{"id":45476,"date":"2025-12-07T12:54:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T20:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=45476"},"modified":"2025-12-07T12:54:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T20:54:02","slug":"platner-20-points-ahead-of-mills-in-maine-senate-race-as-critics-spotlight-her-anti-worker-veto-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/12\/07\/platner-20-points-ahead-of-mills-in-maine-senate-race-as-critics-spotlight-her-anti-worker-veto-record\/","title":{"rendered":"Platner 20 Points Ahead of Mills in Maine Senate Race as Critics Spotlight Her Anti-Worker Veto Record"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A crowd holds up \u201cGraham Platner for US Senate\u201d signs at a campaign event in Maine on November 22, 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photo: @grahamformaine\/X)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new poll, said the progressive candidate, \u201clays clear what our theory is, which is that we are not going to defeat Susan Collins running the same exact kind of playbook that we\u2019ve run in the past.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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

Dec 03, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/trinitymedia.ai\/player\/trinity-player.php?pageURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fgraham-platner-poll&contentHash=8865f11b8724a77e4b566b6d76d6272c00e1255cb70435e616eb53d56adb6d38&unitId=2900021701&userId=5752cafe-a61d-4177-b146-0c8454dc0ef8&isLegacyBrowser=false&version=20251204_a1803c65117dad72dc3cf3229b2b426cbf8c7842&useBunnyCDN=0&themeId=478&isMobile=0&unitType=tts-player&integrationType=web<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been more than a month since a media<\/a> firestorm over old Reddit posts and a tattoo thrust US Senate<\/a> candidate Graham Platner<\/a> into the national spotlight, just as Maine<\/a> Gov. Janet Mills was entering the Democratic primary race in hopes of challenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins\u2014a controversy that did not appear<\/a> at the time to make a dent in political newcomer Platner\u2019s chances in the election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, the latest polling<\/a> showed that the progressive combat veteran and oyster farmer has maintained the lead that was reported in a number of surveys just after the national media descended on the New England state to report on his past online comments and a tattoo that some said resembled a Nazi symbol, which he subsequently had covered up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Maine Senate Candidate Graham Platner Says \u2018Nobody Works Hard Enough to Justify $1 Billion\u2019<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"US<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Million-Dollar Ad Blitz Targets Senate Dems Who Voted for \u2018Trump Loyalist Judges\u2019<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), which endorsed Platner on Wednesday, commissioned the new poll, which showed him polling at 58% compared to Mills\u2019 38%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/x.com\/ryangrim\/status\/1996290533031837708?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1996290533031837708%7Ctwgr%5E9da0e4a68cdbe76b56128362755b30a05e576da6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fgraham-platner-poll<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nancy Zdunkewicz, a pollster with Z to A Polling, which conducted the survey on behalf of the PCCC, said the poll represented \u201creally impressive early consolidation\u201d for Platner, with the primary election still six months away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlatner isn\u2019t just leading in the Democratic primary. He\u2019s leading by a lot, 20 points\u201458% are supporting him,\u201d Zdunkewicz told<\/a> Zeteo<\/em>. \u201cOnly 38% are supporting Mills. There are very few undecided voters or weak supporters for Mills to win over at this point in the race.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Platner has consistently spoken to packed rooms across Maine since launching his campaign in August, promoting a platform that is unapologetically focused on delivering affordability and a better quality of life for Mainers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He supports expanding<\/a> the popular Medicare<\/a> program to all Americans; drew raucous applause at an early rally by declaring<\/a>, \u201cOur taxpayer dollars can build schools and hospitals in America, not bombs to destroy them in Gaza<\/a>\u201d; and has spoken in support of breaking up<\/a> tech giants and a federal war crimes<\/a> investigation<\/a> into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his deadly boat strikes in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mills entered<\/a> the race after Democratic leaders including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer<\/a> (D-NY) urged her to. She garnered national attention earlier this year for standing up<\/a> to President Donald Trump<\/a> when he threatened federal funding for Maine over the state\u2019s policy of allowing students to play on school athletic teams that correspond with their gender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the PCCC survey found that when respondents learned details about each candidate, negative critiques of Mills were more damaging to her than Platner\u2019s old Reddit posts and tattoo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zdunkewicz disclosed Platner\u2019s recent controversy to the voters she surveyed, as well as his statements about how his views have shifted in recent years, and found that 21% of voters were more likely to back him after learning about his background. Thirty-nine percent said they were less likely to support him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pollster also talked to respondents about the fact that establishment Democrats pushed Mills, who is 77, to enter the race, and about a number of bills she has vetoed as governor, including a tax on the wealthy, a bill to set up a tracking system for rape kits, two bills to reduce prescription drug costs, and several bills promoting workers<\/a>\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only 14% of Mainers said they were more likely to vote for Mills after learning those details, while 50% said they were less likely to support her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At The Lever<\/em>, Luke Goldstein on Wednesday reported<\/a> that Mills\u2019 vetoes have left many with the \u201cperception that she\u2019s mostly concerned with business interests,\u201d as former Democratic Maine state lawmaker Andy O\u2019Brien said. Corporate interests gave more than $200,000 to Mills\u2019 two gubernatorial campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, Mills struck down a labor-backed bill to allow farm workers to discuss their pay with one another without fear of retaliation. Last year, she blocked a bill to set a minimum wage<\/a> for farm laborers, opposing a provision that would have allowed workers to sue their employers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also vetoed a bill banning noncompete agreements and one that would have banned anti-union tactics by corporations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn previous years,\u201d Goldstein reported, \u201cshe blocked efforts to stop employers from punishing employees who took state-guaranteed paid time off, killed a permitting reform bill to streamline offshore wind developments because it included a provision mandating union jobs, and vetoed a modest labor bill that would have required the state government to merely study the issue of paper mill workers being forced to work overtime without adequate compensation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to PCCC supporters on Wednesday, Platner suggested<\/a> the new polling shows that many Mainers agree with the central argument of his campaign: \u201cWe need to build power again for working people, both in Maine and nationally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey, he said, \u201clays clear what our theory is, which is that we are not going to defeat\u00a0Susan Collins<\/a>\u00a0running the same exact kind of playbook that we\u2019ve run in the past\u2014which is an establishment politician supported by the power structures, supported by\u00a0Washington<\/a>, DC, coming up to Maine and trying to run a kind of standard race… We are really trying to build a grassroots movement up here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Julia Conley is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A crowd holds up \u201cGraham Platner for US Senate\u201d signs at a campaign event in Maine on November 22, 2025.  (Photo: @grahamformaine\/X) The new poll, said the progressive candidate, \u201clays clear what our theory is, which is that we are not going to defeat Susan Collins running the same exact… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45476"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45476"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45477,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45476\/revisions\/45477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}