Graham Platner is a 41-year-old oyster farmer and Marine veteran who is running to be the Democratic Party's Maine Senate nominee. A political outsider, he would face incumbent Republican Susan Collins in the general election if he managed to prevail against establishment Democrat Janet Mills, the current governor, aged 77.
Until this week, Platner had a lot going for him. He is a left populist endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) with some natural talent for effective political communication, i.e., he sounds like a normal person. At a time of extreme dissatisfaction with Democratic leadership and the nominees they have managed to recruit, a charismatic outsider with a working-class background could be just what the party ordered. Plus, he's decades younger than his primary opponent, Mills, who would be the oldest freshman senator in U.S. history.
