{"id":44722,"date":"2025-10-24T13:04:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T20:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=44722"},"modified":"2025-10-24T13:04:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T20:04:18","slug":"the-establishment-is-spooked-poll-shows-platner-with-big-lead-over-mills-in-maine-democratic-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/10\/24\/the-establishment-is-spooked-poll-shows-platner-with-big-lead-over-mills-in-maine-democratic-primary\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Establishment Is Spooked\u2019: Poll Shows Platner With Big Lead Over Mills in Maine Democratic Primary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Maine<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

US Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at a town hall at the Leavitt Theater on October 22, 2025 in Ogunquit, Maine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photo by Sophie Park\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery second we spend talking about a tattoo I got in the Marine Corps is a second we don\u2019t talk about Medicare for All,\u201d said Platner ahead of a town hall. \u201cIt\u2019s a second we don\u2019t talk about raising taxes on the wealthy.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Julia Conley<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Politico<\/em> and other news outlets reported over the past week on old posts written by progressive US Senate<\/a> candidate Graham Platner and a tattoo<\/a> he got while in the military, pollsters with the University of New Hampshire<\/a> were speaking to Mainers about their views on the state\u2019s Democratic primary, in which Platner is now facing Gov. Janet Mills along with several other candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the media<\/a> onslaught, UNH\u2019s Pine Tree State Poll<\/a> revealed on Thursday that voters in Maine<\/a> heavily favor Platner, who has spent the past two months since his campaign launch speaking to overflow crowds about his platform\u2014one that is focused on making life more affordable for Maine families, shifting the Democratic Party<\/a> away from corporate interests and toward the needs of working people, and ensuring corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share to provide for the needs of all Mainers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Graham<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As Mills Enters Maine Senate Race, Platner Says Election Is Fight to \u2018Retake Our Party\u2019 for Working Class<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Oyster<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Democratic Establishment Targets Maine Working-Class Senate Candidate Graham Platner<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The poll, taken between October 16-21, found Platner with 58% of the vote. Twenty-four percent of respondents said they support Mills, who\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0her campaign on October 14 after Senate Minority Leader\u00a0Chuck Schumer<\/a>\u00a0(D-NY) urged her to run, while other candidates each had less than 2% of the vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/x.com\/sahilkapur\/status\/1981345212858286095?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1981345212858286095%7Ctwgr%5E5c910b0194a66669f52e89d7c409235adf73d225%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fgraham-platner-reddit-2674226288<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politico<\/em> reported<\/a> on Platner\u2019s old Reddit posts on October 16, generating national attention in the following days, and on Monday the oyster farmer and former Marine spoke on the popular podcast Pod Save America<\/em> about his tattoo that was visible in a video\u2014one that critics said resembled a Nazi symbol, but which, he noted, didn\u2019t prevent from from being approved to reenlist in the US military<\/a> after he got it. Platner this week covered the tattoo and denounced Nazism<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn other words, they were in the field as all the [opposition] hit,\u201d Democratic consultant Rebecca Katz said<\/a> in response to the polling. \u201cMainers have Graham Platner\u2019s back because they know he has theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Progressive observers said the polling showed that recent efforts to damage Platner\u2019s working class-focused campaign\u2014which, one attendee at the candidate\u2019s town hall on Wednesday night noted<\/a>, coincided with Mills\u2019 entrance into the race\u2014have been no match for voters\u2019 palpable anger over a political system that has left millions struggling to afford healthcare<\/a>, groceries, and other essentials while the wealthiest Americans are handed tax breaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey, said<\/a> journalist David Sirota, provides \u201ctoday\u2019s evidence that people are really pissed at the status quo, and also despise the national Democratic leadership and the media that so often run interference for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ryan Grim of Drop Site News<\/em> added<\/a> that, judging from the temperature-check in Maine, the \u201cDemocratic Party leadership could not be more disconnected from the party base if they had lived on the moon the past decade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tommy Vietor of Pod Save America <\/em>said<\/a> that the poll served as a \u201cgood reminder that the DC pundit class has no fucking clue what actual Maine voters think or how they will vote.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poll results were released the morning after Platner spoke to a crowd of about 600 people at a town hall in Ogunquit, Maine, following a video he posted on Instagram addressing the controversy surrounding his tattoo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis has come up because the establishment is trying to throw everything it can at me,\u201d said Platner, who also showed a new tattoo he got to cover up the old image. \u201cIt is terrified of what we are trying to build here. Every second we spend talking about a tattoo I got in the Marine Corps is a second we don\u2019t talk about Medicare for All<\/a>. It\u2019s a second we don\u2019t talk about raising taxes on the wealthy. It\u2019s a second we\u2019re not talking about the material struggles of Mainers as they try to scrape through a system that at its core is trying to rob them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s why tonight, I\u2019m just going back right out on the road,\u201d he said. \u201cGoing around the state of Maine, making myself accessible to Mainers in their communities, so I can listen to them, I can hear about what it is they need to change in our political system, and that is what I\u2019m going to continue dedicating my time to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DQH3jhGEX2R\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the town hall in Ogunquit, Platner emphasized his political and personal evolution as he turned the attention back to his platform<\/a>\u2014one focused on passing a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United<\/a><\/em> ruling and ban \u201cbillionaires<\/a> buying elections,\u201d rebuilding the US healthcare system by extending Medicare<\/a> to all, breaking up corporate monopolies and ensuring corporations pay a fair tax rate, and defending the rights of immigrants and other marginalized groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to minimize what has come out,\u201d he said. \u201cI used to hold different opinions… I also grew. I met new people. I learned of other people\u2019s experiences. I realized… that the more open I could be to listen to other people\u2019s stories, the more open I was willing to be\u2014to extend compassion and empathy to others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If they thought that any of this would stop us or deter us: they clearly don't understand our movement, and they don't understand Marines. pic.twitter.com\/fXukXG2nVT<\/a><\/p>— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) October 23, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>