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Could oyster farmer with a Nazi tattoo scandal be Democrats' new champion?
BY MALCOLM FOSTER
- Another unknown outside his home state until recently, Talarico has become a Democratic star by taking on Republicans at their own game -- by making his Christian faith the cornerstone of his politics.
- 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.
- Another unknown outside his home state until recently, Talarico has become a Democratic star by taking on Republicans at their own game -- by making his Christian faith the cornerstone of his politics.
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 the 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 and campaigning for lower costs for working families.
But his candidacy was nearly torpedoed late last year after it emerged that he had a skull tattoo similar to a Nazi symbol, as well as a string of troubling past social media posts about sexual assault and gay people.
Platner immediately apologized, covered the tattoo -- which he said he said he got with Marine buddies without realizing it could be seen as an offensive symbol -- and said the social posts reflected post-combat trauma.
The incident didn’t dent Platner’s popularity, and polls showed him with sizeable leads over his heavyweight rival for the Democratic nomination, the state's 78-year-old governor, Janet Mills.
On Thursday, Mills unexpectedly dropped out of the race, citing a lack of funds. Now, Platner will 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.
Authenticity or liability?
Platner's insurgency reflects wider hunger -- and a debate within the Democratic Party over what kind of candidate can win in the midterms, said Andrew Koneschusky, head of public relations firm Beltway Advisors.
Across the country, "voters want authenticity. They don’t want robotic poll-tested candidates anymore," he said. "Voters don’t like it when establishment figures anoint a candidate."
For years, Democratic activists have been clamoring for everyman candidates -- people with blue collar backgrounds who can talk to regular folk, especially non-college-educated white men. It's natural Democratic territory that Trump and his hard-right MAGA coalition have done much to poach.
Platner seemed to fit the bill, but that tattoo and the social media posts highlighted the risk of running untested candidates.
And several Democratic grandees like Chuck Schumer, the party's leader in the Senate, pushed for Mills as the safer choice.
Yet polling showed voters were adamant: Mills represented the old guard and needed to be dumped in favor of a fresher, scrappier voice.
Historically, Democrats have had a tendency to be "wonkish or academic," Koneschusky said. "People in this current moment want a street fighter."
And at nearly half of Mills' age, Platner also represented a generational change.
"This is a moment where Democrats are trying to come out of the wilderness of 2024 and figure out the path forward," Koneschusky said. "There’s a desire for new, younger leadership and new ideas."
Searching for a big tent
Third Way, a think tank pushing for more centrist Democratic platforms, says the party needs to do better at accepting candidates who don't fit in normal liberal boxes.
A Gallup poll last year showed that 45 percent of Democrats or Democrat-leaning independents wanted the party to become more moderate, up 11 percentage points from 2021.
That search is taking Democrats in many directions.
Another new candidate in the Platner-mold is burly Pennsylvania firefighter Bob Brooks, who is running for Congress.
He too is touted as appealing to working-class voters but ran into trouble from liberal activists over past comments defending gun ownership in the wake of a mass shooting -- a hugely sensitive issue.
Brooks quickly apologized and admitted to saying "a few stupid things" but insisted that "my values have always been clear."
Figures like Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherill, who convincingly won governorship races in Virginia and New Jersey last year, come from the national security world, pride themselves on centrism and focus on economic concerns.
And then there's James Talarico, running for a Senate seat in ultra-conservative Texas.
Another unknown outside his home state until recently, Talarico has become a Democratic star by taking on Republicans at their own game -- by making his Christian faith the cornerstone of his politics.
The Bible-quoting 36-year-old faces a huge challenge in Texas.
But "if anybody can do it," said Matt Bennett at Third Way, "it's him."
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