Can a Maine Oyster Farmer Defeat a Five-Term Republican Senator?

"Across the bay from Bar Harbor lies the small town of Sullivan, Maine, population twelve hundred and nineteen. On August 16th, Graham Platner, the bearded, strawberry-blond co-owner of the Waukeag Neck Oyster Company, brought his Carolina Skiff over to the Sullivan Harbor launch. It was three days before a video titled "Platner for U.S. Senate" would drop, catapulting this local oyster farmer, harbormaster, and former marine onto the national stage."

"The video was produced by Morris Katz, a top political strategist for New York City's Democratic mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani. "Within a few minutes of talking to him, I was, like, 'This guy owes it to the country to run for Senate,'" Katz recalled, of his first meeting with Platner. The video was meant to present the forty-one-year-old Maine native as a rugged and likable working-class Democratic candidate running to unseat Susan Collins,"

"Standing at the helm of his boat, Platner tells the camera, "When I tell people around here that I'm running for Senate, sometimes the initial reaction is, 'What the --?' There's a bleeped-out expletive, and Platner laughs. Then he gets serious: "It seems like the fabric of what holds us together is being ripped apart by billionaires and corrupt politicians profiting off destroying our environment, driving our families into poverty, and crushing the middle cl"

Graham Platner is a forty-one-year-old Maine native, oyster farmer, harbormaster, and former Marine mounting a U.S. Senate challenge to Susan Collins. A promotional video showcased his working-class, outdoorsman image, family life, and tattoos to introduce him to a wider audience. Morris Katz, a Democratic political strategist, produced the video and encouraged Platner to run. The video frames Platner as a rugged, likable candidate positioned to appeal to local voters. Platner criticizes billionaires and corrupt politicians for harming the environment and families. The campaign has drawn attention and support from across the political spectrum as Collins faces a potentially vulnerable 2026 reëlection bid.

Read at The New Yorker