Graham Platner Was Left for Dead. So Why Is He Winning?
Graham Platner at a town hall in Ogunquit, Maine, on Oct. 22, 2025. Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters.
Many people assumed Graham Platner’s Senate candidacy was dead in October. Instead, the oyster farmer and veteran [kept campaigning][1], and [continued][2] [drawing][3] [overflow][4] [crowds][5] to town halls all over Maine.
His Democratic opponent, Janet Mills, Maine’s current two-term governor, has led a quieter campaign, and with three months left in the primary, [polls][6] suggest Platner is in the lead. Recent surveys, including a poll [released][7] Monday, suggest Platner would be a stronger candidate to face incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins, too.
It was, of course, fair to expect Platner wouldn’t get past the news that he, for years, had a chest tattoo – dating back to his time in the Marines – that resembled a skull-and-crossbones symbol used by the Nazis, even after he [apologized][8] and got the tattoo covered up.
Months later, it’s clear the conventional wisdom about Platner’s demise was wrong. What’s happening in Maine, on the ground, is a fundamentally different story.
[Subscribe now][9]
**Zeteo** spoke with Platner over the weekend about the state of the Senate race, after he led a protest outside Collins’s Portland office to speak out against her vote in favor of Donald Trump’s illegal war.
As part of our wide-ranging conversation, Platner discussed why Trump’s war in Iran is “uniquely bad,” how he survived his tattoo scandal, and why he thinks it won’t doom his campaign if he makes it to the general election. “Everybody in Maine knows about it already,” he says. Platner also shared why he’s sick of being compared to John Fetterman, and what he’d like to say to Ted Cruz. (Spoiler: It’s not kind, but certainly relatable.)
*Below is our conversation, which has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity: *
[ Read more ][10]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/graham-platner-senate-maine-interview
[2]: https://x.com/aobrien2010/status/1982939801558175882
[3]: https://x.com/nathanTbernard/status/1989708413891199019
[4]: https://x.com/PHirschkorn/status/2030811763260772789
[5]: https://x.com/carinemhajjar/status/2030751454059725271
[6]: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/maine-us-senate-election-polls-2026.html
[7]: https://polls.quantusinsights.org/polls/maine-senate-quantus-mxnu1zpr
[8]: https://x.com/grahamformaine/status/1981087613466660950
[9]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[10]: https://zeteo.com/p/graham-platner-maine-campaign-primary
https://zeteo.com/p/graham-platner-maine-campaign-primary
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2026-03-10 19:35:54 UTC
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"content": "Graham Platner Was Left for Dead. So Why Is He Winning?\n\nGraham Platner at a town hall in Ogunquit, Maine, on Oct. 22, 2025. Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters.\n\nMany people assumed Graham Platner’s Senate candidacy was dead in October. Instead, the oyster farmer and veteran [kept campaigning][1], and [continued][2] [drawing][3] [overflow][4] [crowds][5] to town halls all over Maine.\n\nHis Democratic opponent, Janet Mills, Maine’s current two-term governor, has led a quieter campaign, and with three months left in the primary, [polls][6] suggest Platner is in the lead. Recent surveys, including a poll [released][7] Monday, suggest Platner would be a stronger candidate to face incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins, too.\n\nIt was, of course, fair to expect Platner wouldn’t get past the news that he, for years, had a chest tattoo – dating back to his time in the Marines – that resembled a skull-and-crossbones symbol used by the Nazis, even after he [apologized][8] and got the tattoo covered up.\n\nMonths later, it’s clear the conventional wisdom about Platner’s demise was wrong. What’s happening in Maine, on the ground, is a fundamentally different story.\n\n[Subscribe now][9]\n\n**Zeteo** spoke with Platner over the weekend about the state of the Senate race, after he led a protest outside Collins’s Portland office to speak out against her vote in favor of Donald Trump’s illegal war.\n\nAs part of our wide-ranging conversation, Platner discussed why Trump’s war in Iran is “uniquely bad,” how he survived his tattoo scandal, and why he thinks it won’t doom his campaign if he makes it to the general election. “Everybody in Maine knows about it already,” he says. Platner also shared why he’s sick of being compared to John Fetterman, and what he’d like to say to Ted Cruz. (Spoiler: It’s not kind, but certainly relatable.)\n\n*Below is our conversation, which has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity: *\n\n[ Read more ][10]\n\n[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/graham-platner-senate-maine-interview\n[2]: https://x.com/aobrien2010/status/1982939801558175882\n[3]: https://x.com/nathanTbernard/status/1989708413891199019\n[4]: https://x.com/PHirschkorn/status/2030811763260772789\n[5]: https://x.com/carinemhajjar/status/2030751454059725271\n[6]: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/maine-us-senate-election-polls-2026.html\n[7]: https://polls.quantusinsights.org/polls/maine-senate-quantus-mxnu1zpr\n[8]: https://x.com/grahamformaine/status/1981087613466660950\n[9]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?\n[10]: https://zeteo.com/p/graham-platner-maine-campaign-primary\n\n\nhttps://zeteo.com/p/graham-platner-maine-campaign-primary",
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