Dirty little secret – the flames that are arguably ending Graham Platner’s U.S. Senate candidacy were fanned by Democrats, not Republicans.

It was the Democrat establishment that spent months planting stories about Platner’s sordid past, not Republicans.

Republicans actually prefer to run their candidate Susan Collins against Platner, who they think comes across as two radical for the average Mainer.

Mills is a much harder candidate for five-term Collins to beat.

Sure, Graham Platner is a new face, half Janet Mills’ age, energetic, youthful, filled with ideas designed to help the working class and – the best part – take down the establishment that’s running the Democratic Party into oblivion.

That, precisely, is why Democrat leadership secretly opposes Graham Platner – they’re afraid of losing their status at the hands of some young, brash four-war-tour military veteran who appeals to, drum roll, working Mainers and yes, older women.

That’s been Platner’s key base – older women. They adore the guy. He’s like a bad son needing a good spanking. They can “fix” him.

It’s leadership that can’t stand Graham Platner.

So they’ve successfully, seemingly, taken him down.

And by the way, their sudden handwringing over Platner’s allegedly raping a girlfriend?

Puh-leez.

What they’re really worried about is not Platner’s treatment of women, it’s that they realize with him as the candidate they could very well lose the senate race, as Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, pointed out Monday.

Platner holds all the cards now.

He can remain the Democrat candidate because voters chose him (overwhelmingly) over Mills.

No one can force him to resign. “Maine Dems have no legal authority whatsoever to pull Platner off the ballot,” points out Steve Robinson, editor-in-chief of The Maine Wire.

Platner can resign by choice and if he decides to do that he must do it by July 13.

But he can also tell the party f*** you and stay in the race.

If he’s really the renegade working-class candidate that he claims to be that’s exactly what he should do.

Leadership did Graham Platner no favors.

Now he can return the “favor.”