Senate candidate Graham Platner pitches fully funded care to Maine voters

[Emile]

BANGOR, Maine (WVII) -- US Senate candidate Graham Platner officially laid out his health care platform on Wednesday in Bangor.

He made the announcement alongside nurses from Eastern Maine Medical Center.

Platner is calling for a universal, single-payer system, proposing a "Medicare for all” system, increasing access and driving down costs on average across the system.

He says health care in rural Maine is collapsing with the time to act, he says, is now.

“It's not a partisan answer. It's frankly, at this point, a practical answer and fundamentally the only we way we are going to get it is by realizing this isn't a Republican issue or a Democrat issue. It is an issue of working people versus a system that wants to exploit them,” Platner said.

https://wgme.com/news/local/senate-candidate-graham-platner-pitches-fully-funded-care-to-maine-voters-politics-susan-collins-janet-mills-democratic-primary-medicare-for-all

[travelingthrulife]

1. It is a democrat and republican issue. Republicans block every effort to make this

happen.
This guy is just not realistic.

[paleotn]

2. He's right but probably not for the right reason.

Maine, like Vermont, is too small and has too old a population on average for this to work. We tried that in VT. It was quickly discovered to be unworkable on our scale and with our demographics. Same for Maine. Like health insurance, which it actually is, it's all about risk pool size. At the very least, we'd have to go regional, all of New England and perhaps NY and NJ. Then we may have the critical mass necessary to make it work.

But he didn't say that, did he. Not even mentioning the 900 lb gorilla in the room makes it political pandering. Next it will be unicorns in every garage and some will just lop it up as they always do. Nice but quite impractical.

[leftstreet]

3. DURec

[W_HAMILTON]

4. "Democrat" issue.

How many times is this guy going to let his mask slip before Democrat-IC voters realize he's a fraud and another Fetterman lying in wait?

[Emile]

5. Do you think this is a unicorns in every garage

pipe dream?

[2naSalit]

6. I do...

He's doing the thing where you tell people what they want to hear while not really having done his research.

[Emile]

7. Since healthcare for all is a democratic issue,

it's up to us to elect politicians who support the platform, and not the ones who think it's impossible.

[2naSalit]

8. He's not...

The best option. He seems to be copycatting and I am not interested in his well funded book report style of campaigning. He isn't showing me anything worth my vote.

There is NO ROOM for error this time around, he'll be trainee and we don't need that right now. Sure he has financial backing which makes me suspicious, there's always lots of money for the wrong choice these days.

[JI7]

10. The problem is he voted for Susan Collins

so that makes his commitment questionable.

[Nanjeanne]

11. Would love to see or hear this. When googling I find nothing but a tweet from someone "quoting" some

Reddit post they claim he made saying he did and even the tweeter’s link shows nothing.

Not a single organization, news outlet, legitimate source seems to have this piece of information.

It’s certainly something you would think someone would ask him about since he’s been asked about so much of his past comments.

[W_HAMILTON]

13. Uhh, you might want to see this -- From NBC News:

...

In a wide-ranging interview, Platner addressed the scandals that have engulfed his campaign ... and explained why he went from voting for Republican Sen. Susan Collins years ago...

Taken from:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/graham-platner-controversies-maine-senate-campaign-rcna240367

The post(s) you saw were from Platner's Reddit account with all his rightwing hot takes and were backing up the reputable reporting regarding his support of Susan Collins.

Now, your thoughts?

[Nanjeanne]

20. Thanks for that. Im glad he has spent so much time addressing it. My thoughts? I care about what

candidates are willing to fight for. I’ve never voted for anyone other than a Dem so I can’t relate but I know many people who have voted both R and D and I am always glad when they see the light. So if you thought I would be concerned, Im honestly not. Someone else might be. Im not in Maine so not voting. Im not supporting with $ either Dem candidate so Im an observer. I do like the policies Platner talks about so if he’s the candidate I certainly hope he wins.

[Nixie]

12. Wow! So he's only a Democrat for this campaign.

That sounds familiar.

[W_HAMILTON]

14. Quite the racket it's become, for temporary/sometimes Democrats to run as Democrats and fundraise on bashing Democrats.

[mr715]

15. Oh Jesus Christ

[MorbidButterflyTat]

19. Then once elected vote MAGAt

[Nixie]

21. Exactly, and with an attitude that they're doing us a favor.

“Critiquing” is what bashing Democrats was called, but they sure don’t like the same critiquing applied to them. It’s a one-way street.

[Nanjeanne]

9. I like knowing what policies are important to

candidates and what they want to fight for. Realistic? Only when enough politicians are elected who want and will fight for those policies.

I have zero interest in candidates who tell me what is never going to happen. Of course good things won’t happen if these incrementalists are elected.

[mr715]

16. How are posters in this thread spinning this as a bad thing?

Even if he doesn't get what he says, it brings a Democratic issue to the conversation, gives it fuel, makes it visible.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

17. Fully funded by.....???

"US Senate candidate Graham Platner officially laid out his health care platform on Wednesday in Bangor."

More like a pipe dream than a "platform."

"...the only we way we are going to get it is by realizing this isn't a Republican issue or a Democrat issue."

Great plan!

Democrat issue, sure.

[mr715]

18. Democrat vs Democratic.

I get it, but I think it is a stretch.

Maybe he's a little dumb. Intelligence has never been a requirement for our Senators. Republican or Democratic