Meet Graham Platner: Maine’s Veteran Oysterman Ready to Shake Up Washington
Maine has a chance to send a very different kind of leader to Washington
Ben Cable (Originally posted on Substack)
At 40, Graham Platner feels deeply rooted in the rhythms of Maine, from the surf in Sullivan to the frontlines of distant wars. A lifelong Mainer, he served eight years in the military, including four infantry combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and later worked for the State Department in Afghanistan. But after years abroad, he found himself yearning to come home.
Returning in 2018, Platner dove into oyster farming—joining Waukeag Neck Oyster Company. By 2019, he had taken over operations, transforming the small startup into a sustainable and thriving local business.
Farming, Family, and Community: A Life Anchored in Maine
Platner and his wife, Amy, live in Sullivan, surrounded by their animals, the sea, and family ties that run deep. Their life is grounded in a community that knows them not just as a political figure, but as neighbors, friends, and stewards of Maine’s land and sea.
- He runs oysters and also a mooring service, while serving as Harbormaster of Sullivan.
- His roots trace back to his mother’s restaurant, Ironbound Restaurant & Inn, where his oysters often grace the menu, binding his business to generations of Mainers.
- With support from Maine’s Small Business Development Center, Platner crafted a business plan and secured a $20,000 grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, investing in cages and equipment, laying the groundwork for a resilient local enterprise.
Why He’s Running: Personal Stakes, Public Hope
Platner’s candidacy isn’t born of ambition, it’s fueled by duty.
A Return to Serve
Just as he once served overseas, Platner sees political office as another form of service, one grounded in Maine’s working-class communities rather than the nation’s halls of power.
Rural Healthcare & Living Wages
Harvesting oysters taught him the fragility of rural life: shuttering hospitals, high housing costs, and economic precarity aren’t abstractions—they hit home every day.
Against Lifelong Partisanship
He rejects the “liberal” label, pointing instead to his time as a competitive pistol shooter, a rural Mainer, and someone who “grew up where guns are part of our existence.” His campaign targets a system he believes has lost touch with what “deliberation and moderation” promise versus deliver.
Susan Collins: The Incumbent & Her Controversial Votes
Over the last year, Senator Susan Collins has faced backlash for a series of high-profile votes that underscore both her centrist reputation and the frustration it generates among Mainers. In early 2025, she voted against Donald Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” citing the devastating impact its Medicaid and SNAP cuts would have on rural Maine families. Then, in mid-2025, she broke with her party again by opposing the Rescissions Act, a measure that slashed foreign aid and defunded NPR and PBS; Collins sided with Democrats in voting to preserve public broadcasting and global health programs. While these moves highlight her willingness to occasionally buck the Republican line, they also reinforce a broader sense of discontent: that Collins’ brand of “strategic dissent” rarely translates into the structural change that struggling Mainers feel they desperately need.
A Face of Authenticity vs. the Establishment
Platner brings real stakes and real stories, not political scripts:
- A veteran returning home, choosing oysters and community over bureaucracy.
- A family man, anchored in rural Maine.
- A business owner, building local resilience through sustainable aquaculture.
- And a visionary, rejecting empty moderation in favor of bold solutions—universal health care, taxing the oligarchs, and redirecting resources from endless wars to thriving communities.
What This Means for 2026
- November 3, 2026: Maine will decide whether continuity or transformation leads its future.
- On the Democratic side, Platner, along with Jordan Wood, David Costello, Tucker Favreau, and others, is taking their place, even with Gov. Janet Mills still undecided.
- Maine’s tilt blue in national contests gives Platner’s challenge real weight. If he can bridge rural authenticity and progressive ambition, his campaign could redefine how Maine and perhaps the nation sees power from the ground up.
Storytelling Through Contrast
This isn’t just a campaign profile—it’s a human story:
- The child soldier returned, choosing oysters over operations.
- The business-building husband, planting seeds for community survival.
- The veteran-citizen, transforming battlefield training into grassroots service.
“It’s not enough to care,” Platner says, “you have to act.” That mantra pulses through his campaign’s core: leadership born of belonging, not detachment.
The Citizen Ben Call to Action
Maine has a chance to send a very different kind of leader to Washington, one who knows the weight of war, the grind of small business, and the cost of living paycheck to paycheck. The 2026 race isn’t just about one Senate seat. It’s about whether Mainers and Americans still believe in the promise of government by and for the people.
If you’re tired of career politicians trading in “moderation” while families struggle, this is the moment to get involved. Follow Graham Platner’s campaign at grahamforsenate.com, volunteer, donate if you can, and most of all, show up and vote.
Don’t let the same old system decide your future. Maine deserves a senator who lives the life of the people he represents.
-Citizen Ben
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