Senate Democrats are warming up to an upstart oyster farmer in the crucial Maine Senate race. Now they’ll have to decide if they are willing to snub their party’s dream recruit to support him.
So far, Graham Platner only has one public endorsement from a sitting senator, Vermont independent Bernie Sanders. But more than a half-dozen Democratic senators sang his praises in interviews this week, even as Minority Leader Chuck Schumer grows closer to landing his top recruiting target to run against Sen. Susan Collins — not Platner, but Gov. Janet Mills.
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), who praised Platner in a recent X post, said in an interview that he has written Platner’s campaign a check. He’s also showing Platner’s viral social media videos to colleagues.
“I really appreciate people who are good communicators,” Heinrich said. “Graham is somebody who can go anywhere in Maine and genuinely connect with people. We need more candidates like that.”
Other Senate Democrats, including Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, have privately spoken to Platner.
“He’s off to a really strong start and has a wonderfully appealing local background and story,” said Whitehouse.
The question many of them are avoiding for the time being is whether Platner, a 41-year-old Marine Corps and Army veteran who has built undeniable grassroots buzz, is the better choice to take on Collins than Mills, the 77-year-old two-term governor who was in elected office when Platner was born.
Mills has said she is “seriously considering” a run and has interviewed potential campaign managers. She expects to make a formal announcement by next month, with Democrats widely expecting her to jump in.
Whitehouse, for instance, called Platner a “qualified candidate” but demurred when asked if Platner was more formidable than Mills, saying he would not “step into that conversation.”
The Maine race is at the heart of Democrats’ uphill path back to the Senate majority, needing to flip a net of four seats in next year’s midterms. Democrats have perennially tried to oust Collins, the only blue-state Senate Republican left, and fallen short, including in a contentious 2020 race where they were confident they had her beat.
But the 2026 contest is also set to be another high-profile test of where the power lies within Democrats’ competing factions, with the popular, establishment-aligned Mills facing off with Platner, who has earned fans on the left with his populist message, and a host of other contenders.
Early indications are that Platner is a legitimate contender. He has drawn large crowds and an enthusiastic online response that has helped fuel his campaign, which announced Wednesday that it has raised $4 million since its launch, with nearly $1 million raised in the past week.
Sanders, who has split with Schumer in a number of primaries, said he believed Platner “stands an excellent chance to beat Senator Collins.”
“There is a growing understanding that we need candidates from the working class who understand what working families are going through, who are prepared to stand up to the billionaire class and fight for an agenda that works for all, not just the people on top,” he said.
Mills has plenty of fans inside the Senate Democratic Caucus, who view her entrance into the Senate race as a game-changing recruiting coup on the same level as netting Sherrod Brown’s entry in Ohio or Roy Cooper in North Carolina. National Democrats believe Mills is the strongest candidate, given her history of winning statewide. But unlike Brown or Cooper, Mills’ expected candidacy isn’t clearing the primary field at this point.
Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, hasn’t endorsed in the race but said in a brief interview Wednesday that he believes Mills will be a strong candidate. And Schumer has made no secret that he wants Mills to run against Collins.
He and other top party leaders believe Mills’ name recognition and popularity in Maine would give her a better chance against Collins, who has proven difficult to beat despite being a prime target for Democrats for years. Mills won her last race by roughly 13 percentage points.
Neither Schumer nor Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the Senate Democratic campaign chair, has reached out to Platner, according to a person granted anonymity to describe private conversations. Platner, for his part, has said he won’t support Schumer for party leader if he wins the election.
Maine hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1988, the last time former Majority Leader George Mitchell ran. The state’s other sitting senator, Angus King, is an independent who, like Sanders, caucuses with Democrats.
King said Wednesday that his general practice is not to campaign against colleagues, and he expects to stick with that next year — including not endorsing in the primary.
Platner has caught the attention, though, of two key groups within the Senate Democratic Caucus — younger members and progressives. Still, several in those cadres say that while his message has put him on their radar, they’re stopping short of backing him over a potential Mills candidacy for the time being.
“I’ve seen a bunch of his stuff, and it’s killer,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), adding that Platner “seems pretty impressive.”
But asked if Platner was being overlooked by party leaders, Murphy said only that he looks forward to meeting the candidate and learning more about him.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) declined to discuss private discussions about the Maine race but offered support for candidates like Platner jumping into the fray.
“I’m excited to see new people enter the race for the Senate,” she said, “particularly those who have a strong voice they’re willing to use on behalf of people who are often ignored in the U.S. Senate.”
