Explore the latest developments concerning Democratic youth-focused groups.
Can a Maine oyster farmer defeat Sen. Susan Collins and save the Democrats?
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This isn’t typically a busy political season in Maine, with the primary some eight months away. But Graham Platner — the Down East oyster farmer hoping to defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a key race that could determine control of the U.S. Senate next year — is attracting big crowds.
"Everybody in Maine knows that the system that we live in is screwing us. All of us know this," Platner said on a recent evening at a crowded pizza restaurant in Rockport.
Platner spoke to a packed room, while an overflow crowd of several hundred people gathered outside. With a shock of blond hair and tattooed arms, he offered a populist economic message that takes aim at the high cost of living and a system he says is rigged against working people.
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Platner Pledges 'There Will Be Consequences' for Trump Invading US Cities
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Graham Platner, a Democrat running for US Senate in Maine, held several town halls across the state in mid-October 2025.
The Democratic Senate candidate wants Senate hearings on the "illegal and unconstitutional behavior" of agents carrying out the president's mass deportation agenda.
As immigration agents continue to terrorize communities across the United States under the command of President Donald Trump, Democrat Graham Platner is speaking out from Maine, where he is running to unseat longtime Republican US Sen. Susan Collins next year.