Hello,
Last night, over 650 people came out on a Wednesday evening to ask questions and hear how we are going to defeat Susan Collins at our town hall in Biddeford, Maine.
This was our 33rd public town hall event. That is 33 more than Susan Collins – or any Democrat – has held in this race. And we’re already planning more.
I hold these town halls because I believe that if you want to claim to represent working class people, then you need to show up in places and at times when working class people can actually come. Working class Mainers don’t have time to drive hours in the middle of a workday to go yell at their representatives. You have to show up in their communities at times convenient for them. So that is what we are doing.
The DC political establishment and beltway media are salivating to declare our campaign dead. But we are not going to be lectured by Donald Trump, Chuck Schumer, the oligarchs, AIPAC, or the corporate-funded Super PACs about who can and cannot be a United States senator.
These town halls have been nothing short of remarkable on a human level. I talk with folks one-on-one before and after who pour their hearts out to me. Who share really vulnerable truths about the challenges they and their families are facing. Who want to know what I’m going to do to help them. It’s frankly the best part of running for office.
I’ve also faced a lot of tough questions. People have heard a lot of lies and half-truths about who I am and what I stand for. But it’s also true that I did and said a lot of things in an earlier part of my life that I now regret. And I am just as grateful for the people that take time out of their busy lives to come ask the hard questions and demand accountability as I am for the supporters. That’s how our democracy is supposed to work.
The establishment is scared. They’ve tried ripping my life apart. They’ve tried dragging my name through the mud. They’ve tried everything they can to make sure that this Marine veteran and oyster farmer isn’t able to go to DC and fight for big things like passing Medicare for All, stopping taxpayer-funded genocide, and ending the kidnapping of American citizens by masked, armed secret police into unmarked vans.
We’re not going to let them stop us, though. Our campaign is not about me, and it’s not just about defeating Susan Collins either. We are building a working class movement to take on the oligarchy and stop the fascists who are destroying our country.
Every day, every conversation, every town hall, every dollar, every phone bank… We become more powerful, more organized, and more united.
We are going to take on the entire DC political establishment and the billionaire class to defeat Susan Collins. And we are going to do it together.
In solidarity,
Graham Platner