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Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner said he has been able to “make ends meet” since leaving the military during Friday’s rally, adding that his financial disclosures do not appear to be supported.
Platner, who is running for Senate in Maine to unseat GOP Sen. Susan Collins, has long portrayed himself as an oyster farmer and port manager, giving his left-leaning campaign a blue-collar tinge. Financial disclosures, however, show that he brings in little money from oyster farming, with reports suggesting that Platner receives most of his income from veterans’ disability payments.
“My health care has given me freedom,” Platner said at the June 5 rally. “It has given me the freedom to take risks, start a business and immerse my mind and body in acquiring the skills necessary to make a living at sea.”
PLATNER’S ANTI-CORPORADE CRUSADE HITS AN AWKWARD SNAG AS RECEIPTS TELL ANOTHER STORY.
Graham Platner, a US Marine and Army veteran and oyster farmer, launched a Democratic race for the US Senate in Maine in August. (Graham Platner campaign)
Platner’s comments caused an uproar on social media, with many questioning the Senate hopeful’s identity.
Platner’s 2025 financial disclosure shows that he counted “an additional $5,001” as his annual income from farming. The candidate’s entire business is only worth between $50,000 and $100,000, which includes his boat, lines, anchors and other farming equipment, according to the disclosure.
He earned another $3,000 working as the harbormaster of Sullivan, Maine, — a role the Washington Free Beacon reported was clerical and in which he was responsible for overseeing the mooring of 17 boats on the small town’s waterfront.
Combined, these figures are reduced by the $4,800 Platner says he receives in monthly disability payments. Platner is legally entitled to receive this amount due to the injuries he received while serving in the armed forces.
“I have a few herniated discs. My shoulder is shattered. My knees are bothering me,” Platner, who saw combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, told News Center Maine in an October 2025 interview.
Despite his reliance on disability, Platner has been calling himself an “oyster farmer” while campaigning for the Senate.
In a September 2025 interview with the New Yorker, for example, he called himself a “small-town oyster farmer.”
While Platner credits government-sponsored health care for his ability to start a business, many other factors have helped him along the way.
The restaurant owned by Platner’s mother, for example, is the only customer listed on the financial disclosure list as it buys oysters from her. Additionally, Platner’s farm is on a private island owned by his business partner’s family and he received a $200,000 loan from his father to purchase his home, the Washington Free Beacon previously reported.
“Platner is asleep in this piece,” freelance journalist Magdi Jacobs said of Platner’s statement on Friday. He says he ‘lives by the sea.’ He doesn’t do that.”
Others have pointed out that the reality of farming Platner’s oysters may not be the same as what people usually think when someone says they make a living from the sea.
“Buddy, I love oyster farmers, you don’t fish in Georges Bank, you pull traps in 25 feet deep,” DC attorney Patrick Brennan wrote on social media.
PLATNER DISPUTES FUEL SPEECH ABOUT LITTLE-KNOWN MAINE BALL CHANGE PROGRAMS
Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for the US Senate, speaks to an overflow crowd outside a campaign event Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo)
The Maine Democrat was not shy about the fact that he receives significant money from the federal government as compensation for the disability he received while working as a child, telling News Center Maine that, in addition to the approximately $4,800 he receives in cash benefits, part of which he puts towards his mortgage every month, he also received subsidized health care.
“I put $954 of it in my bond,” he said.
He did not mention his father’s loan during the interview.
Platner’s rise within the Democratic Party came on the heels of the 2024 election, in which liberals were widely seen as losers in part because of their failure to woo male voters.
“I don’t think I’m particularly qualified,” Platner said earlier when asked about his alleged appeal to young people. “I understand that because of my journey, I think my voice on this issue can be easily reached, just because I was angry on the Internet as a young man, I get it. I also find that it wasn’t anger on the Internet that got me out of it. It was reality, the community. It was building healthy, normal relationships with people.”
While some have argued that Platner’s campaign experience and blue-collar background provide what Democrats have been missing, others say his public persona doesn’t quite match public records.
PLATNER DISPUTES FUTU’S LITTLE-KNOWN MAIN BALL REPLACEMENT PLANS
“The whole fabric of Graham Platner’s history continues to crumble at the slightest scrutiny,” National Republican Senatorial Committee press secretary Bernadette Breslin told Fox News Digital. “Managers deserve authenticity – not Platner’s distorted past, CV full of power and ‘working class’ resume.”
The Platner campaign did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.
Others have argued that the apparent contradiction between Platner’s green public image and that from media reports does not seem to be hurting him with voters.
“Despite this – Platner seems to be connecting with working-class voters here in Maine,” Fox News national reporter Alexis McAdams reported on June 5. [and] A lot of people here say they work two or more jobs just to make ends meet.”
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Platner has been dogged by widely publicized scandals in recent weeks over his deleted social media posts, alleged abuse of women and a Nazi tattoo he received while serving in the military. However, he has rejected calls to drop out of the race.
“This is a political organization that does everything possible to ensure that people like me, who have lived a flawed, sometimes complicated life, will try to send a message that if you ever try to get into power, if you ever try to speak for yourself, we will crush you,” said Platner recently, speaking about the controversy surrounding his appointment. “This is a political movement trying to fight back. And it’s going to fail.”
Although Platner has been the presumptive nominee since Democratic Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the Senate race in April, she faces a test Tuesday as Mainers head to the polls in the state’s primary election.
