ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Updated:

Graham Platner, a retired US Marine veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, launched his primary campaign on Tuesday to unseat incumbent Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Platner, dubbed the “Maine Mamdani,” posted on social media on Thursday, “There is a genocide happening in Palestine.”

In his campaign ad, he rhetorically asks, “Why are we funding endless wars, bombing children?”

Platner is running on a platform of universal healthcare, housing affordability, and ending US involvement in foreign wars.

US SENATOR Bernie Sanders arrives for a news conference on blocking offensive weapons sales to Israel, at the Capitol last year. Israeli action,s which he warned would lead to catastrophe, have, in fact, contributed to stability, the writer argues.
US SENATOR Bernie Sanders arrives for a news conference on blocking offensive weapons sales to Israel, at the Capitol last year. Israeli action,s which he warned would lead to catastrophe, have, in fact, contributed to stability, the writer argues. (credit: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

Similar to Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders’s rhetoric, Platner has argued repeatedly since launching his campaign, “There is a war going on in this country, and the oligarchy and the fascists are winning right now.”

Platner, on his website, says Maine is becoming unaffordable because “we have a government by, of, and for billionaires, who are building a ‘billionaire economy’ that none of us can afford.”

Zohran Mamdani, widely favored to win New York City’s mayoral seat in November, won his Democratic primary on a similar platform, as an outspoken critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, also labeling it a genocide.

Omar Fateh, also an outspoken critic of Israel, is challenging Jewish Minneapolis’s two-term incumbent mayor Jacob Frey, who is viewed as a moderate Democrat. He is running on similar campaign promises as Mamdani and Platner.

Platner disillusioned with America's 'failed' foreign policy, endless wars 

After serving four tours overseas as a Marine, Platner decided to focus on serving his local community in Maine, feeling “deeply disillusioned with America’s failed foreign policy and endless wars,” according to his campaign website. He has since worked as an oyster farmer in his hometown, Sullivan.

“When I joined the Marine Corps, I joined up because I really, truly believed in the American project,” NBC News quoted him as saying. “I wanted to fight for something I loved and that I thought was good in Iraq and Afghanistan. I watched both failed policies, failed strategies, and failed tactics being used over and over and over again.”

He serves as a harbor master and planning board chair. Other Democrats running in the primary include Jordan Wood, a former chief of staff to former California Democrat Rep. Katie Porter, and David Costello, who ran against Independent Sen. Angus King last year.

Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate. Democrats would need to flip four seats to have a majority.