Veteran who served in Middle Eastern wars launches campaign against Sen. Susan Collins

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More than a year before voters take to the polls, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has a new challenger.

Early Tuesday morning, Graham Platner entered the race as a Democrat. The combat veteran served in the U.S. Army and Marine Corps during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, according to his online biography, and is now the owner-operator of Waukeag Neck Oyster Co. 

His campaign Facebook page says he is a "friend of the working Mainer, foe of the oligarchy." He already has more than a dozen town halls scheduled across the New England state. 

"[E]very where I've gone, it seems like the fabric of what holds us together is being ripped apart by billionaires and corrupt politicians," Platner, 40, said in a campaign launch video.

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Sen. Susan Collins arrives to introduce U.S. First Circuit Judge nominee Joshua D. Dunlap during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on July 30, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

"Profiting off of destroying our environment, driving our families into poverty and crushing the middle class," he said. 

Platner went on to say he supports universal healthcare, aiding veterans and stopping funding for foreign wars. The video was produced by Morris Katz, a top advisor to the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, according to the New York Times. 

"Being a Bernie Bro and Kamala Harris donor is a profile to appeal to Portland progressives, not centrist and conservative voters in rural Maine," Jason Savage, the executive director of the Maine Republican Party said, according to the Times.

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Sen. Susan Collins walks off the Senate floor after an overnight session at the U.S. Capitol on July 1, 2025. (Andrew Harnik)

Platner, a political newcomer, told Politico that he also brought on Joe Cavello, a former senior aide to Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., to help with his campaign.  

"To call me a liberal, I think is fairly amusing. I mean, I’m a competitive pistol shooter. That’s what I do on the weekends," he told the media outlet. "I’m a firearms instructor. I spent multiple years, obviously, in the service utilizing firearms. I also grew up in rural Maine, where guns are a part of our existence."

Sen. Susan Collins meets with U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in her office on March 8, 2022. (Jim Bourg)

The Democratic challenger list against Collins is growing, and reports say those already in office are trying to tap Janet Mills, the state's 77-year-old Democratic governor, for the seat.

Republicans currently control the majority of the Senate by a 53-47 margin. Democrats would need to flip four seats in the 2026 midterm elections to take the majority. 

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A spokesperson for Collins told Fox News Digital that Platner is "just another progressive entering the race."