Graham Platner against tested and true Susan Collins

Graham Platner is being marketed as a hardscrabble – hard working oyster farmer. He rails against businesses, the elites, and the rich. The record tells a different story, one of a man from a wealthy and privileged family with no observable skills, failures, and a troubling personal history.

He left the elite Hotchkiss School in Connecticut either by choice or by request. He has no college degree, having withdrawn from George Washington University. His wealthy father helped him buy a home and his mother reportedly buys most of his oysters. At 41 his major income is full disability from the VA and support from his parents.

There are plenty of concerning issues beyond a recently covered Nazi Totenkopf tattoo.  Posting as P-Hustle (from age 24-37) his Reddit posts include victim-blaming on sexual assault, questioning why “Black people don’t tip,” calling himself a “communist”, and calling cops “bastards.” He called rural Mainers as a whole, “racist and stupid.” He accepted the characterization of lobstermen as “drug addicted maniacs”.

No visible skills on his resume, no college degree, no legislative experience, no business success, minimal leadership experience, and a history of family financial support alongside a field of red flags.  What business would hire this all-risk no-reward guy?  He is the poster child for a low performance disgruntled employee

Susan Collins stands in stark contrast. She is the first Maine Senator to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee in 92 years. In 150 years only 31 Senators have held that position. It is a testament to her hard work and the respect she has earned in her years as a Senator. Senator Collins has provided Maine with steady, effective representation grounded in experience and results. In her relatively new Chair position, she wields great influence to secure federal resources that directly benefit Maine communities. She is in a unique position to dig Maine out of the hole Janet Mills and her administration have put us in.

Since 2021, Collins has directed nearly $1.5 billion in targeted investments across all 16 Maine counties. These funded infrastructure, healthcare facilities, first responders, workforce training, and economic development projects. Her defense advocacy has sustained thousands of high-paying jobs at Bath Iron Works, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and Pratt & Whitney. During the pandemic, she authored the bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program, which helped protect over 250,000 Maine jobs.

Collins maintains the longest perfect voting record in Senate history, more than 10,000 consecutive votes—reflecting her commitment to showing up for Mainers every day. She has a consistent record of working across party lines on issues ranging from rural healthcare and Alzheimer’s research to small business support and veterans’ services.

It would be a disaster to lose a woman who has done so much for her state especially at a time when Maine is in so much trouble. Maine has waited 92 years; we need to keep Senator Collins in Washington representing our state.