Graham Platner, a Marine veteran who runs a small oyster farm, announced Tuesday that he is running for U.S. Senate in Maine, arguing he can harness his apolitical background — and friendships with many Donald Trump voters — to win over working-class voters and change a political system that too often benefits the rich and powerful.
Platner becomes the latest candidate with hardly any political experience to run for major office, joining the ranks of candidates like Nathan Sage in Iowa and Dan Osborn in Nebraska, who are hoping that the deep discontent the Democratic Party establishment will convince voters to make unconventional choices during next year’s races.
In an interview with NOTUS, Platner said watching the difficulties of everyday citizens in his hometown convinced him he needed to run for office.
“I can see how they’re struggling, and it’s because we have a system which in many ways is sucking money and time and energy out of them — way, way up into the stratosphere where it just turns into immense amount of wealth for the elite and billionaire class and the corporate ownership and corporate shareholders,” Platner said. “And I’m frankly sick and God-damned tired of it.”
Platner might face long odds in a primary: Democrats in Maine and Washington both think the state’s two-term governor, Janet Mills, might run for Senate, which would give the party a high-profile candidate against longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins. If Mills runs, she would likely gain the support of national Democrats and many in-state leaders. She also could make a convincing argument to primary voters that she is best positioned to defeat Collins, who has fended off previous challengers despite the state’s leftward lean.
Another candidate — Jordan Wood, who was previously a chief of staff for former progressive Rep. Katie Porter — has also been running since the spring.
But Platner could appeal to some of the party’s more ardently progressive voters. A former supporter of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, he said he supports “Medicare for All,” a health care coverage plan that would provide government-backed insurance for all citizens, and an arms embargo on Israel.
“We don’t even have health care in this country, and we’re spending billions on funding someone else’s military campaigns,” Platner said, noting that some experts on the subject had called Israel’s military action in Gaza a “genocide.”
Platner, who did three tours of service in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, told NOTUS he hadn’t even thought of running for Senate until about a month ago, when local labor leaders approached him about a run. His friendships with many Trump voters, he said, gives him unique insight into what kind of messages appeal to them.
“I just think if the Democratic Party continues to use the same playbook that they’ve been getting beaten on,” Platner said, “they’re going to continue getting beat.”
Platner isn’t a complete stranger to Washington: He briefly worked as a bartender at the Tune Inn, a Capitol Hill watering hole that’s a favorite of members of Congress.