{"id":44541,"date":"2025-10-15T12:56:36","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T19:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=44541"},"modified":"2025-10-15T12:56:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T19:56:37","slug":"as-mills-enters-maine-senate-race-platner-says-election-is-fight-to-retake-our-party-for-working-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/10\/15\/as-mills-enters-maine-senate-race-platner-says-election-is-fight-to-retake-our-party-for-working-class\/","title":{"rendered":"As Mills Enters Maine Senate Race, Platner Says Election Is Fight to \u2018Retake Our Party\u2019 for Working Class"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Graham<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Graham Platner speaks to a crowd in a video released October 14, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo: Graham Platner for Senate\/screenshot)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have held over 20 town halls in every corner of Maine, from Rumford to Madawaska to Portland,\u201d said Graham Platner. \u201cEverywhere I hear the same thing: People are ready for change.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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

Oct 14, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After weeks of speculation and reports<\/a> that Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer was privately calling on Maine Gov. Janet Mills to enter the race to unseat longtime Republican lawmaker Susan Collins\u2014despite considerable energy surrounding the candidacy of progressive veteran and oyster farmer Graham Platner\u2014Mills announced her primary run Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mills highlighted<\/a> her public sparring with President Donald Trump<\/a> earlier this year and positioned her run as one that would focus on standing up to \u201cbullies\u201d like Trump, who threatened to cut off Maine\u2019s federal funding if it allowed transgender youths to play on team sports that correspond with their identities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

\u2018People Are Being Robbed\u2019: Maine\u2019s Platner Credited for Showing Democrats How to Win Back Trump Voters<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Graham<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018He\u2019s the Real Deal\u2019: UAW Endorses Graham Platner in Maine Senate Race<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

She also pledged<\/a> to \u201cfight back\u201d against efforts by Trump and Republicans in Congress\u2014including Collins, who has represented Maine since 1997\u2014to slash healthcare for millions of Americans while handing out tax cuts to corporations and the richest Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis election is going to be a simple choice: Is Maine going to bow down, or stand up?\u201d said Mills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But before Mainers decide whether to stick with Collins or unseat her in favor of a Democratic senator, they are set to choose the Democratic nominee next June<\/a>\u2014and despite being a political novice, Platner has generated excitement across the state since announcing his candidacy in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Platner has centered his campaign on naming \u201cthe enemy\u201d shared by Mainers and Americans from all walks of life: not immigrants<\/a>, transgender people<\/a>, or other frequent targets of the Trump administration, but the oligarchy<\/a>. He\u2019s also been unapologetically outspoken<\/a> in his condemnation of the US-backed Israeli assault on Gaza<\/a> and over the weekend said<\/a> that should he win a Senate seat, \u201cthere will be consequences\u201d for those who have led federal immigration agents\u2019 violent incursion in US cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Platner has garnered endorsements and enthusiasm from lawmakers including Sens. Bernie Sanders<\/a> (I-Vt.)\u2014who recently criticized reports that Schumer was pushing for a Mills run\u2014and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who called his campaign \u201cpretty impressive\u201d and \u201ckiller\u201d recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s also proven to be a formidable fundraiser<\/a>, pulling in more than $4 million since launching his campaign in August, and has spoken to overflow<\/a> crowds in cities and towns<\/a> across Maine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent polling has shown Platner outperforming Mills by 21 points among Trump voters, 13 points among voters aged 18-44, and 10 points in rural parts of northern and western Maine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/x.com\/admcrlsn\/status\/1976986982770421811?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1976986982770421811%7Ctwgr%5E7d21514718905836e15ffa178bea672bc9e2580a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fmaine-senate<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, Platner released a statement welcoming Mills \u201cinto this race\u201d and focusing on the fight to unseat Collins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have held over 20 town halls in every corner of Maine, from Rumford to Madawaska to Portland,\u201d he said. \u201cEverywhere I hear the same thing: People are ready for change. They know the system is broken and they know that politicians who have been working in the system for years, like Susan Collins, are not going to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he also released his own ad, pledging to keep up the momentum in order to \u201cretake our party and turn it back into the party of the working class.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe either organize and build power and fight, or we lose,\u201d Platner told a crowd in the video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

In two months, we have built a movement together tens of thousands strong. We are not slowing down. pic.twitter.com\/NFjL5IVrth<\/a><\/p>— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) October 14, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>