iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 20h

That's a lot of water to drain. Worried about a sloppy field even if the skies are clear.

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Reposted by Ben Gaines

Bryan Fischer @bryandfischer.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Last 11 quarters of Alabama QB Keelon Russell: 55-of-73 (75%), 9 TDs, 0 INTs, 900 yards and three rushing TDs.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 03/10/2026

Not on deep balls. Bryce was a decent but not remarkable downfield passer. Obviously we haven't seen him against an elite defense yet, Russell looks next level. So fun to watch.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 27/09/2026

My kid absolutely loves all the logos and mascots in that ad campaign. Not sure the target audience is 5 year olds, though.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 24/09/2026

Worth noting that we have the oldest electorate in the country, and not particularly good broadband reach, so this is a state where live tv probably matters more than a lot of others.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 24/09/2026

The only live TV that I've been watching is football, so take this with a grain of salt. But from what I've seen, Troy and allies are absolutely getting slaughtered in ad spend. Cohn seems puzzled here by something that might make more sense if you've been watching TV in Maine.

At least to me, Mr. Jackson's low ratings are the most striking result of the poll. He may not be a particularly charismatic figure, but he hasn't been embroiled in a major scandal, and that's what it would usually take for 18 percent of Kamala Harris's supporters to view a Democrat unfavorably.
For some perspective, Mr. Jackson's ratings are even worse than Mr. Platner's were in June, when he was fending off scandal before an allegation of sexual assault ended his run.

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Reposted by Ben Gaines

ProPublica @propublica.org · 22/09/2026

Sen. Susan Collins helped steer millions in federal defense contracts to Navatek, whose CEO illegally funneled thousands of dollars to her campaign. The FBI sought to launch a probe and was eyeing Collins and other lawmakers. Then Trump gutted the unit in charge. THREAD 🧵

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 19/09/2026

Kiddo's first soccer game today! (Also my first game as assistant coach!)

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 12/09/2026

Perhaps we need a leader to make these tough decisions for us. A King of the Jews, if you will.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 07/09/2026

Yeah, the math is just bad here.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 06/09/2026

In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 06/09/2026

I use the doctor's advanced comfort one. It's not going to hold up 10 years, but if I misplace it or whatever it's $15 to replace. And it's fine for my clenching/grinding.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 25/08/2026

The Hold Steady wrote a song about it in 2006.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 30/07/2026

Just saw a bald eagle swoop down to grab roadkill off the side of the highway. Feels like a metaphor for something.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 26/07/2026

Welp, they put us on the front page of the Sunday paper.

A screenshot of the cover of the Maine Sunday Telegram, with an inset picture captioned "Cumberland County delegate Benjamin Gaines and his son join hundreds of other Democrats expressing their support for the party's candidate at Saturday's convention in Bangor."

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 24/07/2026

it's not like it's subtle

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Reposted by Ben Gaines

Troy Jackson @troyjackson207.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

🚨 Hancock County numbers are in 🚨 22 of the 23 delegates are JACKSON SLATE SUPPORTERS! When working people organize, we win.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 18/07/2026

As someone who wound up on two lists, I'll say that Troy Jackson has a fantastic organization and worked hard to recruit, check, and double check his slate. As for others, I can't say. Precinct level gubernatorial results and demographic analytics?

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 10/07/2026

The ad that I see every commercial break at the gym is a group of vets slamming him on the nazi tattoo and calling him a fraud. Glad that's done.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 10/07/2026

Man, local TV has just been saturated with ads blasting Platner for the past month+. He's just been getting raked. And this is before the rape news. Remember, he has that reddit post about women asking for it out there, too. They've been waiting to use that.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 06/07/2026

They were in there. I didn't screencap the q about Shenna, but they asked whether I had a favorable opinion of her.

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• Messages
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surveymeasure.com
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It is possible that Democrat Graham Platner steps down from the US Senate race due to a number of controversies.
In that scenario, the Maine Democratic Party has until July 13th to replace him.
Some have suggested that Democrat Nirav Shah will step in to replace Platner on the ballot.
Democrat Nirav Shah is a doctor who led the Maine CDC during the COVID-19 pandemic and later helped lead the national CDC. This year he ran for governor in the Democratic primary and received the second-most votes.
Republican Susan Collins has represented Maine in the U.S. Senate since 1997 and is running for re-election. She is known for her independence from her party and for delivering federal funding to Maine.
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1:30 A
4 Messages
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surveymeasure.com
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Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Democrat Troy Jackson?
Very Favorable
Somewhat Favorable
Somewhat Unfavorable
Very Unfavorable
Haven't Heard Enough to Say
Next
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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 06/07/2026

Similar structure? I was speculating that they might have split-sampled the trial heats against Collins. I got heats For Mattie, Dempsey, Shah, and Golden, but there were a lot more potential candidates whose favorables were tested (Troy Jackson, Shenna Bellows, others). It was a long poll.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 06/07/2026

For the record, they did test Troy's favorables in the same poll. They just didn't run a heat with him against Collins (they did for Golden and Shah). But they might have split sampled those.

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4 Messages
surveymeasure.com
It is possible that Democrat Graham Platner steps down from the US Senate race due to a number of controversies.
In that scenario, the Maine Democratic Party has until July 13th to replace him.
Some have suggested that Democrat Jared Golden will step in to replace Platner on the ballot.
Democrat Jared Golden has represented Maine's 2nd District in Congress since 2019. He is a Marine veteran from Lewiston, and he is known for his independence from his party and support for Maine's lobster industry.
Republican Susan Collins has represented Maine in the U.S. Senate since 1997 and is running for re-election. She is known for her independence from her party and for delivering federal funding to Maine.
Who would you vote for in the November US Senate election in Maine?

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 06/07/2026

Well, plus a lot more credibility and track record

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 06/07/2026

Yes, text-to-web. All I have is Verasight, not the actual sponsor. Also hearing rumors of a BIG negative story dropping today.

Text Message • SMS
Today 1:26 PM
VERASIGHT
MAINE
Maine residents needed!
Share your perspective today!
nx2 Email
Hello, Verasight is conducting a survey of Cumberland County residents. Most people don't respond -- will you be the exception and share your opinions in this survey today?: https:/l
www.surveymeasure.com/
surveys/ d2551dcc22c-
c7d8e53b6c3503bc2464d/?
smsid=5c788317e03962&s=V
Not interested? Reply STOP to opt out.
山

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 06/07/2026

So, I just took an interesting poll. #mepolitics

1:314
4 Messages
surveymeasure.com
It is possible that Democrat Graham Platner steps down from the US Senate race due to a number of controversies.
In that scenario, the Maine Democratic Party has until July 13th to replace him.
Some have suggested that Democrat Patrick Dempsey will step in to replace Platner on the ballot.
Democrat Patrick Dempsey was born in Lewiston and starred in movies and TV shows like Grey's Anatomy. He founded the Dempsey Center, which offers free support to Maine cancer patients and families.
Republican Susan Collins has represented Maine in the U.S. Senate since 1997 and is running for re-election. She is known for her independence from her party and for delivering federal funding to Maine.
Who would you vote for in the November US Senate election in Maine?

1:314
• Messages
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surveymeasure.com
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It is possible that Democrat Graham Platner steps down from the US Senate race due to a number of controversies.
In that scenario, the Maine Democratic Party has until July 13th to replace him.
Some have suggested that Democrat Mattie Daughtry will step in to replace Platner on the ballot.
Democrat Mattie Daughtry of Brunswick is the current President of the Maine Senate. She is a brewery co-owner who has served in the Legislature since 2012, and she led passage of Maine's paid family leave law.
Republican Susan Collins has represented Maine in the U.S. Senate since 1997 and is running for re-election. She is known for her independence from her party and for delivering federal funding to Maine.
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1:324
4 Messages
alج 33
surveymeasure.com
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Which of the following best describes how you're thinking about the election for U.S. Senate in Maine?
I would vote for most Democrats against Susan Collins, including Graham Platner.
I would not vote for most Democrats against Susan Collins, but I would vote for Graham Platner.
I would vote for most other Democrats against Susan Collins, but I would not vote for Graham Platner.
I would vote for Susan Collins against most other Democrats if they were running against her, including Graham Platner.
Not sure
Next
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1:324
4 Messages
33)
surveymeasure.com
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Which of the following comes closest to your view?
In rare cases, party leaders should be able to step in and replace the nominee if something big changes after the primary.
This could be a major scandal, a health issue, or something like Joe Biden's 2024 debate performance.
Once a candidate wins the primary, they should be the party's nominee in the general election, no matter what happens later. Party leaders should never replace the person the voters picked.
Not sure
Next
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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 16/05/2026

Oh man, so much the same. Though, my mom converted (in a reform temple) when I was a teenager and does not look particularly Jewish. Do you also have alienation/conflict from Mom's family?

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 14/05/2026

Her name is Lauren Wille.

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Waldo Jaquith @waldo.net · 07/05/2026

I wrote a paper about this in 2010, for the Richmond Journal of Law and Public Interest. Basically, low-paying, part-time legislatures serve to enshrine conflicts of interest as a best practice. We should raise pay by 10x.

scholarship.richmond.edu

The General Assembly's Structural Conflicts of Interest

Virginia is not a state saddled with a reputation of ethically challenged legislators, but our part-time citizen legislature is structurally conducive to conflicts of interest. This reality was brough...

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 07/05/2026

I think Martin had a traditional profile and had cultivated a lot of strong relationships with the insiders who get to vote for party chair. At the time, he was the incumbent leader of the state party chairs group?

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 07/05/2026

He's not, though! It's been 20 years and I didn't know him well. But he seemed to be a lovely human being back then, and my mutual friends who knew him better all agreed.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 02/05/2026

And you aren't even going to have to watch most of the ads.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 01/05/2026

The filing deadline is long past.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 01/05/2026

She's never raised a ton of money. Just $5.6 million as an incumbent governor in 2022. And the labor unions flirted with recruiting a primary challenger against her then. Just a total failure by the DSCC to understand the candidate and the landscape.

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Reposted by Ben Gaines

Headquarters @headquartersnews.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Republican New Hampshire Senate candidate John Sununu says he supports a work requirement for seniors on Medicare: "I certainly support a work requirement for able-bodied Medicare recipients."

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 26/04/2026

Let's just remember that Wolf Blitzer is not very bright and take his purported observations with a grain of salt.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 26/04/2026

When the show must go on, the SHOW MUST GO ON.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 26/04/2026

Continuing the dinner after a shooting is an incredible metaphor for hosting the dinner in the first place.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 26/04/2026

It's like a metaphor for having the dinner in the first place.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 14/04/2026

I don't have a gif, but...

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 12/04/2026

Thank you, Shay, I hadn't seen that one. It's on your substack?

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 12/04/2026

How about the gubernatorial candidates? We still have an opportunity to elect a progressive governor, but I'm concerned the race is flying so far under the radar that we're going to nominate another centrist.

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Ben Gaines @gaines-law.com · 12/04/2026

Many are instead from Massachusetts.

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