Democrats are supposedly running a “new” type of Democrat for the Senate in Maine. Graham Platner embodies what the party has coveted since the male-voter exodus of 2024: a working-class hero to credibly wade into the murky waters of the manosphere. But it’s a canard. Platner — oyster farmer, mustachioed man of the people — is a product of the New England Democratic elite, and Republicans should make it the focal point of their attacks.
Platner’s grandfather, Warren Platner, was a world-famous architect and furniture designer, famous for pioneering an interior design movement called “opulent modernism.” He designed the offices for the Ford Foundation Building and the original Windows on the World restaurant that sat atop the World Trade Center. Today, the name Platner is shorthand for the kind of luxury items found in the homes of rich people in Connecticut, not roughneck fishermen.
Graham’s father, Bronson Platner, attended Dartmouth, served as an assistant district attorney in Maine, and later built a career as a real estate attorney. A major Democratic donor, he has given more than $65,000 to party candidates since 2011. Bronson donated $3,500 to Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) mere weeks after the Arizona lawmaker endorsed Graham’s Senate run. Pure coincidence, surely.
