What Graham Platner Said When a Trans Mainer Asked: 'Will You Stand Up for Me?'

In an exchange that went viral on social media Tuesday, US Senate candidate Graham Platner offered reassurance to a transgender Mainer who asked whether he would "fight" alongside her and other LGBTQ+ people in the face of attacks from the right.

The woman, identified as Sami, asked Platner at a packed campaign event in Damariscotta, Maine: "If I stand with you, will you fight with me? Will you stand up for me?"

Platner, a Marine veteran and oyster farmer who launched his Democratic primary campaign in August in hopes of ultimately challenging Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) for her seat in 2026, answered that he firmly believes "that every single American has the right to live the life they want to live in their own body as they see fit," and emphasized what he views as his "responsibility" as a straight, white, cisgender male, to defend the rights of LGBTQ+ people.

"I get to put myself out there in ways that other people don’t," said Platner. "I'm doing this because I know that I can say things, I know that I can have conversations, I know that I can knock on doors in places that a lot of other people can't have access to, that a lot of other people won't feel safe in."

"Yes, I will absolutely stand next to you, and if we ever have to go knock doors together, I'm happy to stand by your side," he added.

Sami's question came after Platner's campaign garnered national attention over deleted Reddit posts from his past, in which he used the word "gay" in a derogatory way and made other offensive comments, and a skull tattoo he got while in the Marines that some said resembled a Nazi symbol.

Platner has said he wasn't aware of the resemblance and had the tattoo covered up with another image recently, and has apologized for the Reddit posts, saying at another crowded town hall last week that he "used to hold different opinions."

"I also grew," he said. "I met new people. I learned of other people’s experiences. I realized... that the more open I could be to listen to other people’s stories, the more open I was willing to be—to extend compassion and empathy to others.”

Sami referenced the controversy, telling Platner, "I believe that you are a better man than you once were in the past because I’m a better person than I was in the past."

Alex Seitz-Wald, deputy editor of the Midcoast Villager, said the exchange displayed how Platner is "getting people to forgive him," and spoke to Sami at the campaign event as she was "signing a volunteer form" to help the candidate's campaign.

Platner's response, said Sami, was "what I hoped to get."

"It's very easy for a lot of politicians to sweep us under the rug," she added.

President Donald Trump's attacks on LGBTQ+ rights hit transgender Maine residents earlier this year, with the White House threatening to cut federal funding to the state unless Gov. Janet Mills complied with his executive order using his administration's interpretation of Title IX to block transgender girls and women from competing as female athletes on school sports teams.

Trump agreed to halt the funding freeze after the state sued his administration.

Sami said she had been "really impressed" with Mills' fight against Trump. The governor announced her Senate run earlier this month after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called on her to join the primary race.

"I voted for her for governor, but not for this," said Sami. "I don't think she has the ability to make change."

Platner's campaign has garnered attention not just for the recent controversies, but for his outspoken advocacy for working-class families and policy proposals like Medicare for All and a billionaire minimum tax, his conviction that "the oligarchy is the enemy," his statement that he would not support Schumer as the party's leader if he wins the Senate seat, and his unequivocal condemnation of US support for Israel's assault on Gaza.

At the campaign event in Damariscotta, Platner described himself as a "New Deal Democrat" and told the crowd of 700 people that "we cannot be tricked into pointing fingers left and right when the only direction to be pointing fingers is up.”

In recent days, numerous polls have shown Platner leading Mills by a wide margin in the primary race—while one survey found Mills five points ahead of him—and Maine voters have packed gymnasiums and theaters for his campaign events.

Seitz-Wald reported that at the event in Damariscotta on Monday, Platner fielded "eight questions from the audience, one on Reddit posts, none on tattoo."