Graham Platner, an oyster farmer running for U.S. Senate in Maine, is laying out an unusually aggressive opening pitch to Democrats: replace Chuck Schumer, investigate Trump relentlessly, remove two Supreme Court justices, and organize grassroots resistance to military action.
In an interview Friday, Platner signaled he would push the party to embrace confrontation if elected. His polling advantage over Gov. Janet Mills and incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, suggests he has a real shot at reaching the Senate and acting on at least some of those ambitions.
Platner framed his candidacy as a continuation of Bernie Sanders' political legacy. "When you listen to how we talk about organizing, when you certainly look at our theory of politics around wealth inequality, our theory of politics around how the system has been structured to benefit the ultra wealthy at the expense of working people, I very much feel like I do fall in the legacy of Sen. Sanders," he told NBC News. Sanders has endorsed him in the Democratic primary.
On Trump, Platner said the administration has committed impeachable offenses rooted in "rank corruption," self-enrichment, crypto schemes, and potential insider trading. But he would not pursue impeachment without Senate conviction votes in hand. "If we don't have the votes in the Senate to convict, I don't think we should waste our time with it," he said. Instead, Democrats should deploy subpoena power to hold hearings on alleged illegal conduct by White House officials and federal agencies.
"I want to shut the White House down," Platner said. "I want us for the next two years to be dragging every single person in the White House, every single person in all these agencies that have been conducting themselves in illegal and unconstitutional ways."
His focus on the Supreme Court is more forceful. Platner called for Congress to impose ethics standards on the justices and said he is "definitely open" to expanding the court. More directly, he would push the House to impeach Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
On Thomas, Platner cited the relationship between the justice and Republican billionaire Harlan Crow, who has provided Thomas with gifts including private jet travel. "The relationship between Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow is not hard to see as clearly corrupt, and Justice Thomas doesn't even recuse himself from cases that impact Crow's businesses," Platner said. "These are absolutely reasons for removal."
Impeaching a Supreme Court justice requires a House majority and a two-thirds Senate supermajority for removal. Only one justice has ever been impeached by the House: Samuel Chase in 1804, who was acquitted by the Senate.
Platner is also calling for Democratic leadership to change hands. He said he would not support Schumer remaining as Senate minority leader and floated four alternatives: Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and Brian Schatz of Hawaii.
Schumer, who has endorsed Mills in the primary, avoided directly answering whether he would support Democratic candidates who have called for new leadership. "We're going to win the Senate. We're going to win in Maine, we're going to win in Michigan, and our caucus is united and focused on winning those seats," he said.
On national security, Platner wants Democrats to mobilize an anti-war movement opposing Trump military operations in Iran. He blamed the party for failing to build power outside institutional channels. "Power can be secondary, outside of the institutions, coming from things like movements and organizing people. The Democratic Party has done, from what I can tell, absolutely nothing on that front," he said.
Platner breaks with mainstream Democratic orthodoxy on one major issue: guns. He opposes bans on semi-automatic assault weapons, arguing the focus should be on restricting access for people with violent histories or warning signs. He supports universal background checks and red-flag laws paired with expanded mental health services but said sweeping gun bans are impractical given the existing gun supply in America.
He also took aim at Collins' record on appropriations. While Collins touts over $1 billion her office says it has secured for Maine, Platner called that baseline job performance. He argued she should have blocked appropriations bills containing Medicaid cuts that are "literally closing rural hospitals in the state." He said Maine has lost far more money through extractive corporate practices and inadequate federal support for healthcare and education than Collins has brought back.
If elected, Platner said he wants to serve on the Appropriations, Commerce, Agriculture, and HELP committees. He emphasized his intention to rebuild Senate seniority on Appropriations after Collins leaves office.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Platner's willingness to name names and demand specific heads is a sharp departure from cautious Democratic messaging, but it remains unclear whether Maine voters are hungry for a scorched-earth approach or wary of it."
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