?
- [18:53]
Rick Pluta
Hear that? That's now crispy at McCrispy strips meeting. Creamy Caesar sauce sounds extra crispy. Caesar sauce at McDonald's for a limited time.
- [19:06]
Alex Seitzwald
Ba da ba ba ba.
- [19:08]
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- [19:38]
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- [19:55]
Rebecca Keegan
you get your podcasts.
- [20:03]
Yasmin Vesugin
And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. So Comic Con it is one of the biggest entertainment events of the year. It took place in San Diego this weekend and there were some major announcements, including from the Marvel Universe. I want you guys to give a warm welcome to our New Black Panther, Mr. David Johnson. A raucous room being introduced obviously by Ryan Cucco, the director of Black Panther. And if you did not suit up as your favorite superhero and see it for yourself, we have it for you. I want to bring in NBC News senior Hollywood reporter Rebecca Keegan. Hi, Rebecca.
- [20:39]
Rebecca Keegan
Hi Ezra.
- [20:40]
Yasmin Vesugin
Let's talk Black Panther and that huge announcement. So we know Ryan Coogler is gonna be directing again. David Johnson, as we now know, is gonna be playing T' Challa's son or T' Challa II when Black Panther 3 comes out in December of 2028. So we got some time. What do we know about Johnson and how this franchise is gonna be moving forward?
- [21:00]
Rebecca Keegan
Well, you may recall there was a mid credits sequence in Black Panther 2 which came out after Chadwick Boseman died in which we learned that Chadwick Boseman' and Lupita Nyong' O's character had a son who was being, you know, Lupita's character was secretly raising. This son is this new character who was announced at Comic Con this weekend, played as you said, by David Johnson, who's a new name to a lot of people. We're about to need to learn his name. He has been in industry the long walk alien Romulus. He's 32 year old British actor and he is in Black Panther 3 going to play the son of T'. Challa.
- [21:42]
Yasmin Vesugin
There is also a new Ryan at Comic Con this year, Ryan Gosling, that is he's joining the Marvel Universe as the new Ghost Rider also coming out in 2028.
- [21:53]
Rebecca Keegan
Yes, Ryan Gosling. There are potentially so Many Ryans at a Comic Con, There's Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Coogler, and this year, Ryan Gosling, who had not previously appeared in a comic book movie. So this is kind of a big deal from the standpoint of his career and from the standpoint of this franchise. Ghost Rider, he's playing Johnny Blaze, this motorcycle stuntman. Apparently, this is that Ryan Gosling had pitched to Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige as sort of treatment for the character. So it'll be interesting to see what he does with this.
- [22:24]
Yasmin Vesugin
And then Ryan Reynolds showed up dressed as Deadpool at the Q and A for Avengers, and supposedly there is also now another Deadpool coming out.
- [22:35]
Rebecca Keegan
Yes. So he has alluded to a Deadpool movie in sort of early development. We don't know much about it. There doesn't seem to be a script yet. But this was an interesting appearance by Ryan Reynolds. He also walked the convention floor in costume, taking with fans who apparently did not know that they were taking pictures with the actual Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool.
- [22:55]
Yasmin Vesugin
Anybody that knows Comic Con or has heard about Comic Con or been close to Comic Con knows that it's all about, like, superheroes. Right? But it seems as if, to a certain extent, they are now shifting away from that a little bit.
- [23:06]
Rebecca Keegan
Well, you know, it's interesting. Comic Con has always been this sort of temple for Hollywood's franchise movies. It's this event where the movie studios kind of talk to the fans. And historically, people have really shown up for these Marvel movies, DC movies, Star wars movies, all of those films are starting to show a little bit of fatigue at the box office.
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Yasmin Vesugin
Oh, wow. And they cost so much money, as you say.
- [23:33]
Rebecca Keegan
Yeah, they cost, you know, at this point, over $200 million, most of them, to make. And we've seen some sort of stumbles recently. The Supergirl movie from DC in Warner Brothers didn't do particularly well. The most recent Star wars movie also kind of underperformed. So there's a sense that maybe wider aud are kind of losing their interest. They're pushing more toward original fare. We've seen things like Curry Barker's Obsession and Chris Nolan's the Odyssey, movies that are based on a creator's vision as opposed to these kinds of characters. They seem to be sort of pulling ahead in Hollywood right now. So it's interesting to see Marvel make such a big push this year. It seems to be kind of a year of a reset for their brand after a sense that it may have been getting a little bit diluted with audiences.
- [24:19]
Yasmin Vesugin
So have you seen Spider Man? By the way, Brand New Day, because I know that that comes out this weekend, which is also a Marvel Universe film. So folks don't necessarily have to wait till 2028 to see their next Marvel movie.
- [24:29]
Rebecca Keegan
Indeed. Yeah. No, I'll be seeing that movie tonight. Brand New day. Yep. But it looks to likely to perform extraordinarily well. That is one of the most popular Marvel characters. And of course, there's Avengers Doomsday coming out in December. Disney has already put advanced tickets on sale for that film and they seem to be performing well. So this franchise fatigue seems to be if the movies are good and it is the really well liked characters, people seem inclined to show up for them.
- [24:58]
Yasmin Vesugin
Like a spider man.
- [24:59]
Rebecca Keegan
Like a spider man who is, you know, sort of the VIP of this, of the superhero universe. Yeah.
- [25:06]
Yasmin Vesugin
Rebecca Keegan, thank you.
- [25:08]
Rebecca Keegan
Thank you. Yes.
- [25:10]
Yasmin Vesugin
All right, that is gonna do it for us at here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vesugin. We'll be back tomorrow with whatever the day may bring. And if you like what you heard, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And you can also subscribe to our daily newsletter, the Inside Scoop. It is a deeper dive on the main stories of the day that comes out every weeknight straight to your inbox. You can sign up for the Inside Scoop as part of our paid subscription@nbcnews.com we'll see you tomorrow.
- [25:46]
Craig Melvin
I'm Craig Melvin. Cheers. Cheers.
- [25:48]
Willie Geist
Cheers.
- [25:49]
Craig Melvin
I've always been a glass half full kind of guy, and now I'm talking to some people who look at the world that way, too. Some really fascinating folks who share their defining moments, their triumphs, their challenges. Their stories are funny and quite candid. So I hope you'll join me each week. And who knows, you might just come away with your own glass half full.
- [26:10]
Willie Geist
Search Glass Half Full with Craig Melton From Today on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.