Latest news with #GrahamPlatner
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Veteran who served in Middle Eastern wars launches campaign against Sen. Susan Collins
More than a year before voters take to the polls, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has a new challenger. Early Tuesday morning, Graham Platner entered the race as a Democrat. The combat veteran served in the U.S. Army and Marine Corps during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, according to his online biography, and is now the owner-operator of Waukeag Neck Oyster Co. His campaign Facebook page says he is a "friend of the working Mainer, foe of the oligarchy." He already has more than a dozen town halls scheduled across the New England state. "[E]very where I've gone, it seems like the fabric of what holds us together is being ripped apart by billionaires and corrupt politicians," Platner, 40, said in a campaign launch video. Senate Democrats Are Feverishly Recruiting Top Candidates To Win Back Majority In 2026 Midterms "Profiting off of destroying our environment, driving our families into poverty and crushing the middle class," he said. Read On The Fox News App Platner went on to say he supports universal healthcare, aiding veterans and stopping funding for foreign wars. The video was produced by Morris Katz, a top advisor to the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, according to the New York Times. "Being a Bernie Bro and Kamala Harris donor is a profile to appeal to Portland progressives, not centrist and conservative voters in rural Maine," Jason Savage, the executive director of the Maine Republican Party said, according to the Times. Trump Ally Mike Collins Launch Key Battleground State Bid To Flip Democrat-held Senate Seat Platner, a political newcomer, told Politico that he also brought on Joe Cavello, a former senior aide to Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., to help with his campaign. "To call me a liberal, I think is fairly amusing. I mean, I'm a competitive pistol shooter. That's what I do on the weekends," he told the media outlet. "I'm a firearms instructor. I spent multiple years, obviously, in the service utilizing firearms. I also grew up in rural Maine, where guns are a part of our existence." The Democratic challenger list against Collins is growing, and reports say those already in office are trying to tap Janet Mills, the state's 77-year-old Democratic governor, for the seat. Republicans currently control the majority of the Senate by a 53-47 margin. Democrats would need to flip four seats in the 2026 midterm elections to take the majority. A spokesperson for Collins told Fox News Digital that Platner is "just another progressive entering the race."Original article source: Veteran who served in Middle Eastern wars launches campaign against Sen. Susan Collins Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine oysterman Graham Platner enters race to challenge Sen. Susan Collins
Graham Platner, a military veteran and oysterman from a small town near Maine's Acadia National Park, will run for U.S. Senate as a Democrat, he announced on Tuesday, in an effort to oust Republican Susan Collins, the five-term senator who is expected to run for reelection next year. A campaign launch video shows Platner, bearded and broad-shouldered with a gruff voice, harvesting oysters and chopping wood as he describes how Maine has become "essentially unlivable for working-class people." In an interview Monday with ABC News, Platner said he was driven to run by the growing wealth gap in the U.S., which he said has crippled working-class people in his home state. MORE: What Trump and the White House are planning for the midterms "We are moving in a position where regular, working-class people can't even afford to live in the towns that they were born in," said Platner, who after four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Army and Marine Corps, moved to the coastal community of Sullivan where he grew up. Platner might draw comparisons to Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman or Dan Osborn, the union leader running as an independent for the Senate in Nebraska after a failed attempt last year. Both men campaigned for the Senate as champions, and representatives, of the white working class, a demographic with whom Democrats have lost ground in recent cycles. Platner has hired Fight Agency, a Democratic consulting firm whose members have worked for Fetterman and Osborn's campaigns, as well as that of Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for New York mayor. "I drink coffee every morning with the guys that I work next to, who are friends of mine, who all voted for Donald Trump. And they voted for Donald Trump because they wanted something new, they wanted change," Platner told ABC News, arguing that his understanding of these voters could help steer the Democratic Party, which he described as "quite confused," back to a winning track. "The Democratic Party needs to return to an age where it is the party of labor unions, it is the party of community organizers, it is the party of fighting for big structural change to benefit working class people," he said. MORE: Trump says he will lead 'movement' to end mail-in voting Asked who he believes is the face of the Democratic Party, Platner said there isn't one, but he indicated an affinity for some of the most progressive members of the Senate. He said he admires the former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and respects Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. Platner described "Medicare for All" as an urgent priority and called the war in Gaza a "genocide," saying he follows the lead of "Israeli scholars on genocide." On the hot-button cultural issue of transgender women's participation in sports, he said the topic is a "distraction from the things that impact Americans materially every single day." "I am dedicated to equality and justice for all in this country," Platner said. "And I think that this specific topic has become such a touchstone of the media discussion because it pulls us away from the conversation that needs to be happening, which is getting every American affordable health care." Maine briefly became the center of the debate over transgender youth in sports in February, after a public spat between President Trump and Maine Gov. Janet Mills over the Trump's administration's threat to withhold funding over a Maine anti-discrimination law that lets transgender women participate in girls' and women's sports. Shortly afterward, at a demonstration protesting the Trump administration, Platner, who leads a Democratic grassroots group in Hancock County, said Mills "displayed great courage when she defended Maine's laws to Donald Trump's face," according to a transcript of the remarks posted online by a local Democratic group. Mills, a Democrat, has not ruled out entering the race and has reportedly been urged to run by national Democrats who believe she would offer the best chance at flipping Collins' seat. Asked about a potential primary challenge from Mills, Platner told ABC News that Democrats "really need to stop running the same kind of playbook over and over and over again. "I think we really need to start thinking outside of the box on the type of candidates that we're sending into these races," he said. Asked if he has spoken with national Democrats about backing his campaign, Platner said no. "Nobody has called me, and I'm not really in a position to call anybody because I'm the harbormaster of Sullivan, Maine," he said.

Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Maine oyster farmer wants to upend Democratic politics with Senate bid
A little-known oyster farmer is looking to upend top Democrats' plans in Maine. Democrat Graham Platner, the 40-year-old owner of Waukeag Neck Oyster Co. and an Iraq and Afghanistan War veteran, announced Tuesday he is mounting a challenge to Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Platner has never run for office, and his campaign threatens to disrupt national Democrats' efforts to recruit and unite around Gov. Janet Mills. 'I'm not fooled by this fake charade of Collins' deliberations and moderation,' he said in a campaign kickoff video. 'The difference between Susan Collins and Ted Cruz is at least Ted Cruz is honest about selling us out and not giving a damn.' Platner is running on several progressive tenets — though he rejects the label 'liberal' — and his announcement sets up the possibility of a clash between Democratic Party factions over generational change, Israel and other issues. In an interview with POLITICO, Platner said he would not support Chuck Schumer as Senate Majority Leader if Democrats managed to take back control in the 2026 midterm elections. 'The next leader needs to be one of vision and also somebody who is willing to fight,' he said. 'And I am not seeing either of those things coming out of the current Democratic leadership in the Senate.' He echoed the calls for change that have roiled the party for months, saying it is time to 'really start moving towards building a much stronger, more robust group of young leaders across this country.' Though he's a political newcomer, Platner said he has brought onboard two progressive strategists who have experience successfully running against establishment-favored Democrats: Morris Katz, a top admaker for New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, and Joe Calvello, a former senior aide to Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.). Platner embraced a number of progressive causes in his announcement video, calling for universal health care, saying 'the enemy is the oligarchy,' and asking, 'Why are we funding endless wars and bombing children?' He also zeroed in on high prices, a top concern of voters and one that helped fuel Mamdani's rise in New York City. Platner told POLITICO he would have supported Sen. Bernie Sanders' recent resolution to block arms sales to Israel. Though he backed several liberal ideas, Platner shrugged off the label. Maine is a reliably blue state in presidential contests, but Collins has held onto her seat since 1997, and whoever the Senate Democratic nominee is will need to appeal to voters across the aisle. 'To call me a liberal, I think is fairly amusing. I mean, I'm a competitive pistol shooter. That's what I do on the weekends,' he said. 'I'm a firearms instructor. I spent multiple years, obviously, in the service utilizing firearms. I also grew up in rural Maine, where guns are a part of our existence.' He said he also differed with 'the Democratic establishment' on 'expending American resources on foreign wars.' Though much of the liberal base has recently called for fresh faces, national Democrats have turned to well-known, battle-tested — and older — candidates in their longshot effort to flip the upper chamber in 2026. Schumer recruited former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, 72, and former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, 68, to launch Senate bids, and Democrats are hoping Mills, 77, joins them. But it appears that Mills will not immediately clear the primary field. Platner vowed to stay in the race even if Mills jumped in, as did Jordan Wood, a former vice president of the liberal group End Citizens United who has raised $1.6 million for his Senate bid. 'Mainers deserve more from our senator than concern without action,' Wood said, 'and I'm not waiting on anyone else's decision to fight for our state." Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.


New York Times
8 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
In Maine, a Political Novice Makes a Long-Shot Bid to Oust Collins
Democrats who have tried and failed for years to unseat Senator Susan Collins, the veteran moderate Republican from Maine, are pinning their hopes this time on recruiting Janet Mills, the state's seasoned Democratic governor, to challenge Ms. Collins's bid for a sixth term next year. But Ms. Mills, 77, is being circumspect about her plans for what could be one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. And some Maine Democrats believe she is too conventional a choice to defeat Ms. Collins, a powerful political force who has demonstrated her staying power. Enter Graham Platner, a 40-year-old oyster farmer and former Marine who served three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, and is set on Tuesday to announce a long-shot challenge to Ms. Collins, with a campaign focused on making life better for his state's working class. 'We need to stop using the exact same playbook that keeps losing over and over and over again,' said Mr. Platner, a political unknown who serves as the local harbor master in the tiny town of Sullivan. 'Running establishment candidates who are chosen or supported by the powers that be in D.C. — in Maine specifically — has been a total failure, certainly in attempts to unseat Susan Collins. It is time for us to try something new.' A competitive pistol shooter who worked as a bartender at the Tune Inn on Capitol Hill while attending George Washington University on the G.I. Bill, he said that 'everyone knows we live in a system that is not built to represent working-class people.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.


NBC News
9 hours ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Iraq and Afghanistan veteran launches Democratic campaign against Sen. Susan Collins in Maine
Graham Platner, a 40-year-old Army and Marine veteran who served four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, launched his campaign for the Senate in Maine on Tuesday, joining a growing Democratic primary field seeking to take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Platner, an oyster farmer who was born and raised in Sullivan, Maine, will run on a platform of universal health care, housing affordability and ending U.S. involvement in foreign wars. 'I feel an obligation to protect this place and protect the people in it,' Platner said in an interview. Platner joins a growing Democratic primary field that features Jordan Wood, a former chief of staff to former Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., and David Costello, who challenged independent Sen. Angus King last year. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has said she is considering getting into the contest, while Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, has opted against joining the budding primary in what, on paper, might look like Democrats' best opportunity to flip a Senate seat in 2026. Collins is the only Republican senator who represents a state Kamala Harris carried in the last presidential election. But she has proven a tough opponent in blue Maine. In her last campaign, in 2020, she beat Democratic opponent Sarah Gideon by more than 8 percentage points, even as Donald Trump lost Maine by more than 9 points. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, meaning Democrats would need to flip four seats in the 2026 midterms to take the majority. Platner said his experience in the military helped shape his political perspective as he prepared his campaign. 'When I joined the Marine Corps, I joined up because I really, truly believed in the American project,' he said. 'I wanted to fight for something I loved and that I thought was good in Iraq and Afghanistan. I watched both failed policies, failed strategies, failed tactics being used over and over and over again.' 'There's a point where you have to start asking yourself what is the point of this,' he added. 'Why are you doing this? And when I went back as a security contractor in 2018, what I began to realize is that I was just watching vast amounts of taxpayer money getting put into the pockets of defense contractors, of security contractors, of this whole apparatus that almost seemed to exist merely to take taxpayer money and put it into somebody's private bank account. And in seeing that up close for a while, it turned me into a deeply, deeply cynical and angry guy. From that I began to kind of look at our larger political system, our larger economic system, and you just begin to see the same exact thing.' Platner is seeking to connect with working-class voters who've migrated toward the GOP in recent cycles. He pointed to Golden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., as figures offering hope for the Democratic Party nationally and in his state. 'If we focus primarily on fighting for working-class values, fighting for policies that help working-class people, clawing back a lot of the power that has been consolidated in the kind of higher establishment-class politics, I think if you stick to that stuff, you can win,' Platner said. 'And getting dragged into many of these minor culture war fights is not remotely the answer.' 'I don't just identify with the more of the left parts of the party. People like Jared Golden are doing an excellent job. That's why he's been able to hold on to a Democratic seat in a Trump district,' Platner said. In his launch video, Platner excoriated 'billionaires and corrupt politicians profiting off and destroying our environment, driving our families into poverty and crushing the middle class,' saying his military experience made him unafraid to 'name an enemy, and the enemy is the oligarchy.' 'I'm not fooled by this fake charade of Collins' deliberations and moderation,' he said.