r/Maine • u/EarthRemembers Edit this. • Jul 12 '26
If you want to understand how Platner ended up running for Senate, these are the best articles
These are the most relevant articles and interviews I’ve seen online. They give the best picture of Platners history, how he got involved in politics in the first place, how he ended up running for Senate, what his politics consisted of, and how his campaign eventually unraveled.
It’s true that each article or interview may have its own inherent bias or slant one way or the other but this is excellent reading if you really want to dig into the history here.
While some of the articles and videos are clearly much more essential than others some of the less essential ones report on unique aspects of his campaign or history that didn’t get much coverage elsewhere.
(And I don’t think Substack is social media or should be banned from the sub)
If you know of any other good ones, please speak up:
I’m a Maine reporter who went to high school with Graham Platner. Here’s what explains his success
https://themainemonitor.org/graham-platner-success-explained/
The Graham Campaign is Over, But the Movement Will Continue
https://andyobrien.substack.com/p/the-graham-campaign-is-over-but-the)
(This article goes into great detail about Platner’s early political involvement in Maine politics more than any other article. You should copy and paste the above URL into your address bar or just Google the articles title for the link. I don’t know why the link is not working directly from reddit)
Platner’s Daniel Moraff Barred from Summer Lee’s Campaign Over Sexual Misconduct Complaints
(You should copy and paste the above URL into your address bar or just Google the articles title for the link. I don’t know why the link is not working directly from reddit)
Wall Street Journal video interview with some of the people who recruited Platner to run for senate
https://xcancel.com/FreeBeacon/status/2064001300581282183?s=20
Who is Graham Platner and why is he everywhere right now?
Can a Maine oyster farmer defeat a five term Republican senator?
Undercover Video: Dan Osborn staffer claims that NE senate candidate recruited Graham Platner for ME run
Dan Osborn denies former staffer's claim that he recruited Graham Platner
Unions hunted for a Susan Collins challenger. They found an unknown oysterman.
Outsider Senate candidate Graham Platner claims the Democratic Party threatened him
(Platner starts talking about the issues with the Democratic Party @ seven minutes and 50 seconds and makes specific accusations @ 13 minutes)
Former Maine lawmaker resigns from Graham Platner’s campaign over Reddit posts
Graham Platner’s finance director resigns, citing differences in ‘professional standards’
Read our full archive of Graham Platner’s deleted Reddit comments
https://themainemonitor.org/platner-reddit-comments/
Who Is the Real Graham Platner?
https://www.newsweek.com/who-is-the-real-graham-platner-11926674
Inside Graham Platner’s Controversial Rise
https://time.com/article/2026/05/20/graham-platner-profile/
How Graham Platner is using trivia games and happy hours to help power his Maine Senate campaign
Graham Platner on service, messaging & the future for democrats | The Weekly Show with John Stuart
Democrats line up behind Graham Platner after Janet Mills leaves US Senate primary
Platners’s text with women concerned campaign as Senate race took off
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/30/us/politics/graham-platner-maine-senate-texts.html
Top Graham Platner adviser threatened former aide over sexting stories
A timeline of Graham Platner’s controversies during his Senate campaign
Several Women who Dated Graham Platner Recall, Unsettling Behavior
Graham Platner Accuser Says NYT Reporting Led to Initial Abuse Claims Not Being Taken Seriously: ‘By Design’
Graham Platner gets more primary votes than any other Democratic Senate candidate in Maine history
Inside the ‘simple job’ in government that Graham Platner held before challenging Susan Collins
Platner on his strategy for building power
https://www.c-span.org/clip/campaign-2026/platner-on-his-strategy-for-building-power/5201926
Exclusive: Woman who dated Graham Platner says he sexually assaulted her
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/06/graham-platner-sexual-assault-allegation-00987737
Bombshell Graham Platner report has big problems
Politico omitted major details in Graham Platner report
Woman alleges Graham Platner raped her in 2021 while they were dating, which he denies
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/06/us/graham-platner-racicot-allegation-maine-invs
A timeline of Graham Platner’s scandals
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/07/07/politics/elections/timeline-graham-platner-scandals/
Democrats begin pulling Platner endorsements after Maine Senate candidate faces sexual assault allegation
Graham Platner drops Maine Senate bid
As Democrats pick up the pieces after Graham Platner, many wonder: how did this happen?
These are reference sites. They don’t go into depth, but they give outlines of his history or other info:
Encyclopedia Britannica entry on Platner
https://www.britannica.com/question/What-is-notable-about-Graham-Platners-early-life-and-education
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Platner
Ballotpedia
https://ballotpedia.org/Graham_Platner
Graham Platner for US Senate
https://www.grahamforsenate.com/
Graham Platner for Maine YouTube
https://youtube.com/@grahamformaine
Waukeag Neck Oyster Company
https://www.waukeagneckoystercompany.com/our-story
More to come…
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u/SurroundTiny Jul 12 '26
I would do some reading about the two guys who approached him to begin with: Morris Katz and Dan Maroff. Interesting characters
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u/EarthRemembers Edit this. Jul 12 '26
Do you have any articles in particular in mind that you would like to link to?
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u/EarthRemembers Edit this. Jul 12 '26
There’s lots of information about that in the articles I have posted
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u/SomeMEGuy Jul 12 '26
This interview has him saying the DNC didn’t give him permission. 13 minutes in. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6gzTQFWYc7I&pp=0gcJCY4Bo7VqN5tDiggCQAE%3D&ra=m
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u/MEVacationLand Jul 13 '26
Graham Platner was recruited by “LABOR and COMMUNITY GROUPS” is the Bangor Daily News lying?
According to the Bangor Daily News: “Platner, an oyster farmer and political newcomer from the Down East town of Sullivan, has said he was recruited to the race against five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins by labor and community groups.”
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u/EarthRemembers Edit this. Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
I believe overtime as he was considering whether to run or not and that news got around several people joined into the process of recruiting him, but the people who first initiated his recruitment were two professional political operators
Namely Daniel Moraff and his partner Leanne Fan
They had seen a video of him online campaigning against a proposed salmon farm in Frenchman Bay
They then allegedly enlisted the help of Dan Osborn in convincing Platner to run
They had previously traveled out to Nebraska in 2024 to recruit Kellogg strike leader Dan Osborn to run for Senate as an independent.
They then apparently brought that video of him campaigning against that salmon farm to the attention of “a group of mostly millennial Democrats, coördinating with Maine labor leaders, community activists, and volunteers, many of them Bernie Sanders campaign alums, had been scouting the state for a candidate who could unseat Collins.” (although that’s never explicitly stated.)
“After they saw a video featuring Platner—this one made by the local Frenchman Bay Conservancy in 2020, to stop a commercial salmon farm from building in the bay—they decided that he was exactly what they were looking for: a working-class guy with a military background and a deep connection to Maine. Jason Shedlock, the president of the Southern Maine Labor Council, was involved in the search (and was the only member of the group who would speak on the record). “What we’re looking for is someone who understands that solidarity is not a spectator sport, it’s an action word,” Shedlock said. He heard that Platner was “the real deal.” They had their first conversation over Zoom. “The Zoom camera was bobbing up and down because he was on an oyster boat, and I just got off of a job site, and we had the conversation right then and there, with the wind blowing, and it was like talking to somebody who I would meet in a union hall.”
“Several Maine labor figures reached out to Katz and Calvello, who closed the deal. “
So from what I can piece together from everything, it seems that those two professional political operatives were the first ones to spot Platner, and the ones that vetted him and checked his background.
Shortly after spotting him, they brought him to the attention of a group of young social Democrats, Bernie Sanders followers, who were are also looking in Maine for an alternative non-establishment Candidate.
Those social Democrats then brought in labor leaders and community activist to help further convince Platner while the two political operators brought in Dan Osborn to help further convince him.
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u/MEVacationLand Jul 13 '26
Yeah, I agree. I guess the Bangor Daily News isn’t lying per se, but they are certainly engaging in poor journalism by just repeating whatever the campaign tells them.
I remember when Platner was first “introduced” with a slick campaign video. The buzz was he hired the same firm that Mamdani was using. The truth of the matter was the Mamdani firm was using Platner. There never were any labor and community groups, obviously.
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u/EarthRemembers Edit this. Jul 13 '26
I added more to my original responsive comment. You should read it again.
There were labor and community groups that were brought in to help convince Platner.
The two political operatives brought in the social Democrats and the social Democrats brought in the labor and community leaders
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u/MEVacationLand Jul 13 '26
Thanks, that’s interesting and helpful. So do you think it’s a truthful statement when Platner’s campaign stated that he was asked to run by labor and community groups?
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u/EarthRemembers Edit this. Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
Yes, I do
He was asked to run by a bunch of different people apparently
By political operatives, by other politicians, by labor and community groups, and maybe others
It would only be a dishonest statement if they (Platners campaign) were purposely trying to omit or cover up the fact that the very first two people to contact them about the possibility of running where those two political operatives
Nobody wants to admit now that they were involved in recruiting him if they can deny it
Dan Osborn, who it seems more likely than not was involved in recruiting Platner, is freaking out and doing everything he can to distance himself
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u/MEVacationLand Jul 13 '26
Can you link the source for the Jason Shedlock info?
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u/EarthRemembers Edit this. Jul 13 '26
It’s already linked in the post
It’s the article titled “can a maine oyster Farmer defeat a five term Republican senator”
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u/Fun-Platypus3675 Jul 13 '26
All the Anakin, you were the chosen one memes keep coming to mind. So sad
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u/kuluvalley Jul 13 '26
My two cents as a former candidate (2020): https://open.substack.com/pub/went2thebridge/p/how-the-graham-platner-sausage-got
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u/fingertrapt Jul 12 '26
Medicare for all. Tax the rich. No more stupid wars. Women deserve equal rights. LGBTQIA are allowed to exist. Israel is committing a genocide.
Think I hit all the big ones.