David Hogg endorses Janet Mills challenger in Maine Senate race
David Hogg, a progressive activist and former Democratic official, has endorsed Graham Platner, a younger candidate, in the Maine Senate race, opposing Governor Janet Mills’ bid for the seat held by Republican Senator Susan Collins. Hogg emphasized age as a critical factor, highlighting a generational divide within the Democratic Party following their recent election losses. Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer and Marine veteran, has gained support from progressive figures, including Senator Bernie Sanders. Mills, 77, acknowledges her age could be a liability and has promised to serve only one term if elected. Hogg’s group, Leaders We Deserve, along with other youth-focused organizations, backing Platner reflects a growing push within the party for younger leadership and a shift away from establishment candidates like Mills, who was recruited by party leaders as their best chance to win the seat.
David Hogg endorses Janet Mills challenger in Maine Senate race, citing age
David Hogg, the Democratic ex-official challenging his party’s congressional leadership, is citing age as he opposes the entrance of Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) into the Maine Senate race.
Hogg, who runs the progressive outside group Leaders We Deserve, endorsed Graham Platner, 41, on Tuesday, the same day Mills announced her campaign for the seat held by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
Platner, an oyster farmer and Marine veteran who launched his campaign in August, has successfully courted the Left, including an endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), but the entrance of Mills, 77, has made the race emblematic of a deeper generational divide after Democrats were swept out of power last November.
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“After our historic loss in the 2024 election, conversations within the Democratic Party have rightly centered on age, the loss of young men, the working class, and the growing disillusionment of young voters,” Hogg said in a statement, according to the Hill. “As our party charts a path forward, Graham Platner represents not the entire solution, but a vital step in the right direction.”
Leaders We Deserve joined four other youth-focused organizations in endorsing Platner on Tuesday: College Democrats of America, Gen-Z for Change, Voters of Tomorrow, and Youth Save Democracy.
Mills is keenly aware that age could become a liability as she competes in the primary, promising in an interview with NBC News that she would serve a single term if elected next year. Besides Platner, she will be running against two other Democrats who are also decades younger: Jordan Wood, a staffer to ex-Rep. Katie Porter, and beer company founder Dan Kleban.
Mills was recruited by Democratic leadership, who see a two-time governor as their best chance of flipping Maine blue. But that dynamic has also fostered resentment within the party as Hogg, removed as vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee in June, promises to spend $20 million in primaries with long-serving or establishment-backed candidates.
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So far, Hogg’s track record has been mixed. His candidates for a pair of House special elections lost earlier this year, even as his backing of socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s mayoral primary paid off.
Hogg targeted his first House Democratic incumbent last week, endorsing a 33-year-old challenging Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI), 70.
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