The following opinion piece does not represent the editorial position of Pine and Roses or of Maine DSA as a whole.

Graham Platner has broken the race for US Senate wide open while Troy Jackson promises to be the most pro-union governor in the state’s history. Less than two months ago, all bets were on Gov. Janet Mills sweeping the primary and facing off against Trump enabler Sen. Susan Collins. And, despite Maine labor’s enthusiastic support, Jackson was going to struggle to expand his base sufficiently to outpace left-leaning candidates like Hannah Pingree and Shenna Bellows. The most likely outcome appeared to be a governor one step to the left of Mills—barring an unexpected Republican gubernatorial victory— and a senate race between DNC centrism and the last vestiges of Republican “moderation.” A contest that Collins has repeatedly demonstrated she can win.

Platner’s announcement in August created a buzz, but the 7,000 who attended the joint Bernie-Platner-Jackson rally on Labor Day turned up the volume, raising the potential for a radical turn. Both Platner and Jackson’s campaigns picked up Bernie’s crusade against the billionaire oligarchy. They intend to tax the rich to fund public education, healthcare, and elder care, champion unions to grow working-class power, end the genocide in Gaza and demand freedom for Palestine, and, as Jackson put it, “finally do right by the Wabanaki people.” Platner and Jackson are clearly in it to win and are amassing an army of volunteers, endorsements, and small contributions–Platner has taken in $2.5 million in little more than a month. Mills, especially, will be a formidable primary opponent, but working-class Mainers have a pair of horses in this race and they should take the opportunity to break free from politics as usual.

As state co-chair of Maine DSA, I am speaking only for myself below. Maine DSA will follow its own procedures to decide when, and if, the organization endorses any candidate. We will have multiple, thorough discussions, we will listen to one another’s concerns—and there are always valid concerns when it comes to politics—and then we will vote democratically on our position. All Maine DSA members in good standing have the right to participate in this debate and vote on any potential endorsement. Of course, rank-and-file Maine DSA members are free to volunteer for any campaign at any time and do not have to wait for chapter authorization.

However, in my opinion, Maine DSA ought to consider endorsing both Platner and Jackson for several reasons.

1. Endorsing is good for the candidates and good for Maine DSA. We can help grow the movement as we grow ourselves. We are a small force, but we have a dedicated layer of experienced organizers and thousands of members and supporters who look to the chapter for direction. If there’s going to be a real fight against the oligarchy in Maine, we’ve demonstrated we will be a dedicated and useful part of that fight, from electing socialists to office to organizing tenants unions to raising the minimum wage. And even as Maine DSA sustains a wide array of working groups and committees, we ought to look for ways to prioritize state-wide efforts where we can become more than the sum of our parts. Where we can all move in the same direction, recruit new members, turn inactive members into active ones, and strengthen our bonds with unions and community organizations.
2. United front defense in a purple state. Maine is one of a handful of so-called purple states in which organized labor, community organizations, and the broad left have not been decimated by neoliberal attacks. That is, we have retained an important capacity for self-defense. This puts a target on our back from the Trump administration, but it also gives us the chance to serve as an example of how to resist the destruction of our hospitals, nursing homes, VA hospitals, and schools. To do so, we’ll have to organize against ICE across the state, continue to speak out against the genocide in Gaza, and defend our LGTBQ+ siblings. Additionally, we’ll have to build a united front movement capable of demanding and winning real taxation of the rich in Maine. Trump wants to defund Maine. We will have to pry open Maine’s own oligarchs’ wallets and stock portfolios if we want to promote job-creating renewable energy projects, fully fund our public schools, and use the legislature’s muscle to embark on an affordable and workforce housing construction boom. Platner replacing Collins provides us one more measure of defense nationally and Jackson has pledged to fight for the kind of budget and reforms that working-class Mainers so desperately need. We have to shift the balance of forces in our favor in our neighborhoods, in our workplaces, in our schools, and in Augusta. It’s not enough to defend democracy and civil liberties against attacks, we need a positive economic program to improve working-class lives.
3. Don’t rely on the corporate Democrats. Trump and Stephen Miller declared war on the working class in Arizona this weekend. If Trump demonstrated his desire to tamper with elections in 2020, today he is organizing the (semi)legal and extralegal means to retain Republican control in 2026 and beyond. Unfortunately, the national Democratic Party appears incapable of confronting this reality. If they spent as much time fighting Trump as they have sabotaging Zohran Mamdani and Omar Fateh, we might be in a different position. Unfortunately, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries have neither the interest nor the knowhow to oppose Trump. MAGA is becoming a mass fascist movement, the DNC is a fundraising operation for lawyers-turned-politicians. The DNC does not have the tools for this job, instead, unions, community organizations, and the left will have to forge them ourselves.
4. Don’t throw out Platner and Jackson with the DNC bathwater. DNC paralysis should not blind us to recognizing certain places where a real fight against the billionaires is developing within the old form of the Democratic Party. 2026 in Maine is, I believe, one such place. This does not mean we should look to Platner and Jackson to “fix” things for us. As Eugene V. Debs put it while running for president, “I would not be a Moses to lead you into the promised land, for someone would lead you out again.” That is, Platner and Jackson are not, by themselves, the movement we need. All indications are that they want to play a part in a much larger working-class movement for radical change. They will have to prove that in practice, but the movement has to prove itself capable of sinking deep roots, bringing in workers from all over the state, and developing mechanisms and institutions for democratic input and decision making. If we don’t do that, then even if they win, Platner and Jackson will be left high and dry.
5. Focus on building power in the medium term, but start with 2026. We know that 2026 is not the end of the fight. Our long term vision is to free humanity and the planet from capitalism’s destructive drive. We are not naive. Trump is strong. We expect that MAGA will be in power—or very close to it—for the next decade and they will only leave if a stronger force arises. The oligarchy has no intention of giving an inch. In order to change the balance of forces, we need a strategic, medium term vision.

What does medium-term success look like? It means 25 percent of Maine workers winning union contracts (we’re at 13 percent now). It means a real fight inside and outside the Democratic Party to elect twenty-five or thirty socialists (we have 1 now), labor leaders, and genuine defenders of tribal sovereignty, LGTBQ+ equality, and freedom for New Mainers to seats in the Maine legislature. It means electing dozens of town, city (we now have 2), county, and school board officials who ground their legislative work in union and community democracy. It means a continuous process of united front action between working-class and progressive forces to expand our areas of influence. It means Maine DSA learning how to act like a socialist party.

For any of those medium-term dynamics to stand a chance, we should look for short term opportunities that provide our side with maximum opportunities for partial victories and stronger unity. Helping elect Platner and Jackson is one such chance. Not only to win their seats, but to ensure that unions, grassroots communities, and left-wing organizations emerge stronger from the campaigns. Not simply as names on a donor list for the candidates, but in real terms for working-class organization.

The stakes are high in 2026. Maine DSA needs a plan to help our class defend itself, and we need a plan to grow stronger. We have work to do beyond the Platner and Jackson campaigns, but they can serve as a unifying element we need to get to the next level of organizing and influence. It would be a serious mistake to stand aside or to support the campaigns in a purely individual and disorganized manner. Now is not the time for a bylaws fight, now is the time for serious debate, honest disagreement, democratic decision making, and united action.