Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine, delivered a fiery speech alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and former Maine State Sen. Troy Jackson during a tour stop in Portland, declaring, “We will not just fight the oligarchy, we will defeat the oligarchy.”Addressing the crowd, Platner said that everyday Americans already understand the effects of concentrated wealth and power in what he described as an entrenched oligarchy controlling the American political system. “We know the word. Because we feel the consequences of it every day in our bones,” Platner said at a campaign rally on Monday. Calling not only for the defeat of the oligarchy but also of the political system he argued it maintains, Platner specifically criticized his opponent, longtime Maine Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). He accused her of representing a political culture disconnected from ordinary people.
“It is a system that is the politics of Susan Collins, a politics that turns politicians into millionaires, but tells you to be grateful for crumbs,” Platner said.
pic.twitter.com/U9p7BTolHc Graham Platner: “We will not just fight the oligarchy, we will defeat the oligarchy. And we are going to defeat the political system it maintains. It is a system that is the politics of Susan Collins— Lavy (@Lavy02) May 26, 2026
