Platner, Sanders, Jackson join forces again for Memorial Day rally

Almost nine months after U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont came to Maine to announce his support for gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson and U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner — who at the time was a little known oyster farmer — the three rallied in Portland again on Monday to talk about their plans to make government work for the average person. 

“We can have an economy and a government that works for the 99% and not just the 1%,” Platner told the hundreds of attendees who gathered at Thompson’s Point, “but we are not going to get any of this with speeches alone, or with any politician alone.”

Like the Labor Day rally, the event was a stop on Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour. But this time, Sanders came to Maine just two weeks before the June 9 primary to campaign with the two local, union-backed candidates, who told an eager audience they’ll fight for universal healthcare, workers rights and to get money out of politics. The event followed a similar one in Orno on Sunday. 

“We need a political revolution,” Sanders said.

The senator pointed to recent progressive Democratic wins that were built upon grassroots campaigns, such as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, which he sees as helping kickstart that goal.

“When we come together as one people, we can take on the oligarchs,” Sanders said. “We can beat them, and we can create a nation that works for all of us.” 

That message resonated with those in attendance Monday. 

Platner’s pitch to build a grassroots movement larger than himself is the reason Dennis Tuttle of Auburn thinks he’s the best fit to fight on behalf of working and middle class Mainers. 

Like Tuttle, many rally attendees were already well acquainted with Platner and set on voting for him.

“His message resonates more than just within the state,” Tuttle added. 

Platner has drawn national attention, as the seat he’s running for — held by longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins — is seen as key to flipping the balance of power in Congress. 

Brunswick high schoolers Lily Creighton and Anna Klingle, who are part of Midcoast Youth Activists, said they see themselves and their experiences reflected in his candidacy. 

“There aren’t many relatable politicians,” Creighton said. 

Creighton appreciates that Platner comes across as unfiltered. However, that’s not to say they both didn’t waver in their support of him when his controversial online comments came to light. That history has left some Mainers refusing to get behind him, even after Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign. 

For Creighton and Klingle, having grown up in a world where their whole lives are captured on social media, they said it’s unrealistic to expect anyone to have a perfect internet history. 

Klingle had also been hesitant about Platner’s lack of political experience but said the way she’s seen him work for voters’ support and articulate his stances on the campaign trail has inspired her. She now plans to volunteer for his campaign. 

The rally speeches called out Collins and President Donald Trump’s administration, but also how the political system has long operated.

“It is the lie that there is always money for forever wars, but never money for our schools,” Platner said. “We can take back the wealth that belongs to us.” 

That goal, the three headliners all agreed, is not a partisan one. 

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“We are not from the left. We are not from the right,” Jackson said. “We’re from the bottom, and we are rising.”

Kelli Brennan, president of the Maine State Nurses Association, echoed that when pointing out there are Maine hospitals at risk of shuttering due to Medicaid cuts, while insurance companies control what healthcare patients can receive.  

“This isn’t about political parties,” Brennan said. “This is about the haves and the have-nots.” 

The solidarity among the have-nots was clear Monday night, as Platner also used his speech to share his support for the nurses in their upcoming strike in Houlton to demand safer staffing ratios. 

Platner also reiterated onstage that he voted for Jackson first in the Democratic primary for governor, but also ranked Hannah Pingree and Shenna Bellows on his ballot. Those three have banded together to rank one another, an attempt to potentially overcome the challenge of splitting votes between similar candidates on the ranked choice ballot. 

The similarities between the political figures sharing the stage on Monday night were also apparent. And Platner articulated their collective vision in the same words he’d used back at their first joint rally in September. 

“When we beat back fascism, when we defend our democracy and our freedom, let it be a different kind of freedom,” he said. “Not merely a romantic freedom, not a freedom that’s solely about the defense of an infringement on our rights, but a freedom that is material, a freedom to not be condemned to scraps and struggle, but to live with the dignity and fulfillment that gives us the society that we deserve, where instead of dreaming of a life where we can get by, we can afford a life that allows us to dream.” 

That’s the vision attendees left with, as they filed out into the night to the activist anthem “Power to The People.”