Maine progressive says he won’t back Schumer even after Democrats unite behind Collins challenger

ELLSWORTH, MAINE — Graham Platner says he still wouldn't support Sen. Chuck Schumer as Senate Democratic leader going forward, even after holding what he described as a "perfectly cordial conversation" with the top Democrat in the chamber.

Platner, an oyster farmer and Army and Marine veteran who served in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, will face off in this year's midterm elections in blue-leaning Maine against longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins. The high-profile and competitive 2026 race is one of a handful across the country that will likely determine whether Republicans keep control of their slim Senate majority.

Platner, a first-time candidate, who is backed by progressive champions Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, became the Democrats' presumptive nominee after his rival for the nomination, two-term Gov. Janet Mills, ended her campaign two weeks ago after trailing Platner in polling and fundraising.

Mills was supported by Schumer, who recruited the governor to enter the race.

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But Platner said what could have been a difficult conversation was anything but when he had a chance to speak with Schumer on the phone after Mills ended her bid.

"It was not awkward at all. He called to congratulate me on a good race, and nothing brings people together like agreeing that Susan Collins shouldn't be in the U.S. Senate. So we had a perfectly cordial conversation."

Platner said that "at this point, it very much feels that the Democratic Party will support us in our continued endeavor." But he added "we're going to keep doing what we've done up here, because it's obviously what's working."

Platner is one of a small but growing number of progressive Senate candidates who say that, if elected in November, they won't support Schumer as the Senate's Democratic leader. Platner added that the topic of his lack of support for the Democratic leader didn't come up in his conversation with Schumer.

Platner advocates an economically populist agenda as he takes aim at corporate influences and advocates for the working class as he runs for the Senate.

In an interview in Maine with Fox News Digital last week, Collins was asked if she believes Platner is too far to the left and extreme for voters in her northern New England state.

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"I believe that will be the conclusion of Maine voters. But, obviously, I don't take anything for granted," the senator, who is running for a sixth six-year term in the Senate, answered.

But Platner charges that it's Collins who is too "radical."

"My response is that, trying to bring down costs for working Mainers. Trying to make sure that our communities don't get emptied out because housing has become unaffordable for young people. Trying to create a system in which we are not seeing our health care system utilized as a way of just screwing working people all for the benefit of a health care insurance CEO, I don't think that's radical at all," Platner said. "I think in fact that what most Mainers agree is what we have to be doing."

And he charged, "What's radical is somebody like Susan Collins, who, for decades now, has made sure that we pass policies that are going to help corporations and billionaires to the detriment of working people, supporting over and over and over again, illegal and insane foreign wars. She voted to send me to Iraq, and now she continues to vote to support the war in Iran," Platner said. "I'm sorry that I think is much more radical to the people of Maine than having a health care system that doesn't collapse before our eyes."

It's been less than two weeks since Platner became the Democrats' presumptive nominee, and Republicans didn't waste any time in taking aim at him.

A Republican group supporting Collins is already blasting Platner in a new ad over controversial comments he made over a decade ago on Reddit about women and rape and a well-publicized tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol.

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Among the comments is one from 2013, which Platner later deleted, that people concerned about rape should not "get so f---ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to."

Platner apologized for his controversial Reddit posts after they made headlines last fall soon after he launched his Senate campaign. And Platner has said he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007 while drinking with fellow Marines stationed in Croatia. He said that he covered up the tattoo with a new design after learning last year that it resembled a Nazi symbol.

The candidate said he's not concerned about the attack ad, which is likely just a taste of things to come.

"The Democratic establishment tried to use all those attacks against me and failed miserably," Platner said as he referred to a spot from the Mills campaign before she dropped out of the race. "Now the Republican establishment is going to try to use the exact same attacks, and that will also fail miserably."

Platner insisted that "the people of Maine understand exactly what this is. They're not happy to see millions of dollars poured into negative TV ads in a state that, quite frankly, could use million dollars of investment in lots of other things instead of just negative television. And I don't think it's going to work, because it hasn't up until this point."

And pointing to the Republican attack ad, he said "we knew it was coming the whole time. Look, man, I fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Somebody wants to say....mean things about me on television, I'm pretty sure I can handle it."

Platner has also faced scrutiny for more recent Reddit posts, including one from five years ago where he described himself as a "communist" and "socialist."

"You should read the comments in context. It's very clear I'm joking," he told Fox News Digital when asked about them. "It's called shitposting. It's when you argue with people on the internet and try to bother them. So, yeah, no, it's very obviously not true."

Platner was interviewed minutes after casting an early voting ballot in Maine's primary and then holding an event near a gas station to showcase his newly released energy plan, which he says will help reduce people's bills.

His proposal includes eliminating the national gas and diesel tax, a freeze on electricity rate increases and a fund for clean energy projects.

Platner said his energy plan is "very central" to his campaign. "I think energy costs right now are one of the things that are most damaging working families in this state. It is, in my opinion, essentially an existential crisis that we face."

Democrats are spotlighting the cost of living as they overperform in special elections, which they hope is a prelude to winning back control of Congress in the midterms.

Republicans — as the party currently in power in Washington, D.C. — were already up against traditional political headwinds that typically lead to a loss of congressional seats. Add to that the challenging climate fueled by persistent inflation, rising gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and Trump's underwater approval ratings.

Asked how she can overcome the blame pointed at Republicans over the high cost of living, Collins told Fox News Digital last week that she's championed the low-income heating assistance program, which "helps low-income families and seniors stay warm during the cold winter months. I just recently made sure the final tranche of money was released because there is a lot of need in the state of Maine, and the cost of living is high here."

Collins, who was interviewed at a food bank that expanded with federal funding the senator helped obtain, also emphasized her opposition to cuts "in food stamp benefits and in other programs that designed for low-income families because I know how important they are."