Graham Platner’s Next Hurdle: Winning Moderates

Whether Graham Platner wins his Senate race in Maine this fall will come down to whether he can win over moderate voters.

That’s the prevailing wisdom among Democrats watching the battleground contest, one of a handful of Senate races this cycle where candidates from both parties will be courting the most moderate voters within their party. Many of them say Platner will have a particularly fraught path to winning over those voters, given his political baggage and progressive proposals.

“We feel like we’re being asked to compromise on our own standards to vote for a compromised candidate, so that person can then do battle with a supremely compromised president,” said a Democratic strategist in Maine not working on the race. “That’s the moral dilemma that unenrolled and moderate Democrats are wrestling with right now.”

Platner is campaigning on universal health care, creating a billionaire minimum tax and overturning Citizens United.

“Championing pie-in-the-sky leftist policies with zero chance of actually becoming law isn’t something that is going to attract a lot of moderate Democrats,” the strategist said. “I haven’t seen anything that looks like an overt strategy to begin courting those voters.”

Platner, an oyster farmer turned rising populist star, faces a tough contest against five-term Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins. He coasted to a primary victory despite a litany of controversies: a Nazi-associated tattoo he has since covered up, derogatory Reddit posts and extramarital sexting.

Now that he’s the nominee, there’s concern among Democrats that a broader electorate won’t so easily overlook those scandals. And that’s of particular concern to them given how much their path to a Senate majority relies on winning in Maine, widely seen as one of their most straightforward pickup opportunities.

They’re running against Collins, a perpetually vulnerable Republican who faces her own challenge of defending President Donald Trump’s unpopularity with moderate voters.

“The challenge and opportunity, particularly with moderates, here is Susan Collins’ incredible track record of bringing support to Maine financially up against a national environment where control of the United States Senate really matters more than ever with Donald Trump in the White House,” said Emily Cain, a senior strategic adviser at the centrist organization Third Way and founder of a political consulting firm in Maine. “And Graham Platner has to make that case that what’s at stake nationally is worth it for Maine to make a change.”

Baggage aside, it’s hard enough for candidates in such competitive races to build a compelling case. On Capitol Hill, moderate Democratic senators who’ve won races in battleground states said Platner must focus on the issues closest to Maine.

“He really has to meet people where they are and talk about the issues important to them, and that’s how they’ll make their decisions,” said Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada), who hasn’t endorsed in the race, when asked about what challenges Platner might face with moderates and independents.

But Democratic senators acknowledged that Platner, who is now supported by Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, will have to answer questions about his scandals.

“That’s going to be, you know, one of the things he will address between now and November,” said Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona), who also hasn’t endorsed Platner.

And how to best do that? “That’s what he’s got to figure out,” Kelly said.

Platner’s approach so far has been to crisscross the state and talk to voters directly.

“Graham is going to continue to go in communities, whether that’s urban or rural or suburban, and talk with folks and hear what their concerns are,” a Platner campaign spokesperson said. “He wants to continue to talk about the issues that continue to impact folks. They’re not necessarily Republican or Democrat issues, right? They are issues that impact people’s lives.”

Platner received more votes in a primary than any other Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine’s history, which his campaign sees as a sign of momentum headed into the general election. Unaffiliated voters, who are able to vote in the state’s open primaries, also had a strong showing in the primary: Three-quarters of the 18,000 unaffiliated voters who cast an absentee ballot voted for Democrats, according to an early analysis of absentee data by Maine Public.

Ahead of the primary, some Democrats argued that Platner’s checkered past — and his honesty about it — makes him more relatable.

“It is interesting to wonder if Platner will bring any of the blue-collar tough guys that find something admirable in Trump and redistribute the allocation of ideologies between baskets,” said Wayne Myers, a Democrat in Waldoboro, Maine.

His supporters think his populist message and everyman personality has a broad appeal across the state among multiple demographics.

“What he’s saying really resonates with the working class here in Maine,” Joe Kennedy, a Platner voter, said at his election night party. “He’s actually eloquent and knows what he’s talking about, and is really getting the pulse of the people who are frustrated with the current situation, and I would have to think that includes a lot of moderates.”