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janet mills
Democratic Establishment Targets Maine Working-Class Senate Candidate Graham Platner
"DC's choice has lost to Susan Collins five times in a row. We can't afford a sixth," Platner said of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee partnering with his primary opponent, Gov. Janet Mills.
Oct 15, 2025
Shortly after Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced her candidacy for the US Senate on Tuesday, journalists noted her campaign's joint fundraising committee with the Democratic establishment—which swiftly drew strong criticism, given that she has a primary opponent, Graham Platner.
Mills entered the race to face off against Republican Sen. Susan Collins next year after weeks of speculation and reporting that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had urged the term-limited governor to do so.
Since Platner launched his campaign in August, the oyster farmer and military veteran has positioned himself as a champion of the working class. He has forcefully called out the oligarchy, Israel dropping US bombs on the Gaza Strip, President Donald Trump's attacks on US cities, and Collins, who has represented Maine since 1997.
"Chuck Schumer should be focused on fighting Donald Trump and protecting healthcare for millions of Americans, not meddling in a Maine primary," Platner—who has said he would not vote for the Senate's top Democrat to retain his leadership position—wrote on social media Tuesday. "DC's choice has lost to Susan Collins five times in a row. We can't afford a sixth."
Platner was responding to news of the Mills campaign's fundraising partnership with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), which is officially led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and works to elect party members to the chamber.
A DSCC spokesperson claimed in a Wednesday email to Newsweek that it "has not made any formal endorsements this cycle."
"Reminder: the DSCC is not some amorphous blob," stressed Zeteo reporter Prem Thakker, pointing to Gillibrand and the group's vice chairs: Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Adam Schiff (Calif.), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (Del.). "These are the Democrats now fundraising for someone to become the oldest freshman (age 79) ever elected to a six-year term. All to stop Graham Platner."
Aaron Regunberg, a climate lawyer and former Rhode Island state representative who wrote about Platner for The Nation in August, also took aim at the Senate leaders, who have strong ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
"Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand: relentlessly determined to stop the Democratic Party from ever winning back control of the Senate," Regunberg said of the Maine Senate Victory 2026 committee. "Might as well call this the AIPAC Victory Fund."
The Lever's David Sirota said: "It's very important to understand that Senate Democratic leaders deeply hate the idea of Democratic voters being allowed to choose Democratic Senate nominees without the interference of party bosses."
Schumer and other key Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY), have also refused to endorse their own party's nominee in next month's New York City mayoral race: democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani.
"Any fantasies held that Democrats were interested in change have been proven undoubtedly false," said David Griscom, a writer and co-host of the podcast Left Reckoning. "They are afraid of the kind of politics represented by Graham Platner and Zohran Mamdani, and they'll do anything they can to stop it."
The Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate group, declared: "It's moves like this that have left Democratic Party leaders without any credibility. One day, they defend the need for 'neutrality' when it hurts the left. Then, the next, they intervene in primaries themselves."
Some critics highlighted Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin's calls for neutrality in primaries and the recent ouster of former DNC Vice Chair David Hogg, who supported primary challenges to "asleep-at-the-wheel" Democrats in blue districts.
"I'm sorry but how is this any different from the accusations the DNC made about David Hogg's efforts to influence Dem primaries when they booted him?!" former journalist and Democratic political strategist Tara McGowan said of the Mills-DSCC committee. "And they wonder why the Democratic Party has literally the worst approval rating in history. The blind hubris is ASTOUNDING."
Hogg himself simply said, "Well DC has their pick," and shared multiple social media posts about Platner's campaign.
Platner has secured endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and unions including the United Auto Workers. The committee boosting his opponent is sending some new support his way. Writer Charlotte Clymer said that "I had planned to stay out of the Maine Senate race for a while and respectfully consider the competing visions of both major candidates. But I can't do that now."
"It is wildly inappropriate for the DSCC to jump into a competitive primary in such a brazen and shameless way, eight months before voters go to the polls," Clymer said. "This is a complete failure to read the room. It is incompetent. It is political malpractice. The DSCC has clearly learned nothing, and they would rather deploy the same tired, divisive strategies instead of empowering Democratic voters and earning our confidence in their process."
"I have great respect for Gov. Janet Mills, but she is being advised very poorly on the contours of this political moment when it comes to what Democratic voters want to see," she added. "I'll be supporting Graham Platner in the primary."
Mills joining the race also hasn't stopped the fundraising dollars from flowing to Platner. His adviser Joe Calvello noted on social media Wednesday morning: "FUN FACT: Since Gov. Mills launched her campaign, Graham Platner's campaign has received a donation every eight seconds."
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'He's the Real Deal': UAW Endorses Graham Platner in Maine Senate Race
One union official described the Democratic candidate as "a voice for the people of Maine fed up with the corrupting influence of the oligarchy and money in our politics."
Oct 15, 2025
On the heels of Maine Gov. Janet Mills entering the Democratic primary race to face Republican Sen. Susan Collins next year, the United Auto Workers on Wednesday endorsed Graham Platner, the oyster farmer and working-class champion who's been railing against the oligarchy since he launched his campaign in August.
" Inequality is out of control in our country. Today, the top 1% have more wealth than the bottom 95% of humanity combined," said UAW president Shawn Fain in a statement. "Graham understands this, and at a time when too many politicians take their cues from billionaires and corporate lobbyists, he has chosen to stand with the working class."
In Platner's first campaign ad, the military veteran pointed to his four infantry tours and declared: "I'm not afraid to name an enemy, and the enemy is the oligarchy. It's the billionaires who pay for it and the politicians who sell us out—and yeah, that means politicians like Susan Collins."
Fain said Wednesday that Platner is "focused on the real problems facing workers across this country—not the distractions the billionaire class uses to divide us. His campaign is rooted in the same core issues our union fights for every day: a living wage, affordable healthcare, retirement security, and time outside of work to actually live our lives. The UAW is proud to endorse candidates like Platner taking on the broken status quo."
Trent Vellela, president of the UAW's Maine Community Action Program Council from Bath Marine Draftsmen's Association, said that "I think he's the real deal," a sentiment shared by Platner's supporters across the country.
"Graham directly addresses the hard issues in a straightforward and relatable way," Vellela noted. "He is clear about his principles and his plan to achieve positive outcomes for the working people of Maine."
The UAW represents nearly 2,000 workers across the state, from marine draftsmen at Bath Iron Works to employees at the Portland Museum of Art and the University of Maine System. Maine is part of the union's Region 9A, directed by Brandon Mancilla.
"Graham Platner has emerged as a voice for the people of Maine fed up with the corrupting influence of the oligarchy and money in our politics," Mancilla said. "More importantly, he is building a mass movement that will not only power his campaign but will be ready to take on the challenges facing working families in Maine and across the country once in office."
"Our members are ready to hit the ground running with Graham's campaign and take back the power for Maine's working class," he said.
While the UAW and working-class Mainers rally behind Platner, Mills is already getting a boost from the Democratic Party establishment. On Tuesday, just hours after her announcement to enter the race, news broke that the Mills campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) formed a joint fundraising committee.
Platner's first TV ad—set to "air statewide on MSNBC starting Wednesday," according to Axios—takes aim at his primary opponent. It begins with a woman saying: "Janet Mills again? She was a good governor, but I think it's time for change."
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As Mills Enters Maine Senate Race, Platner Says Election Is Fight to 'Retake Our Party' for Working Class
"I have held over 20 town halls in every corner of Maine, from Rumford to Madawaska to Portland," said Graham Platner. "Everywhere I hear the same thing: People are ready for change."
Oct 14, 2025
After weeks of speculation and reports 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—despite considerable energy surrounding the candidacy of progressive veteran and oyster farmer Graham Platner—Mills announced her primary run Tuesday.
Mills highlighted her public sparring with President Donald Trump earlier this year and positioned her run as one that would focus on standing up to "bullies" like Trump, who threatened to cut off Maine's federal funding if it allowed transgender youths to play on team sports that correspond with their identities.
She also pledged to "fight back" against efforts by Trump and Republicans in Congress—including Collins, who has represented Maine since 1997—to slash healthcare for millions of Americans while handing out tax cuts to corporations and the richest Americans.
"This election is going to be a simple choice: Is Maine going to bow down, or stand up?" said Mills.
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—and despite being a political novice, Platner has generated excitement across the state since announcing his candidacy in August.
Platner has centered his campaign on naming "the enemy" shared by Mainers and Americans from all walks of life: not immigrants, transgender people, or other frequent targets of the Trump administration, but the oligarchy. He's also been unapologetically outspoken in his condemnation of the US-backed Israeli assault on Gaza and over the weekend said that should he win a Senate seat, "there will be consequences" for those who have led federal immigration agents' violent incursion in US cities.
Platner has garnered endorsements and enthusiasm from lawmakers including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—who recently criticized reports that Schumer was pushing for a Mills run—and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who called his campaign "pretty impressive" and "killer" recently.
He's also proven to be a formidable fundraiser, pulling in more than $4 million since launching his campaign in August, and has spoken to overflow crowds in cities and towns across Maine.
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.
On Tuesday, Platner released a statement welcoming Mills "into this race" and focusing on the fight to unseat Collins.
"I have held over 20 town halls in every corner of Maine, from Rumford to Madawaska to Portland," he said. "Everywhere 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.”
But he also released his own ad, pledging to keep up the momentum in order to "retake our party and turn it back into the party of the working class."
"We either organize and build power and fight, or we lose," Platner told a crowd in the video.
In two months, we have built a movement together tens of thousands strong. We are not slowing down. pic.twitter.com/NFjL5IVrth
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) October 14, 2025
Ryan Grim of Drop Site News posited that the entrance of Mills into the race could be "to Platner's advantage" and may underscore his independent streak.
"By beating her (and Schumer) Platner can solidify the impression that he is independent of the party, whose brand is fatally toxic," said Grim.
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