Maine has a long track record of electing moderates. Enter Graham Platner.
What's the endgame here?
BRUNSWICK, Maine — The fireplace crackled as Democratic Gov. Janet Mills laid out her vision for beating Susan Collins to a room of supporters in late January. Then came the questions about her primary opponent, Graham Platner.
Platner, one attendee noted, was very successful on social media. A second pointed to his support among young people and asked Mills whether she would support him if he became the party’s nominee.
“I am a Democrat,” Mills answered, before pivoting to how she sought as governor to make the state more affordable for young Mainers.
Mills’ Democratic primary opponent isn’t her favorite subject. She would rather talk about how she expanded Medicaid, bolstered protections for reproductive rights, and, most recently, challenged President Donald Trump over the surge of immigration enforcement in the state — issues that conveniently allow the governor to draw contrast with Collins, the five-term Republican who Democrats must unseat in order to take back control of the Senate.
But Platner, a political newcomer, has made himself all but unavoidable in conversations about the Maine Senate race. The 41-year-old oyster farmer and combat veteran is unlike any other recent popular candidate the state has seen: He is brash. He is progressive. He has drawn crowds of hundreds of people, national attention and millions in campaign dollars.
Platner’s meteoric rise reflects a growing frustration with the Democratic establishment and voters' interest in a new generation of leaders. He is campaigning not just against Collins but against a “billionaire class,” running a campaign in the style of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who endorsed him.
His battle with Mills comes at a moment when the stakes for Democrats could hardly be higher. Though the Maine Democratic Party doesn’t take positions in primaries, some establishment figures like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have backed the moderate governor, who they believe is their best shot at defeating Collins to win back the Senate in 2026.
The challenge for Platner is that he is running on a vision of disruptive progressivism and generational change in Maine, the oldest state in the nation and one with a long track record electing senators perceived as moderates within their parties. Mills would largely fit that image; Platner would blow it up entirely. But he is betting that voters now want what he is offering — and his early support makes it hard to ignore the possibility.
“If you look at everyone from Bill Cohen to Angus King to George Mitchell to Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, there’s a strong, moderate streak there when it hits November,” said Adam Cote, a Maine lawyer and veteran who ran for governor in 2018, coming in second to Mills in the Democratic primary. “In the primary, I …
What's the endgame here?
BRUNSWICK, Maine — The fireplace crackled as Democratic Gov. Janet Mills laid out her vision for beating Susan Collins to a room of supporters in late January. Then came the questions about her primary opponent, Graham Platner.
Platner, one attendee noted, was very successful on social media. A second pointed to his support among young people and asked Mills whether she would support him if he became the party’s nominee.
“I am a Democrat,” Mills answered, before pivoting to how she sought as governor to make the state more affordable for young Mainers.
Mills’ Democratic primary opponent isn’t her favorite subject. She would rather talk about how she expanded Medicaid, bolstered protections for reproductive rights, and, most recently, challenged President Donald Trump over the surge of immigration enforcement in the state — issues that conveniently allow the governor to draw contrast with Collins, the five-term Republican who Democrats must unseat in order to take back control of the Senate.
But Platner, a political newcomer, has made himself all but unavoidable in conversations about the Maine Senate race. The 41-year-old oyster farmer and combat veteran is unlike any other recent popular candidate the state has seen: He is brash. He is progressive. He has drawn crowds of hundreds of people, national attention and millions in campaign dollars.
Platner’s meteoric rise reflects a growing frustration with the Democratic establishment and voters' interest in a new generation of leaders. He is campaigning not just against Collins but against a “billionaire class,” running a campaign in the style of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who endorsed him.
His battle with Mills comes at a moment when the stakes for Democrats could hardly be higher. Though the Maine Democratic Party doesn’t take positions in primaries, some establishment figures like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have backed the moderate governor, who they believe is their best shot at defeating Collins to win back the Senate in 2026.
The challenge for Platner is that he is running on a vision of disruptive progressivism and generational change in Maine, the oldest state in the nation and one with a long track record electing senators perceived as moderates within their parties. Mills would largely fit that image; Platner would blow it up entirely. But he is betting that voters now want what he is offering — and his early support makes it hard to ignore the possibility.
“If you look at everyone from Bill Cohen to Angus King to George Mitchell to Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, there’s a strong, moderate streak there when it hits November,” said Adam Cote, a Maine lawyer and veteran who ran for governor in 2018, coming in second to Mills in the Democratic primary. “In the primary, I …
Maine has a long track record of electing moderates. Enter Graham Platner.
What's the endgame here?
BRUNSWICK, Maine — The fireplace crackled as Democratic Gov. Janet Mills laid out her vision for beating Susan Collins to a room of supporters in late January. Then came the questions about her primary opponent, Graham Platner.
Platner, one attendee noted, was very successful on social media. A second pointed to his support among young people and asked Mills whether she would support him if he became the party’s nominee.
“I am a Democrat,” Mills answered, before pivoting to how she sought as governor to make the state more affordable for young Mainers.
Mills’ Democratic primary opponent isn’t her favorite subject. She would rather talk about how she expanded Medicaid, bolstered protections for reproductive rights, and, most recently, challenged President Donald Trump over the surge of immigration enforcement in the state — issues that conveniently allow the governor to draw contrast with Collins, the five-term Republican who Democrats must unseat in order to take back control of the Senate.
But Platner, a political newcomer, has made himself all but unavoidable in conversations about the Maine Senate race. The 41-year-old oyster farmer and combat veteran is unlike any other recent popular candidate the state has seen: He is brash. He is progressive. He has drawn crowds of hundreds of people, national attention and millions in campaign dollars.
Platner’s meteoric rise reflects a growing frustration with the Democratic establishment and voters' interest in a new generation of leaders. He is campaigning not just against Collins but against a “billionaire class,” running a campaign in the style of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who endorsed him.
His battle with Mills comes at a moment when the stakes for Democrats could hardly be higher. Though the Maine Democratic Party doesn’t take positions in primaries, some establishment figures like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have backed the moderate governor, who they believe is their best shot at defeating Collins to win back the Senate in 2026.
The challenge for Platner is that he is running on a vision of disruptive progressivism and generational change in Maine, the oldest state in the nation and one with a long track record electing senators perceived as moderates within their parties. Mills would largely fit that image; Platner would blow it up entirely. But he is betting that voters now want what he is offering — and his early support makes it hard to ignore the possibility.
“If you look at everyone from Bill Cohen to Angus King to George Mitchell to Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, there’s a strong, moderate streak there when it hits November,” said Adam Cote, a Maine lawyer and veteran who ran for governor in 2018, coming in second to Mills in the Democratic primary. “In the primary, I …
0 Comments
0 Shares
41 Views
0 Reviews
