Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner claimed that he has been able to "make a living on the sea" since leaving the armed forces during a Friday rally, an assertion his financial disclosures don’t appear to support.Platner, who is running for Senate in Maine to unseat incumbent GOP Sen.Susan Collins, has long identified himself as an oyster farmer and harbor master, giving a blue-collar tinge to his left-wing campaign.
Financial disclosures, however, show that he brings in relatively little money from oyster farming, with reports suggesting that Platner receives the majority of his income through veteran’s disability payments. "My healthcare gave me freedom," Platner said at a June 5 rally."It gave me the freedom to take risks, to start a business and to sink my intellect and my physicality into mastering the skills necessary to make a living on the sea." PLATNER’S ANTI-CORPORATE CRUSADE HITS AWKWARD SNAG AS RECEIPTS TELL ANOTHER STORYGraham Platner, a U.S.
Marine and Army veteran and oyster farmer, launched a Democratic run for the U.S.Senate in Maine in August.
(Graham Platner campaign)Platner's comments drew ire on social media, with many questioning the Senate hopeful's claim to working-class identity.Platner’s 2025 financial disclosures show that he listed "other $5,001" as his annual income from farming oysters.The candidate’s entire business is only worth between $50,000 and $100,000, which accounts for his boat, lines, anchors and other farming equipment, per the disclosure. He earned an additional $3,000 serving as the harbor master for Sullivan, Maine, — a role the Washington Free Beacon reported was largely clerical and where he was responsible for overseeing the 17 boat moorings on the small town's coast.Taken together, these sums are dwarfed by the $4,800 Platner says he receives through monthly disability payments.
Platner is legally entitled to such a sum owing to injuries he suffered while serving in the armed forces."I’ve g...