AUGUSTA — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner said Tuesday the country needs “massive, systemic change” to improve the lives of Americans struggling to get by.
“What we need in this country is a clear political message about who is to blame,” he said. “It isn’t immigrants. It’s not trans kids. It’s billionaires. It’s corporations. It’s Wall Street.”
Platner told the crowd at a charter school in Augusta that he wants to go to Washington as part of the progressive wing of the party that’s not afraid to do big things.
Platner, an oyster farmer and combat veteran, faces Gov. Janet Mills and former federal official David Costello of Brunswick in the June 9 primary. All are fighting for the right to take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.
Platner spent the first few minutes of the town hall talking about President Donald Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran and the announcement late Tuesday that he was postponing additional bombing for two weeks.
“When I go all over the state of Maine and talk to folks, nobody thinks this thing is a good idea,” said Platner, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While Platner continues his statewide town hall tour — Tuesday was his 54th — Mills released her policy platform.
“As attorney general and as governor, I have stood up to Donald Trump, fought corruption, and gotten big things done like expanding health care, protecting reproductive rights, addressing extreme storm damage caused by climate change, making historic investments in housing, and expanding childcare,” she said in a statement.
The plan outlines more than 50 policies, including instituting term limits on members of Congress, banning congressional stock trading, strengthening the role of Congress over presidential war powers and supporting a wealth tax on the “highest earning Americans.”
In addition, she pledges to support universal health care, reverse rollbacks by the Environmental Protection Agency, and reject funding for immigration agents until reforms are in place.
Platner outlined many of the same priorities on Tuesday, highlighting his support for universal healthcare, the stock trading ban, and requiring Congress to take back war powers from the president.
While Democrats sort out their nominee, Collins, who is seeking a sixth term, faces no June primary opponent. She’ll await the winner in November.
Last time around, Collins easily won reelection in 2020, defeating former Democratic Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon by 9 percentage points.
The 2026 race is one of a handful with national implications as Democrats look to wrest control of the chamber from Republicans, who currently hold a 53-47 majority.
In mid-March, Mills went on offense against Platner, running ads highlighting old social media posts in which he wrote that if women want to avoid being raped, they should make sure they don’t get so altered that “they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to” and that they should “act like an adult.” Both quotes contained expletives.
“When I read through my old internet posts when they resurfaced six months ago, I was horrified,” Platner said immediately after the ads started running. “I did not recognize in them myself or the man that I am today.”
At this point, several polls show Platner leading Mills in the primary. Five debates are scheduled for May, giving voters a chance to size up the candidates ahead of the June election.
As she left the Platner town hall in Augusta, Diane Morin, 73, said she was pleased to see the large turnout for the event. It’s the third time she’s seen Platner speak this campaign season.
She said she has a lot of respect for Mills but thinks it’s time for a new generation of leadership. For her, health care is the priority.
“Being a self-employed person, I would think that universal health care would be great for our nation,” she said. “I think people would have the freedom to work instead of always worrying about how they are going to have to pay for their doctor’s appointment or a hospital visit.”