He wasnt a member and they didnt endorse him so they dodge that bullet, the same cant be said of the individual members that did backed him
It’s true that they didn’t endorse him, but it wasn’t just individual members backing him.
Here’s DSA Maine officially “recommending” to vote for Platner:
https://www.mainedsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Maine-DSA-Voter-Guide-Primary-2026-1.pdf
Here I copy-pasted the full paragraph on Platner, but TL;DR is:
We RECOMMEND that you vote for Graham Platner for U.S. Senate
Oh well, then national dodged the bullet
National and NY DSA did well here but Maine DSA needs to report for reeducation
Tbf I’d say about 50% or so of the DSA in all needs re-education
Just hedging their bets in case he predictably turned out to be a dud lmao
Yeah, they get to be like “actually, we did not endorse him” while still getting to funnel voters straight to his campaign.
Platner was not part of the DSA
and they did not endorse him. I dislike most of the DSA but this isn’t on them.edit: see belowMaine DSA did officially recommend people to vote Platner.
https://www.mainedsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Maine-DSA-Voter-Guide-Primary-2026-1.pdf
It should be a safe assumption that everyone reading this voter guide knows about Graham Platner or at least has heard about him, for better or for worse. Platner skyrocketed into the political limelight after appearing with Bernie Sanders at his Fight the Oligarchy tour in Portland and has continued to draw enormous crowds with his fiery, outspoken critiques of the billionaire class. His populism speaks to the frustrations of the working class, feeling that the system is set up against us, and he does it with genuine conviction that resonates with regular people - something the Democratic party seems allergic to. He supports Medicare for all, taxing the wealthy, ending the genocide in Gaza, getting private equity out of housing, abolishing ICE, and all the other progressive/lefty policies. It’s proof that if you can capture the attention of voters, a leftist platform is popular and deeply felt. This is an exciting campaign that could represent a seismic shift in our country’s political movement as the fracture within the Democratic party widens and leaves the uninspiring centrist party leaders on unstable ground. Look – Platner isn’t the perfect candidate. His unforced errors reflect a campaign that needs to tighten up and stop running like they know he’s in the lead. We aren’t going to rehash all the very real concerns about his time as a Blackwater mercenary, or online posting history, or his lack of careful language. But his campaign is riding a wave of populist anger against MAGA and provides a crucial opportunity to take out the forever unpopular, but still powerful, Susan Collins. If someone is committed to growth and shows a willingness to be better than they have been, then we have to take this chance while it’s available. We RECOMMEND that you vote for Graham Platner for U.S. Senate
My bad. I had read in a few places that the DSA didn’t endorse him, but maybe that was just speaking of the national DSA then. Or it was just wrong, I guess there’s also that.
Technically it’s not an “endorsement” but a “recommendation”, but what matters is they explicitly told their supporters and members to vote for Platner, they were not neutral.
Hmm ok
This should not be shocking to anyone.
Big gulps huh?
Welp, see ya!
Fun Fact: Those two folks who Jim Carry said that line to were just regular people at the 7-11 and the entire interaction was improvised on the spot.
At some point we need to draw a firm line for the left because this is a fragile time and we cannot afford to make mistakes.
