Senate candidate Graham Platner (D), an oysterman and veteran from rural Maine, is making his campaign known across the state by promising an approach different from current Senator Susan Collins (R), who has won five consecutive elections. Maine residents will cast their votes in 2026 and Platner is getting his name out now. His journey to the ballot is already atypical. Platner was never interested in becoming a politician, he told the Maine Campus.
Platner does not feel called to the role of senator itself so much as the progress that can be made through it. He wants to make structural changes in the state and understands this position can help organize communities and workspaces.
“I’m not going into this because I want to protect some political career,” said Platner. “I’m going into this because I think that we need to change our politics.”
Platner encourages a more democratic way of life for Maine, one that represents the people and is responsive to their needs. However, he feels the Democratic party itself has failed to “meet the moment” by not enforcing anti-capitalism in a way that Mainers need. Platner saw an opening for a leader with working-class values.
Platner views Maine as a community-oriented state. Throughout his life, he has noticed that the majority of residents are regular people who take care of their neighbors. Due to a smaller population, he considers Maine less polarized than many other states, contributing to its tight-knit feel.
Despite contrasting beliefs across the political spectrum, Platner shared that he hopes all working-class people come to realize how much they have in common and band together to defeat billionaires who take advantage of their honest work.
While Maine has rural and urban communities, Platner believes his legislation would cater to both. His big-picture goals are to expand funding for social programs, which are utilized everywhere. Platner wants to protect social security, build a universal health care system and bring down housing costs. He sees these initiatives as beneficial to those in any living situation.
To Platner, the primary public concern is the rising cost of goods while wages remain stagnant, along with poor healthcare and housing. He says that because shareholder profit and maximization is prioritized, wealth is extracted from working-class residents.
Good healthcare in Maine, according to Platner, can exist. The resources needed to give Americans good lives are there, but not being provided. He says Maine Republicans should vote for him because they are suffering the same consequences of a political system owned by corporations built to “screw them over.” He feels that no one is happy with the current food and health care system in Maine and this sentiment defies political preferences.
“Maine Republicans have the exact same concerns and needs as Maine Democrats, in my opinion,” said Platner. “When you really dig down into it, when the hospital closes, it doesn’t matter who you voted for.”
Platner wants to tax billionaires, putting money that belongs to contributing citizens back into social programs that are widely beneficial, like Medicare and Medicaid. In terms of legislation, his first order of business would be to fulfill basic medical and housing needs, noting that nothing else can take the forefront until everyone has access to clinical care and a roof over their heads.
“You can’t just point out what you’re against,” said Platner. “You have to point out what you’re for. And I’m pretty convinced that most working people in Maine, they’re all for the same things because they have the same material needs.”
The Department of Veterans Affairs offered basic services that allowed Platner to live a good life, return to his community and build a business.
“That support gave me a real freedom, an actual freedom. Not a fantastical one, but a material freedom to do things with my life that I wanted to do,” said Platner. “And I think that until every American has those freedoms, we will not be living up to our full potential.”
At the forefront of Platner’s campaign is a promise to hold town hall meetings across the state that allow working people to speak directly to their senator. While these meetings have already been overwhelmed by over 1,000 community members at a time during Platner’s campaign, he believes it would become less of an issue with him in office. He said constituents eventually getting bored of him would be a sign that he is representing them properly.
As for college students in Maine who have yet to join the workforce, Platner feels their involvement is still necessary to ensure a better future. Change would require participation in politics and organizing by young adults in Maine. He added that those in charge right now are not leading in the interest of future generations and that a change of course is desperately needed.
