A gruff oyster farmer who only recently got rid of his Nazi-style tattoo is the unlikely face of the Democrats' bid to seize the Senate from President Donald Trump's Republicans -- and recover working-class voters.
That a man like Graham Platner finds himself on the front line of the fight for national power in the United States says a lot about a Democratic Party trying to find its way out of the wilderness.
Democrats are bullish about winning the House of Representatives in November's midterm elections. But the Senate -- and ability to wield real power during Trump's last two years -- is a far tougher challenge.
Enter Platner, a 41-year-old former Marine who talks movingly of his opposition to war after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is targeting a key Senate seat in Maine, where longtime Republican incumbent Susan Collins is seen as vulnerable.
Virtually unknown a year ago, Platner has barnstormed across Maine, delivering a feisty, anti-establishment message.
Revelations that he had a skull tattoo similar to a Nazi symbol, as well as strings of troubling past social media posts about sexual assault and gays, failed to stop him.
On Thursday, Platner's heavyweight rival for the Democratic nomination, current state Governor Janet Mills, threw in the towel. Now, he'll be trying to dethrone 73-year-old Collins in the election.
"Thank you all for believing," Platner posted in a video highlighting working-class supporters like fishermen and nurses who back "changing our politics."
Andrew Koneschusky, head of public relations firm Beltway Advisors, said the success of Platner's insurgency reflects wider hunger.
"Voters want authenticity," he told AFP. "They don’t want robotic poll-tested candidates anymore."
Source: Drudge Report
