Platner celebrates primary win in Blue Hill

‘I once was lost but now I’m found’ Democrat tells supporters

Platner and his wife, Amy Gertner, celebrated alongside some 400 supporters at the YMCA in Blue Hill, the town where he was born. Photo by John Boit.

June 10, 2026

By John Boit and John Epstein

BLUE HILL–Trading his trademark jeans and ball cap for gray dress trousers and a white button-down shirt, Graham Platner clinched the Democratic Senate primary last night, celebrating at an election watch party in Blue Hill.

Some 400 supporters crowded into the Blue Hill YMCA gym. The Platner campaign rented the entire building for $4,000 to host the event, a YMCA representative told The Rising Tide.

Platner’s political win came after months on a campaign trail dogged by crises, from a Nazi symbol tattooed on his chest while he was an active duty Marine to allegations of exchanging sexually explicit messages with women as recently as last year.

“You have lifted me up. This is the state that raised me and this is the state that saved me. I am not a deeply religious man, and yet I cannot help but think tonight, ‘I once was lost but now I’m found,’” Platner said from the stage.

The primary race, called by The Bangor Daily News around 9:20 p.m. last night, saw Platner take 72 percent of the Democrat vote, while Gov. Janet Mills won 20 percent. Mills suspended her campaign in April, yet remained on the Democrat primary ballot.

The Blue Hill watch party was a rare political and media spectacle for the town of 3,500 year-round residents. Cars packed the YMCA and Hannaford parking lots alongside TV satellite trucks. Dozens of major outlets–CNN, the New York Times and even a correspondent for a French magazine covered the event.

Supporters of all ages joined Platner in celebrating his primary victory of incumbent U.S. senator Susan Collins. Photo by John Boit.

Guest speakers, including Platner’s mother, warmed up the crowd before his arrival. A musical trio led by Bennett Konesni of Bagaduce Music further energized supporters with a sea shanty.

When Platner took the stage, the crowd erupted in cheers. Securing a position at the front of the stage, Surry resident Diana Merenda wiped away tears as her husband, Azie, hugged her.

What supporters say

Most of the supporters interviewed by The Rising Tide at the event expressed similar goals for wanting to put Platner in the office that has been held by Republican Susan Collins for six terms. Collins, who is uncontested in her party, won the Republican Senate primary last night.

Platner, an oyster farmer and war veteran, has come under intense scrutiny after his former campaign manager, Genevieve McDonald of Stonington, told The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times in late May that his wife, Amy Gertner, had told McDonald last Labor Day that her husband had exchanged sexually explicit messages with women early in their marriage and as recently as last year. That news was followed by a New York Times article in which Platner’s former girlfriend, Lyndsay Fifield, said Platner twisted her wrist once and locked her in a room. Fifield, it was later reported, has a long history of conservative activism.

Supporters in the crowd expressed their support for Platner despite the recent campaign troubles.

Carole Leonard, of Ellsworth, met Platner through Acadia Action and was immediately impressed with his leadership. Video by John Epstein.

“I was a little disappointed last week,” said Elaine Gallagher of Stonington. “He’s getting a raw deal from the press and the Democratic party, but politics are never simple.”

Alice Slater of Surry called Platner “super legit and just a normal guy.”

“He’s directly calling out the hypocrisy and calling it bullshit,” Slater said. “I reflected on my life and I sure wouldn’t want it picked apart, because I don’t have a clean slate either…He’s saying what I’m thinking and I think he’ll actually do something about it.”

Drew Webster, who lives in Blue Hill, said he supports Platner because “Dems need candidates who will fight, and the main allegations against him are from a Republican operative.” His partner, Angel Kulczyk, believes the allegations that have surfaced recently are “family issues.”

Carole Leonard, of Ellsworth, first met Platner when he organized the political action group Acadia Action.

“His leadership was incredible,” she said. “I was thinking, ‘Who is this guy?’  We’ve been waiting for someone like him for 50 years” she added. “I really would trust him with my life,” she continued. “And the allegations? Who’s not flawed? I mean, really.”

Daryne Rockett, of Orono, said she like Platner’s sense of empathy. Photo by John Boit.

Also in the crowd was Daryne Rockett of Orono, a clinical social worker who has worked with combat veterans who suffered PTSD for 22 years.

“His politics align with what we need to do: Take care of people,” Rockett said, adding that Platner understands what it takes to overcome the trauma of war. “He believes in a redemptive healing and a commitment to being of service to others,” she added.

“I find his candidacy energizing, uplifting and exciting,” said Ann Luskie, a seasonal resident of Blue Hill. “I love his progressive politics. He’s speaking from the heart. He’s authentic. I appreciate the way he’s responding to the media about the issues in his past.”

Platner’s speech

During a 30-minute speech, Platner repeatedly characterized the Senate race as one that pits working families against a privileged elite.

Calling Collins “corrupt,” Platner claimed that she “used her privilege and power to funnel $60 million in federal contracts [..] to her lobbyist husband”—a false accusation that has been debunked by Politifact, a non-partisan organization that checks statements by politicians and candidates. Asked to clarify that statement after last night’s event, a campaign spokesperson said that “refers to the total dollar amount his firm received from government contracts while he worked with them.”

Collins’ husband, Thomas Daffron, was the chief operating officer at the Jefferson Consulting Group, a lobbying firm in Washington, DC.

Platner also dismissed the notion that Collins’ legislates with “common sense.”

“Common sense would be a minimum wage that's a living wage. It would be keeping our hospitals open and our schools funded and our kids from having to fight in another generation of forever wars,” Platner said.

Alice Slater said she liked that Platner ‘calling out the hypocrisy’ of establishment politicians (left); Diana Merenda and husband Azie listen to Platner’s victory speech (right). Photos by John Boit.

Platner, who attended the elite Hotchkiss boarding school in Connecticut and later transferred to John Bapst, a private high school in Bangor, enlisted in the Marines after graduation. He served eight years, including three deployments to Iraq. He then joined the Maryland National Guard, where he deployed to Afghanistan, where he later worked as a private security contractor.

“I’ve been willing to die for this country, and there’s nothing I won’t do for the state of Maine,” he continued.

Ending his speech, Platner said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to take back our power.”