0:27Graham Platner enters race to challenge Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. Courtesy of Graham for Maine
Graham Platner, an ex-military serviceman and oyster farmer from a rural community close to Maine’s Acadia National Park, declared his candidacy for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat on Tuesday. He aims to unseat Republican Susan Collins, the incumbent senator seeking a sixth term next year.
His campaign video introduces Platner—bearded, sturdy, and with a gravelly voice—as he gathers oysters and cuts wood while explaining how Maine has turned “practically unaffordable for blue-collar workers.”
Speaking with ABC News on Monday, Platner cited the widening economic disparity in the U.S. as his motivation to run, asserting it has devastated working families in his state.
“We’ve reached a point where ordinary, hardworking people can no longer afford to stay in the towns they call home,” said Platner, a Sullivan resident who served multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Army and Marines.
Graham Platner enters race to challenge Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. Courtesy of Graham for Maine
Platner may evoke comparisons to figures like Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman or Nebraska’s Dan Osborn, an independent Senate hopeful who ran unsuccessfully last year. Like them, Platner presents himself as a voice for the white working class, a group Democrats have struggled to retain.
He has enlisted Fight Agency, a Democratic consultancy with ties to Fetterman, Osborn, and Zohran Mamdani’s New York mayoral bid.
“I have coffee every morning with my coworkers—friends who all backed Donald Trump. They voted for him because they wanted change,” Platner told ABC News, suggesting his insight into these voters could help redirect a “disoriented” Democratic Party toward victory.
“Democrats must return to their roots—as the party of unions, grassroots activism, and bold reforms for working people,” he stated.
When asked about the current leadership of the Democratic Party, Platner noted its lack of a clear figurehead but expressed admiration for progressive senators like Sherrod Brown, Bernie Sanders, Ed Markey, and Sheldon Whitehouse.
He labeled “Medicare for All” a pressing issue and referred to the Gaza conflict as “genocide,” citing guidance from Israeli scholars on the subject.
Regarding transgender athletes in sports, he dismissed the issue as a “distraction from real economic struggles facing Americans daily.”
“I stand for equality and justice for all,” Platner said. “This debate dominates headlines to divert us from essential discussions, like securing universal healthcare.”
Graham Platner enters race to challenge Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. Courtesy of Graham for Maine
Maine briefly became a battleground over transgender sports policies in February when former President Trump clashed with Gov. Janet Mills over federal funding tied to the state’s anti-discrimination law.
At a protest against Trump’s policies, Platner—who heads a Hancock County Democratic group—praised Mills for “showing bravery by defending Maine’s laws directly to Trump,” per a local Democratic transcript.
Mills, a potential primary opponent, has faced pressure from national Democrats who view her as their strongest contender against Collins.
When asked about a possible primary with Mills, Platner urged Democrats to “break from the same old strategies” and “innovate in candidate selection.”
On whether national Democrats support his bid, Platner replied, “No one’s reached out—and as Sullivan’s harbormaster, I’m not exactly dialing them either.”
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
