Don't like that, too much. I don't trust Platner not to go all Fetterman on us soon, ala Jared Golden in cammo.

and it doesn't (imo) speak well of any of them.

Key Endorsements for Graham Platner:

- U.S. Senators: Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Ruben Gallego, Martin Heinrich, and support from Chris Murphy and Sheldon Whitehouse.
- U.S. Representative: Ro Khanna.
- Political Leaders/Officials: Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.

Organizations:
- Labor: Maine State Nurses Association (MSNA/NNOC), National Nurses United (NNU), United Auto Workers (UAW), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.
- Progressive/Advocacy: Maine People's Alliance, SURJ (Show Up for Racial Justice), Our Revolution, Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), Gen-Z for Change, Common Defense Action Fund, College Democrats of America, Leaders We Deserve, and Youth Save Democracy.

--
This is quick AI summary of his endorsers.

a Progressive as we have in the Senate. Like with Sanders I am taken back by her endorsement, especially over another very prominent New England woman.

Not sure except that maybe they believe he can carry the Jared Golden voters and foresters from the Deep Woods who are Trumpers. They are looking for Senate control.

Just hope they get their win, and that these endorsement decisions don't backfire on us down the road. Let us pray no cross burning videos or new tattoos come to light a week before the election.

...I would think that it's possible that you may be missing something. I'm not saying Platner doesn't have his negatives... all candidates have positives and negatives. But when not just one or two of those people/groups, but rather *all* of them, have decided that, on balance, he's their pick... I'd be very hesitant to say it doesn't speak well of them, that *all* of them have screwed up and chosen to support someone who, under no circumstances, deserves that kind of legitimization.

The article you post makes good points, but I think this one does as well (even while being, I think, more fair to his competitor):

https://themainemonitor.org/graham-platner-success-explained/

Thank you for posting this counter-argument to help us understand the bigger picture.

with him. He is black and white when it comes to what he believes. He is 1000% behind Israel but also LBGTQ rights for example. I suspect he will find a good bit of common ground with whichever Dem is elected by Mainers.

And a reminder that he voted for every Biden judicial nominee when he was part of a single seat Fem Senate majority.

Chuck Shumer, and before any of the negative stories about Platner had come out-- just to put it in an accurate context....


I myself was an ardent Sanders supporter in 2016, but his endorsements do not determine
my support or non-support of any candidates in 2026---
Indeed, in 2020, I voted for Joe Biden in the Democratic primaries,
even though Sanders was running again, and I suppose I favored Sanders more on 'policy'---
I thought Biden the better GE candidate for that moment,
so I voted for him, and he won the nomination AND most importantly,
the General election!

(AND went on to become the most progressive President we have had for a while,
and gave Sanders a 'seat at the table'!)


Now in this particular race, I too had doubts about Platner---
when the negative stories first came out, I thought he was SUNK---

but the polls of Maine Democratic primary and GE likely voters tell a different story---
and as far as I am concerned, this primary is OVER when Platner leads Mills
by more than 20 percentage points, and performs much better against Collins
than Mills does, in General Election polls!---
(much bolstered by his strength among younger voters, whom we
as a party need to win back!)

BE WARY of articles like this, which attack whom appears to be
the STRONGEST Democratic candidate in a particular state---
just because they are still attempting to re-fight the 2016 Democratic presidential primary----
and attempt to "tar" the candidate with the "Bernie" brush---!

YES, Janet Mills has strong credentials on 'social issues'
which have not been winning elections for us,
but she has been particularly WEAK on LABOR issues---- Google it!
https://www.google.com/search?q=janet+mills+anti-labor+actions+in+maine&sca_esv=d5f39639bc60d663&sxsrf=ANbL-n6lxoyBrzUHal6xrekaXq0M7s1sFw%3A1776396168490&source=hp&ei=iKfhad7JG7-KptQPvPPM6QM&iflsig=AFdpzrgAAAAAaeG1mHdVAbyI9Yk1p8WyiJ5glzoX1YWY&oq=&gs_lp=Egdnd3Mtd2l6IgAqAggBMgcQIxjqAhgnMgcQIxjqAhgnMgcQIxjqAhgnMg0QLhjHARjRAxjqAhgnMgcQIxjqAhgnMgcQIxjqAhgnMgcQIxjqAhgnMgcQIxjqAhgnMgcQIxjqAhgnMgcQIxjqAhgnSJYnUABYAHABeACQAQCYAQCgAQCqAQC4AQHIAQCYAgGgAiWoAgqYAyXxBYRq8juwcDpckgcBMaAHALIHALgHAMIHAzQtMcgHHoAIAQ&sclient=gws-wiz

AI Overview
Governor Janet Mills has faced criticism for several actions viewed as anti-labor, including vetoing a bill aimed at protecting farmworkers' rights to collective action and facing a "bad faith" bargaining complaint from the state employees' union, MSEA-SEIU, in late 2025 regarding contract negotiations, staffing, and wages. However, her administration claims to have increased salary funding and signed other labor-supportive legislation.

Key actions and accusations regarding labor issues during the Mills administration include:
Vetoes of Worker Protections: Governor Mills vetoed legislation (LD 588) that would have allowed agricultural workers to engage in collective action without fear of retaliation, arguing it created a "new regulatory burden" on the sector.
State Employee Union Dispute: The Maine Service Employees Association (MSEA-SEIU) filed a complaint alleging "bad faith" bargaining by the administration in contract negotiations for nearly 10,000 workers. The union criticized a lack of progress on wage increases and retention.
Industry Concerns: Some critics, as highlighted by The Lever and Jacobin, suggest her record on certain vetoes has favored corporate interests over worker rights and collective bargaining.



And NO, I don't believe that Platner would 'become another Fetterman' or Manchin, if elected---
(he hasn't had a stroke and by age is less likely to have one), and
he seems prescient enough to realize whom his base voters are, whom are younger voters--
and would respond to their wants and needs, if elected!

and AGAIN, in my humble opinion, this primary is OVER!
so further attacks against Platner are attacks against the Democratic Party!
(my primary concern being that Democrats take over the US Senate!)

I didn't see it in your response, maybe I missed it?

Hegseth and his tattoos probably cool then, too, cause those have been talked about a lot.

The primary in June will decide our democratic candidate.

A working class hero is something to invent, while Mills' achievements are being tossed away like trash. I'd love to see her on the Senate floor.

.....and also the same thing about Steyer in CA.

How many Sinema's and Fetterman's are we going to fall for?

in the Democraric primary (which is being shown in the polls).

For instance: Mills is pro filibuster, she is anti-decriminalisation for small personal use amounts of drugs, she has been anti red-flag laws for guns, she has vetoed collective bargaining rights (so is anti-union to an impactful degree), she has vetoed wealth taxes, she has vetoed protections for renters, and she has vetoed some tribal sovereignty laws, etc.

All of that is not even taking into account she would be 85yo at the the end of her first term if she were to win both the primary and the general election. She would be the oldest ever newly elected first term US Senator in American history.

If a person is anti-Platner (and that is a valid stance IMHO, given his baggage), then I would think they must be very unhappy with Mills being their only other main choice (and Schumer and Gillibrand helping to make sure she was and is the only other main option, as they pushed hard to recruit her and only her).

Liz and Sheldon on this one.

WHY is a candidate that has so many red flags winning by such a resounding number?

It isn't just ageism or optics. There is more going on.

It is an anti-incumbent environment (which is good for our party and for the Senate race in ME).

We shouldn't just be screaming into the wind about how Platner is a plant. We should be thinking about how we got here.

where the old pol Pappy and his brain trust are trying to figure out how to one-up their opponents who have trotted out a little person as a gimmick:

Junior O'Daniel: We could hire our own midget, even shorter than his.
Pappy O'Daniel: Wouldn't we look like a bunch of Johnny-come-latelies, bragging on our own midget, doesn't matter how stumpy.

This is the kind of plot-missing, simplistic thinking I was reminded of after Harris' loss when the chorus rose up of (paraphrasing for effect): "We need us one of those loudmouth, wannabe tough guy white fella" as if that was some 3D chess mastery / reverse psychology master stroke.

This is what you get.

One of the scenes that stayed with me is how the rally crowd turns on Homer Stokes - not because he is a KKK member per se, but because they see him as ruining their show. He insults the band members who the audience identifies with as "authentic" kinsmen. Pappy O'Daniel senses the crowd turn, captures the moment and co-opts the band for his own purposes.

I thought "Wow, this rings true. People are indeed that facile." Just look at the recent CPAC where the crowd cheered for Trump's impeachment.

Another favorite of mine is "A Face in the Crowd."

Many people in the country are struggling economically while billionaires keep sucking up more wealth. It is unlikely that we could accomplish anything significant in this area without getting past it. If we accomplish it, that will be reversing a great moral injustice and make us the dominant party. If we don't, we will continue swapping elections with the Republicans.

A lifelong politician like mills is not going to have statements or actions of the past that appear to be politically incorrect like an upstart as Platner.

Swalwell didn't have statements or actions like this which raises the question of how revealing is this of his actual character.

For decades the Democratic Party ran on a spoils system, and that worked ok until the 1970s or so.

Jimmy Carter was an outsider who got elected despite disapproval from the party regulars. And they never stopped griping about him. (Granted, Carter made a lot of mistakes. As an old friend of mine once said, he was a spaz at getting anything through Congress, despite a Democratic majority in both houses.)

Carter's issues led to the election of Reagan, cast as another "Washington outsider." So was Bill Clinton, in many ways so was Obama, and so was Trump.

It doesn't matter that it's the Republicans who keep taking things away from most of us. Busy people don't pay attention. They see the ads on TV and what their friends-neighbors-pastor-PTA-HOA social club says.

If you've watched your family have less and less over the years, as a voter you're going to be drawn to somebody who says they're not like the others. Somebody from outside. (Never mind that this is often a blatant lie, as in the case of Trump. It's a very compelling lie.)

And at this moment of crisis... what is the Democratic Party doing? Pushing older, establishment figures forward.

There could not be a dumber strategy at this point in time.

Right now, that is all I care about as far as she is concerned.

I could never vote for Mr. Nazi Tattoo. That to me is worse than all her centrist bullshit combined.

take out Platner in the Democratic primary.

The majority of the Maine Dems polled for ages, so far really disagree with many here on DU who think, even if Platner had disappeared or had never run that Mills is a great candidate. The fact she is getting hammered (so far) in the polls by the very problematic Platner further shows this to be true IMHO.

I was really hopeful about Jordan Wood, but then he dropped out to run for the US House in ME-2, after the worst Dem in the US House the centre RW Jared Golden (who stopped going to any Democratic House meetings years ago, to give but one example, plus has had so many terrible votes siding with the Rethugs), announced his retirement.

Maine Democratic voters who have been polled for months (in re the Democratic primary) are exhibiting a huge disconnect from the 'Never-Platner' types on DU. Mills is really looking like a likely big fail when it comes to stopping Platner from advancing to the general.

I have no doubt that Collins, the Rethugs, the MAGAts, and all sorts of AIPAC and AIPAC-adjacent (RW billionaire funded to huge degrees) pro-Israel-no-matter-what-they-do types will drop 100+ million USD taking giant shits on Platner in the general, if he wins the primary.

But that in no way means Mills (especially now with the way the Dems in Maine are expressing their preferences) would defeat Collins either. She too has a lot of baggage and/or problematic stances and/or other issues, they just are of different types than Platner has, but they absolutely are still real problems to winning both the primary and the general. A big one is her openly anti-union actual stances and her veto of collective bargaining rights.

US Senate races are different from state governship races. You can have a Dem state governor, but that in no ways auato-translates to US Senate wins. Examples: Kentucky, Kansas, and North Carolina. All have Dem governors, but none currently have a single Dem US Senator. Wisconsin has a Dem gov, but also has the shit MAGAt Ron 'Kremlim-licker' Johnson as a one of their 2 US Senators.

My main point for some time (in re the Maine 2026 US Senate race) has been the failure of both the national (Schumer and then Gillibrand were 'Mills and only Mills' from the jump) and also the Maine state Democratic parties to recruit a higher quality of US Senate Dem primary candidate. Same thing happened in 2020 as well (Collins again, in fact Collins got lucky in 2014 and 2008 as well, in terms of the quality of Dem opponents she faced).

Shumer needed to pick a better candidate, he’s got DNC establishment priorities that a not aligned with the electorate. AIPAC funded candidates need to be rejected, period.

over a highly qualified woman who may or may not have received donations from one particular PAC when politicians get loads of money from various PACs?

That's your only criteria?

Hmm.

BTW, I think you mean AIPAC.

I'm getting really strong pro-Palestinian protesters yelling "war criminal" vibes.

The ones who still protest Harris and ignore the filth that's actually in charge destroying everything.

I wonder if the fevered passion is motivated by anything other than MAGAt money.

that she's accepted AIPAC funds. Find a link to something that shows she did.

you've got nothing?

pinning that down, rad.

More than accusations here. Got any citations?

And while one can absolutely disagree with Israel without being anti-Semitic, some folks are doing a piss poor job of it.

...and then the seat will again be up for grabs with no inherent advantage for us. A much younger candidate could help us hold the seat for much longer.

I don't see him as unqualified. You don't have to be a lawyer to be a representative. And "community organizer" is a positive in my book, regardless of whether it comes with a law degree.

Nor am I prepared to dismiss him as fundamentally sexist or racist based on old reddit posts, that's a purity test, in a world where the number of white men in congress who have never uttered a racist or sexist comment probably approaches zero. So you might as well say you'll never vote for a white man.

Instead I'd consider whose positions are more in sync with mine, who has a better chance of beating Collins, and who has a better chance of keeping the seat in Dem hands long term.

Bernie Sanders who filed to run in 2030, will be 88-89 years old, and has done very little in Congress aside from naming post offices for the last 30+ years.

Source: https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-files-reelection-89-years-old-2018118

reverts to being an Independent to write/sell books/give speeches complaining about Democrats.

He, like all things in this world, is complicated. His utilization of the Democratic party apparatus is somewhat hypocritical but he is also responsible for forcing the Democratic party to abandon it's comfort blanket of triangulated neoliberalism.

TRUTH, RIGHT FUCKING THERE

then he became a millionaire and just dropped that part, lol.

It would be nice if Democrats got the same benefit of the doubt and support. Nobody accuses him of corruption because of money, yet this has been the constant everyday accusation of Democrats as if just saying it makes it true.

He pushed and got the fed audited

He was the reason unemployment checks got a six hundred dollar a week boost during covid

While Bernie doesn’t have a list of legislation that he passed, he does have a long list of amendments added to legislation to make the legislation help regular people

"Gov Janet Mills is too old"?

Good to know... Mahao, Punkin Pi, and for your enlightening OP.

The Big Irony.. Planter is not even "working class".. he "comes from privilege," which is fine, but why try to say otherwise?

☮️🌻🕯️🕊️💜🌈🌊

NOPE

Of Mills' lack of energy, spark. Are you a Maine voter? If not, mind what's going on in your state, we'll elect our candidate, thank you.

I think platner is another fetterman without the stroke.

Your description seems to come from web sites and TV ads.

I‘ve met her a number of times, talked with her a number of times, including about the tribal issues. Reality is about 180° from your depiction.

The age concern. I mean Sanders ran in 2024 - is now 83 - and no one is concerned about his age.

Bernie Sanders Files to Run for Reelection at 89 Years Old
Published
Jan 21, 2025 at 06:00 AM EST

https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-files-reelection-89-years-old-2018118

And after she did pass the torch the industry just started hounding Jeffries. It never ends!

I will leave it at that.

But it's alllll right because it's allll . . .

Who the extreme Far Leftists who by and large aren't Democrats, and who actually hate our party for our successes consider the 'establishment'. Psss - hint - it's the base.

Amazing tribe on there! Also - I can just write shit and no one gets too upset about it.

Bored with the ageism thing.

If a person needs someone else to light their political fire, might as well join the MAGA faithful servants.

would choose an obviously unqualified man over a highly qualified woman.

Mills' age is a red herring, in that these same voters support other elected officials who are in the same age group as her.

after a successful first term, and after he wins a second that he will indeed be looked at as a candidate for President.

WTF

I think I know why - won't say it here but I think I know. And it's revolting.

This guy has all the signs of turning into the next Fetterman with flashing red lights and effin sirens blaring.

Everyone is allowed to be a little rough around the edges but damn. With this guy, all the characteristics of being a republican and an asshole are just barely under the surface for all to see....
Like Maya Angelou’s famous quote, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time"

Last edited Thu Apr 16, 2026, 10:56 AM - Edit history (1)

... and I have supported him for decades, and, on occasion, defended him against ill-informed condemnation on this very site.
However, I have just emailed him with a request for a justification of his apparent endorsement of a decidedly unqualified candidate, in the person of Graham Platner, as opposed to a proven proponent of Democratic values, Maine Governor Janet Mills.
Platner cannot erase his total lack of legislative experience, his racist, bigoted, and misogynistic public comments, nor his tattoo of a Nazi insignia.
It looks to me like someone in his office didn't do their homework. To paraphrase the immortal words of Desi Arnaz, "Bernie, you got some 'splainin' to do!"

... once he's been made aware of Platner's multitude of shortcomings. As I said, someone in his office should have done their research before recommending that Bernie endorse him. There may be more to this story, but from what I've seen so far, Platner falls far short of being worthy of Senator Sanders' – or anyone else's – endorsement. I suppose it's possible that there is an ongoing conflict with Governor Mills that prompted this, but Mills has made it clear that she detests Trump just as much as Bernie does, so I don't know what their differences might be, hence my request for clarification.
Updates as events warrant.

Why give Sanders a pass by blaming his "office" for the endorsement like he was some bystander in the process.

... with his office in the past, and they've always treated me well, and in one critical instance, went an extra mile to be of assistance to a veteran at my request, and that had a positive outcome that only Bernie's direct intervention could have achieved. I also know that nothing gets in front of Bernie without first undergoing serious scrutiny in his front office.
Like I said, there may well be underlying circumstances not divulged to the public at large, hence my inquiry as to the reasoning behind the endorsement.
I'll let you know what I find out.

you will never receive a satisfactory response....nope

... so I will respectfully disagree.

Bookmarking for sanity.

I agree with the comment above -- we need younger candidates. We also need ones with different social circles, connections, ideas than almost-80-year-olds. I get that white men get more attention, but Maine is a very white state. Mills is white, too.

The bottom line is that the electorate is demanding new blood, new ideas, new connections, new patterns, more aggressiveness. Instead, the old-line Senators like Schumer are once again crowing about recruiting someone who is an "obvious" choice, an established character, someone who is almost 80 years old. Just like the president. I don't think that's the mentality required right now, and now it sets up this primary between someone perceived as old and established versus a non-optimal challenge candidate. He's obviously not an ideal candidate given the concerns above -- the last thing we need is another Fetterman. I was duped by him...or maybe he had a stroke and he's not the same person.

answer to the times we are in. And MOST CERTAINLY susan collins has got to go. I definitely wish that there was a more historically liberal candidate running against Mills.

But this is on the democratic party leadership in Maine. Right now our country is in total transition in every way. Democratic party leaders in the states themselves are not without brains or abilities, but, IMHO, are still too tied up in chasing money for their candidates, and therefore easily influenced. There are so many political policies that have been shaping our elections for so many years to the detriment of our country that it's no surprise we're in this mess.

The whole picture is going to take time to change. We needed to go all in to get rid of Fetterman...the whole party needed to get behind running a better candidate that supports our views. Out of all the people in Pennsylvania, we couldn't come up with someone? Now we're in danger of doing the same thing in Maine. Can Platner be bought or turned like Fetterman has been?

In this voting environment where Democrats could run a "ham sandwich" and win, surely we could have been a slight bit more proactive. So what or who are we going to point fingers at for getting us into this disorganized mess? We can manage a protest with 10 million people, but historically we can't seem to manage our party.

Progressives/leftists were the ones pushing Fetterman. Black folks were warning voters about Fetterman and the incident with the jogger during that primary, but were drowned out.

I happened upon this Xitter post (sorry), but it kind of gives an insight into Platner's allegiances (or lack thereof) regarding the Democratic party and imo, should serve as another warning.

She’s won statewide, along with the other listed achievements, but unfortunately there’s nothing she can do about her age.

I can’t get a read on Platner. I can’t tell if he was just ignorant when he got those tattoos. The stuff he said in the past on Reddit is obviously crazy. He’s never served any kind of elected office. I understand the appeal (outside the obvious), but it may be too much of a gamble.

Not an easy choice for Maine democrats. I also don’t know where it came from that Mills received AIPAC contributions. I couldn’t find a legitimate source backing that claim.

Vetoed legislation to limit foreign , dark money in elections , like aipac

AIPAC is funded, run, and directed by Americans, more than 5,000,000 American citizens are members, and it is registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, rather than under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

As for it being a dark money group, the facts say otherwise.

Because AIPAC is a Qualified Membership Organization PAC, donors must be disclosed. The list of donors is available on the FEC website in AIPAC's filings.

Yeah they both share some similar qualities. Both strike me as kind of shallow with some stupid offensive tattoos on their chest. They were both in the military. Assuming Platner is what he says he is now, they’re just on opposite poles of the ideological spectrum.

He’s definitely not my kind of candidate. But I hate to admit, if he can bring people to vote for a democrat, he may be worth considering.

I have my own choice here in CA for governor. Good luck to democrats in Maine having to decide!

He sent me a text message asking for money, even though I don't live anywhere near his state. This was the first sentence in that message: "Nothing pisses me off more than getting a fundraising text from Democrats talking about how they're fighting fascism...Because it's such B.S. We're not idiots. Everyone knows most of them aren't doing jack right now to fight back."

His next paragraph continues in that vein.

My reply to his text: "I'd suggest that you stop bashing Democrats when you text a Democrat (not even in your state) to beg for money. Nothing pisses *me* off more than that."

This guy needs to go in the dust bin.

He is dominating the primary. By a lot. A lot. A lot a lot.

Mills is campaigning a tepid, Zoom-centric campaign. She does not seem to really want the job. I suspect that is why is she losing the primary. She had to be begged to get into the race. She is slightly contemptuous of her critics (watch a few of her town halls and you'll see it).

Had Mills a bit more fire in her belly, I suspect she wouldn't be polling as poorly as she is, but she is coasting on the "I'm an elder statesman and I deserve this," which is a recipe for failure. To be clear, Platner is ALSO running with an attitude of "I deserve this" with absolutely no institutional credibility. But his pitch is anti-incumbent and he is running a far better campaign.

Platner's allies are Sen. Warren and Sen. Sanders. Mill's allies are Sen. Schumer and Sen. Gillibrand.

We are seeing the shape of our party.

Does he think he can do it alone?

We need all Dems to Win in November.. Not someone "piss" raging about how they're not doing anything.. Which is Clearly Not True.

Well said... I wouldn't have been so nice.

Galighitng and Bashing Dems... We need All Dems to win in November... Not some Anti-Dem from Maine Lying about Dems.

I just couldn't let it go.

sending out Texts like That.

Aloha, rad!

Unfugging believable.

Rad, you should post this as an OP! This is how he begs Democrats for money by bashing them.

WTF!

Please, please post this tomorrow.

I have some stuff going on in the morning but should have time tomorrow afternoon. I see you found it online, so I'll check first to make sure you didn't already post an OP about it.

I did check my email to see if I got one then took a look online to see what it was about.

If you think of it will you send me a DM tomorrow after you post. I am going to be out for a bit as well.

TY!

or rad Post it tomorrow...

As you say .. asking Dems to give him money while Bashing Dems.

ETA~ Wonder whose idea thta was to Switch to Bashing Dems?

Don't Sanders and Heinrich and the media personalities mentioned openly claim to be progressive?

What a snarky little "mean girl" type article

Agree 100%.

Sore loser writing.

But there is nothing "progressive" about any of this (from the OP)...

... until it suits them to rip on progressives, then they hide from the label. Happens with some frequency, they appear shameless.

Certain people seem more interested in finding their version of Trump than doing the boring work of helping people.

Negative shit I hear about Mills, she's getting my vote. I've seen her in action and been watching her for some time.


That mercenary guy is a novice at most things, other than being a misogynist dickhead, and I don't think he can even visualize what it means to represent me in the Senate. His learning curve is vertical and that's not going to help us when, once again, we need seasoned legislators in Congress.

Frankly, I don't give a fuck how old she is, she's got the right stuff to do what needs to be done at this time. Like Nancy Pelosi, I'll vote for her because she's the real deal.