PORTLAND, Maine — From promising to stand in the “f—— way” of those who attack LGBTQ+ rights to vowing to “get s— done,” some of the Democrats on Maine’s campaign trail are embracing profanity in the run-up to the 2026 elections.
Foul language was once more of an aberration in the public arena. That is changing in the era of President Donald Trump, who has eschewed norms by publicly using profane and crude language in his campaigns and in office. Seeking to close what some have called an “authenticity gap,” Democrats have reacted to Trump and his policies by cursing as well.
Sullivan oyster farmer Graham Platner and Maine Beer Co. cofounder Dan Kleban, who are looking to take on U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, have stood out for their mouths so far. Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, is also swearing in stump speeches, something that veteran politicians like Collins and Gov. Janet Mills rarely do.
“They’ve figured out that it reaches a piece of the base in a way they want to reach it,” former Maine Democratic Party vice chair Peggy Schaffer said of the candidates’ profanity, adding they are “trying to rile up that base to get support.”
Platner had a buzzy campaign launch in August that garnered national headlines. He has sustained the momentum, drawing 1,400 to a rally at Bunker Brewing Co. in Portland on a rainy Thursday evening. Several Platner staffers previously worked for U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, who has been among the lawmakers to prefer profanity at times.
During a Q&A session on Reddit last month, Platner received a question on where he stands regarding LGBTQ+ rights: “I stand right in the f——— way of anyone who’s going to try to come after the freedoms of the LGBTQIA+ community,” he replied.
On Thursday, his stump speech was clean. He said in an interview afterward that voters have complimented him for being authentic, but he said he’s not trying to crack “some sort of secret code” by swearing. He dislikes when politicians try “to come off a certain way.”
“I have no interest in being anything but myself,” he said.
Kleban wrote in a Tuesday blog post he is a “Get S—- Done Democrat.” When Kleban, 48, launched his campaign in September, he said the cost of living “is too damn high.”
People “are not looking for polished politicians,” he said in an interview. But Kleban differentiated his use of profanity to make a point to what he said is Trump and his allies using it to “dehumanize people.”
Both parties nationally view the seat held by the five-term Collins as key for determining if Republicans maintain their narrow hold on the Senate. All the candidates view the race urgently as well. But not all Democrats agree on the appropriateness or effectiveness of cussing.
Jordan Wood, a 36-year-old Bristol resident who previously worked on Capitol Hill and got a jump on most of the Democratic field by launching his campaign in April, recalled how a woman at one of his recent town halls told him she wishes he were “angrier” or would swear more.
Wood acknowledged in a Friday interview he swears in private conversations but avoids it publicly to be respectful of audience members such as children or people not comfortable with it. He also noted his upbringing as the son and grandson of pastors.
“I’ve heard them swear many times, but I’ve never heard them swear in public speaking,” he said, adding he would feel inauthentic if he started doing so at campaign events.
The Democratic field could still see further upheaval if Mills joins the race. The 77-year-old who is termed out of office next year has said she will make a decision by November on whether to run a race that national Democrats want her to join. The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the language candidates use.
This summer, she replied, “What the f—-?” to someone filming her in Washington, D.C., who asked her whether “sniffing cocaine at work is a human right.” It was a reference to a 1990s investigation into Mills’ alleged cocaine use as a district attorney that she denied and was never charged in.
“I have spent the better part of my career listening to loud men talk tough to disguise their weakness,” Mills said after Trump called her a ”dictator” in 2020.
Profanity is currently part of the primary, but Maine Democrats such as Schaffer wondered if it will stick as the race continues.
“There’s a lot to swear about these days,” Schaffer said. “Whether it will [work] in a general campaign is a whole different question.”