The United Auto Workers on Wednesday became the latest and most prominent labor union to back oyster farmer and veteran Graham Platner over Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) in the 2026 Maine Senate race.
The UAW joined the Maine State Nurses Association and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers in endorsing Platner.
UAW President Shawn Fain threw his support behind the political newcomer, contrasting the Democratic candidate’s working-class roots with Maine’s political establishment represented by Mills.
“Inequality is out of control in our country. Today, the top 1% have more wealth than the bottom 95% of humanity combined. Graham understands this, and at a time when too many politicians take their cues from billionaires and corporate lobbyists, he has chosen to stand with the working class,” Fain said in a statement.
He went on to say that Platner won’t get distracted by issues the “the billionaire class uses to divide us,” adding that the oysterman aligns with issues that “our union fights for every day: a living wage, affordable health care, retirement security, and time outside of work to actually live our lives.”
“The UAW is proud to endorse candidates like Platner taking on the broken status quo,” Fain concluded.
The endorsement comes one day after Mills entered the Democratic primary to replace Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who is running for her sixth term next year.
The term-limited governor vowed to fight for Mainers on healthcare, clean energy, public health, and education in the Senate. She also pledged to stand up to the Trump administration, just as she did in February when the president publicly confronted her at the White House over her state’s refusal to comply with his executive order barring transgender athletes from women’s sports.
“Susan Collins is not standing up to [President] Donald Trump,” Mills said in her campaign announcement on Tuesday. “And I’ve stood up to bullies all my life. And I will continue to stand up to bullies in D.C. for the sake of Maine people.”
If she wins, Mills promises to serve only one term, unlike Collins. The incumbent senator has held the same seat since 1997.
Hours after announcing her campaign, Mills received an endorsement from brewery owner Dan Kleban, one of her former challengers who dropped out of the Senate race to back the governor. Kleban’s exit leaves Mills, Platner, former Rep. Katie Porter’s (D-CA) chief of staff Jordan Wood, former Maryland environmental official David Costello, and a few others in the crowded Democratic primary contest.
Despite his little-known name, Platner is gaining significant traction after announcing his candidacy in August. In addition to the three labor unions, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) endorsed the oyster farmer.
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“Graham is a Marine and Army National Guard veteran, an oyster farmer, and a proud member of America’s working class. He’s a Mainer through and through, and he is building a movement strong enough to take on the oligarchy that is making Maine unaffordable for all except a privileged few,” Sanders said of the billionaire class in late August.
The Maine State Nurses Association supports Platner because it believes he will fight against healthcare cuts in the Republican Party’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers considers Platner the best candidate to oppose the Trump administration’s rollback of collective bargaining rights for unionized workers.