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A large crowd came out to see the two Democrats: over 1,000 chairs were put out in a ballroom at the Holiday Inn in downtown Portland, and most of them appeared full as the event began.<\/span><\/p>\n Get Starting Point<\/span><\/p>\n A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n During her roughly 20 minute speech,<\/a> Warren didn\u2019t mention Platner\u2019s opponent, two-term Governor Janet Mills, who has a more moderate record and is the establishment\u2019s choice for the nomination. But the senator offered broader critiques of those in Washington who \u201cgo along to get along, who have ideas at the margins, who want to think it all through and make just maybe a little change here, a little change there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThen there are people who realize that when the system is this broken, when there are this many billionaires who have this much control over our nation, it\u2019s no longer time to make little changes at the margins,\u201d Warren said.<\/span><\/p>\n With the primary election less than two months away, Platner<\/a> \u2014 an Iraq War veteran and oyster farmer who was largely unknown a year ago \u2014 may currently be the front-runner in the race. <\/span><\/p>\n Despite scrutiny of his past social media comments<\/a>, and revelations he had a Nazi symbol tattooed on his chest as a young infantryman, Platner is leading in recent public polls of the race, often by large margins. And he has outpaced Mills on fundraising, bringing in $4.6 million in the last quarter to her $2.6 million.<\/span><\/p>\n The winner will take on Senator Susan Collins, the longtime Republican incumbent, who is a formidable foe. Warren didn\u2019t attack Collins directly, but made clear there was great hope for a change in the seat.<\/span><\/p>\n A strategic factor behind Warren\u2019s appearance was clear: cutting into Mills\u2019 most reliable voters. The ballroom was decorated with signs saying \u201cWomen for Graham\u201d and \u201cGrahamas for Platner.\u201d Many of the attendees behind them on stage were women, and all three of their introductory speakers were women, including Platner\u2019s wife, Amy Gertner. <\/span><\/p>\n Older women, in particular, have been the backbone of Mills\u2019 support and also happen to be among the most active voters in Maine; Platner is a gruff military veteran whose past comments on a variety of issues \u2014 and apologies for them \u2014 have invited national debates about masculinity and politics. (However, many of his recent rally crowds feature more older women than younger men.)<\/span><\/p>\n The alignment between Warren and Platner on policy is considerable. Platner\u2019s left-wing populist message, heavy on criticism of billionaires, corporations, and their impact on policy and politics, shares much of the underpinnings of Warren\u2019s longtime crusades.<\/span><\/p>\n During her speech, the senator said she immediately liked Platner after hearing him say in an early interview that he understood the system was \u201crigged\u201d when no bankers went to jail after the 2008 financial crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI said to myself, \u2018that\u2019s my kind of man,\u2019\u201d Warren said.<\/span><\/p>\n As Democrats begin hoping the Senate majority is within reach, the Massachusetts senator has made several endorsements this primary season, which has proven an especially contentious one for a party that is hungry for fresh messages and new leadership. <\/span><\/p>\n Rarely have so many individual Democratic senators waded into competitive primaries<\/a>; Warren, along with like-minded colleagues, has endorsed progressive candidates who are competing in primaries against rivals aligned with the party establishment.<\/span><\/p>\n Elsewhere, Warren has also gotten behind Mallory McMorrow, who\u2019s running for Michigan\u2019s open Senate seat, and backed Illinois Lieutenant Gov. Julianna Stratton, who won that state\u2019s contested primary last month over more moderate opponents.<\/span><\/p>\n Maine\u2019s contest reflects some of the rank-and-file frustration with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his candidate recruitment in this election. Schumer and the official Senate Democratic campaign arm are openly backing Mills, while Warren and others, including Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, are behind Platner.<\/span><\/p>\n In Portland, Warren cast Platner\u2019s race as an inflection point for Democrats as they seek to win back power following the 2024 election.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe have a decision to make: what kind of a party do we want to be as Democrats, how do we win as Democrats, and take back our country,\u201d Warren said. \u201cWe win when we back candidates who have the courage,\u201d she added, to take on billionaires, corporations, and political corruption.<\/span><\/p>\n Platner echoed those points. \u201cWe all want to get rid of Susan Collins. We all want to turn Maine blue,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it very much matters what kind of Democrats we turn the Senate blue with.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen we beat Susan Collins with this kind of politics, when we beat someone that the Democratic establishment has failed to beat for 30 years with this kind of campaign,\u201d he said, \u201cwe will show this is the politics of the future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Speaking to reporters in South Portland on Friday, Mills expressed respect for Warren \u2014 and showed little concern that she was weighing in the race.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a reason that Maine left Massachusetts 206 years ago,\u201d Mills quipped, adding it was \u201cironic\u201d that Platner was making an issue of Mills\u2019 age while campaigning with Warren, who is 76, and Sanders, who is 84. \u201cHe\u2019s not asking her to get out of the U.S. Senate\u2026 so why is my age an issue and theirs is not?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Sam Brodey can be reached at sam.brodey@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @sambrodey<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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