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Steven Koltai of Lincolnville was a non-resident senior fellow in the Governance Studies Program at the Brookings Institution, a research affiliate at the MIT Center for International Studies, and had a 40-year career roughly evenly divided between the private and not-for-profit sectors. He is the author of a Substack: Thoughts from a Lake in Maine.
The decision by Janet Mills to withdraw from the Democratic primary race for U.S. senator is, in my view, not only welcome, but a harbinger of things to come. Gov. Mills, 78, has had a long, distinguished career serving the people of Maine. But, I think she should never have entered this race and probably would not have, had it not been for the gerontocracy who run the Democratic Party, pressing her to do so. I’m glad she is leaving with her dignity intact.
I held the first house party for Graham Platner the day after he announced his candidacy. I had previously spent almost two hours with him just sitting and chatting one on one in my living room. I was immediately hooked.
I believe Platner is emblematic of the changing wind sweeping America (and, I think, the world). Change only comes in extremis. We can thank Donald Trump and the MAGA movement for unequivocally demonstrating the dire need for change in our political system. The GOP (Republican Party) and the SOP (Same Old Democratic Party) are broken.
Though I live in Maine, I was born in Hungary. I came to the U.S. as a 2-year-old brought by my parents fleeing the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. I’ve followed Hungarian politics closely ever since, and the recent ouster of Viktor Orbán, and the wave of enthusiasm for Graham Platner, hold four lessons I see as directly relevant to where America stands today — especially as we enter the political season leading up to the June primaries and November midterms.
First, voter turnout is everything. The more people who vote, the harder it is to delegitimize an election. Contesting results is a cornerstone of populist autocracy, which is why President Trump remains obsessed with 2020.
Second, corruption at a certain scale becomes impossible to ignore. Congress and the Supreme Court may see “no irregularity,” but ordinary people aren’t fooled. According to Forbes, Donald Trump’s net worth has increased by $3 billion during this term in the presidency — against a $400,000 annual salary. You don’t need a finance degree to recognize that doesn’t add up.
Third, young voters are a decisive force. In Hungary, young people revolted against an entrenched gerontocracy and rallied behind a new generation of leaders who reflected their values and concerns. The same dynamic is at play here. I think there need to be age limits for office (i.e. you must be under 80 at the end of your term, or something along those lines) as well as term limits for all federal offices (including the Supreme Court).
Finally, personal experience is the most powerful argument. Every Hungarian had their own story of how life had gotten harder — rising prices, stagnant wages, and a country visibly falling behind its European neighbors. With gasoline over $4 a gallon, Americans have their own version of that story.
The moment clearly calls for real change — in both parties. Republicans have forfeited any claim to competent governance. Our own U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, who cultivates a moderate image, voted to confirm all but one of Trump’s deeply unqualified Cabinet nominees (her lone holdout: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth) and has voted with Trump 96% of the time.
I believe Mainers are fortunate to have a genuine alternative in Graham Platner, and there are similar opportunities for fresh leadership in races across the country — though not everywhere.
If Congress changes hands in meaningful numbers, there will be an opportunity not only to roll back the most destructive actions of this administration, but to fix the structural flaws that made them possible: campaign finance reform to counter Citizens United, term and age limits for officials across all three branches, and accountability for the most flagrant abuses of power. Small, poor, deeply corrupt Hungary managed it. There is no reason Maine — and the other 49 states — cannot do the same.