Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., reacts to applause during the Democratic National Convention in Aug. 2024, in Chicago. (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Thursday she’s backing political newcomer Graham Platner in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.
Warren, a prominent progressive from Massachusetts and 2020 Democratic presidential contender, said she thinks Platner is the best candidate to take on five-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November.
“Graham Platner is going to flip Maine and then actually deliver change for working people in the Senate,” Warren said in a written statement.
Warren is ramping up her efforts to elect progressives in this year’s midterm elections. In January, she donated a combined $400,000 to 23 state party committees, including Maine’s, Politico reported.
“He’s a combat veteran, an oyster farmer, and has inspired people with his populist agenda for a government on the side of working families — not the billionaires and giant corporations,” Warren said. “Graham will fight every single day to make life better for the people of Maine in the United States Senate. I’m proud to endorse him.”
The announcement marks Platner’s fourth endorsement from a sitting U.S. senator.
“It is an honor to be endorsed by Senator Elizabeth Warren,” Platner said in a written statement. “Senator Warren has spent her career fighting those who use power and wealth to take advantage of working families. She’s been an inspiration and I look forward to working by her side in the Senate to take on Wall Street, monopolies, and the corruption in Washington.”
Platner is running against two-term Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who is being backed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and has received financial backing from six other Democratic senators. The differing preferences of high-profile senators illustrates the ongoing debate over the future of the Democratic Party.
Mills, a 78-year-old career public servant who has won two statewide races, is making the case that she’s best suited to take on Collins.
But some Democrats are clamoring for a new generation of leadership after President Joe Biden ended his 2024 campaign amid questions about his age. He was 81 at the time.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont progressive, helped catapult Platner to the national stage by endorsing the 41-year-old combat veteran and oyster farmer at a Labor Day rally in Portland that more than 6,000 people attended.
Platner’s launch was also assisted by two national political advisers: Joe Calvello and Morris Katz, who both worked on Zohran Mamdani’s insurgent campaign for New York City mayor.
Polls have shown the Sullivan harbormaster and former planning board member leading Mills in the primary and Collins in the general election, although both he and the governor are generally within pollsters’ margin of error in hypothetical matchups against the Republican incumbent.
Warren’s endorsement comes at a crucial moment. The Mills campaign on Tuesday launched its first negative ad, highlighting Platner’s 2013 Reddit posts about how victims of sexual assault deserve some blame.
Platner has disavowed those comments, saying they were posted when he was struggling with isolation and post-traumatic stress disorder after serving four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The ad is a harbinger of attacks Platner could face in a head-to-head match-up with Collins, who Republicans are looking to defend with at least $42 million worth of ads.
Warren’s support is not surprising, given Platner’s progressive positions on issues like Medicare for all and abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The senior adviser for Warrens’ 2020 presidential campaign also worked briefly as Platner’s campaign manager.
That adviser, Kevin Brown, left the campaign after about a week on the job, citing his wife’s pregnancy. But he left when others were leaving the campaign amid fallout from reporting on Platner’s Reddit posts and his disclosure of a tattoo resembling a Nazi “Totenkopf,” symbol.
Platner has said he didn’t know the skull-and-crossbone tattoo was linked to Nazis, and has since had it covered. But his former political director questioned that claim, noting his interest in military history and World War II.
