Warren Rallies for Graham Platner as He Holds Large Lead in Contentious Maine Senate Primary

PORTLAND, Maine — At a packed Saturday rally, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged Maine voters to back political newcomer Graham Platner in a closely watched Democratic primary that will decide who faces longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins this November.

“I’m here because Washington needs fighters, and Graham Platner is the fighter we need,” Warren told the crowd. “Graham is a combat veteran. He’s an oyster farmer. He is an organizer, and he is the person who is going to beat Susan Collins.”

The primary has exposed a split in the Democratic Party: Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have endorsed Platner, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has thrown his support behind two-term Gov. Janet Mills. The winner will take on Collins in a race national Democrats view as pivotal to reclaiming control of the Senate.

Polls and Momentum

Two recent surveys show Platner with substantial leads. A poll of likely voters by the Maine People’s Resource Center put Platner ahead by 33 points, while an Emerson College poll found him leading by 27 points — figures the Platner campaign has highlighted as evidence of growing momentum in the state.

Campaign Message

Addressing the crowd, Platner urged supporters to “dream big” and mobilize to reform a political system he argued has deepened economic inequality and left working-class Americans behind.

Platner, a combat veteran, was critical of President Donald Trump and his recent military actions during the rally in Portland, Maine, on Saturday. (Sofia Aldinio for NBC News)(Sofia Aldinio for NBC News)

“We continue to do the hard work that we and those before us have been so proud of for generations, but it ceased being enough. And all of it happened when we watched the largest transfer of wealth from the working class to the ruling class in the history of this nation,” Platner said. “The money went somewhere, and it wasn’t down here. It was stolen from us, stolen from us in a system that was built by establishment politicians like Susan Collins.”

He added: “We need to be willing to understand that we’re all being exploited by the exact same people. And it’s not immigrants, it is not trans kids, it’s billionaires.”

Controversies and Accountability

Some Democrats continue to voice concern over elements of Platner’s past. He has apologized for a series of Reddit posts from years ago in which he downplayed sexual assault and said his views have changed. Skeptics also point to a tattoo Platner recently covered after learning it had ties to Nazi imagery; Platner has said he covered it after gaining that understanding.

Warren defended Platner at the rally, saying he has learned from his mistakes and will resist pressure from wealthy special interests. “He won’t bend a knee to the big corporate donors, to the billionaires who don’t want to have to pay higher taxes to fund Social Security and build a real safety net,” she said. “The path to the majority for Democrats in the United States Senate runs right through Maine.”

National Stakes

Platner, a combat veteran and oyster farmer, also criticized recent military actions tied to former President Donald Trump, calling some operations “uniquely stupid” and questioning the judgment of commentators and officials involved in planning them.

Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, a teacher, introduced both candidates at the event, telling the crowd she had never imagined she would stand on the same stage as Warren endorsing her husband. Platner closed by stressing that while Democrats want to flip Collins’s seat, it matters which Democrats fill the Senate: “It very much matters what kind of Democrats we turn the Senate blue with.”

Originally published on NBCNews.com.