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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner on Thursday shared the three candidates he voted for in the ranked-choice Democratic primary for Maine governor.
Speaking at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ellsworth, Platner said he ranked Troy Jackson first on his early voting ballot.
“Troy and I are entirely aligned on labor issues and organizing issues, and I think our policies align quite closely,” Platner said of the former Maine Senate president from Allagash “And, as many of you probably know, organized labor is a key to what I think the future of American politics is.”
His comments were captured on video and posted to X by Maine AFL-CIO communications director, Andy O’Brien.
Platner, an oyster farmer and political newcomer from the Down East town of Sullivan, has said he was recruited to the race against five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins by labor and community groups. His plain-spoken progressive populism launched him past his closest competition, Gov. Janet Mills, who dropped out of the race last month, leaving Platner as the presumptive nominee to face Collins in November.
Platner and Jackson are scheduled to appear with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders at rallies in Orono and Portland this weekend as part of Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour.
On Thursday, Platner said he ranked two other candidates for governor on his primary ballot: former House Speaker Hannah Pingree and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.
“Those three candidates, all of them, whether it’s on issues of democracy and standing up to Donald Trump, whether it’s around the environment, whether it’s around like broader progressive values, they are the ones that I think most represent my value set and the kind of future of the Democratic Party and future of the American political system that I want to see,” Platner said.
A poll released by Portland-based Pan Atlantic Research on Wednesday showed former Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah leading the Democratic field in the Maine governor’s race, followed by former energy executive Angus King III.
Jackson, Bellows and Pingree followed in that order with each receiving a smaller percentage than that of respondents who said they are undecided.
