Platner proves Democrats need to rethink their image of a ‘man of the people’

‘A party aching for working-class cred – and progressives aching for real working-class politics – feel they’re in no position to be picky.’ Photograph: Aleksandra Michalska/Reuters

Ana Marie Cox’s New Republic profile of the Maine oyster farmer and former Democratic senatorial candidate Graham Platner begins with an encounter on the shore with a salt in rubber boots. Learning that she’s looking for Platner, the guy says: “Good man.”

In the 2025 article, Cox is charmed by Platner, who’s as voluble as this guy is terse. She’s impressed by the oyster, calling it a metaphor for “how labor, science, and regulation can still stitch together a community and economy.”.