A personal message from Mr. Graham Platner and my response to his thank you letter

Thank you Mr. Graham Platner and to your beautiful wife Amy, for the enthusiasm you brought to our Democratic party. We must continue this momentum.

Your victory in the Maine June primary was impressive, driven magnificently by a huge ground swell of social media support.  I have never seen anything like it in Maine.  I hope you will both continue to bring enthusiasm to our important work ahead to defeat Senator Susan Collins.   

To Juliana,  I believed – and still believe – in the people of Maine and the vision we have been fighting for. I believe in all of you.

For the first time, in a very long time, our campaign gave people hope. Hope that there is a light at the end of this very dark tunnel. You did that. Thank you.

To those of you who believed in me, I want to make clear: You’re the reason I believed.

I always said this race was not about me. It never was. It was about us.

On June 9th, 150,000 Mainers didn’t just reject a broken politics; they voted for something. And they made their voices louder than ever before in the history of our great state. We won, and we did so spectacularly.

I feel a deep sense of gratitude and also a deep obligation to all of you. To ensure that the voices of 150,000 people who voted for me, and our 15,000 volunteers, are heard. The past few days have been tough, but the weight I have felt was not about me. It was out of a responsibility to you.

Almost exactly a year ago, Amy and I sat down and looked each other in the eyes and decided that entering this race was a sacrifice we had to make if we really believed in what we thought we believed in. And this week, Amy and I sat down and looked at each other again, and we decided that exiting this race is the sacrifice we must make again to best steward the movement we have been honored to help build.

Today, I notified the Secretary of State to remove my name from the ballot. My name might have been on the ballot, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine.

Our sole goal from the beginning was defeating Susan Collins and building a working class movement in the state of Maine. We have already brought half of that to fruition together. I am confident the remainder will be accomplished on November 3rd.

All we were asking for is health care. For an end to genocide. An end to corruption. To get money out of our politics. For real democracy. And I remain hopeful and optimistic that we will see that future one day.

I am proud of what we did and how we did it. We organized. We fundraised with grassroots money, not corporate PACs or AIPAC. We built far more than just a political campaign. Even as the entire system pushed back against us.

This is not the end for our movement. Continue to build relationships with your neighbors and have real conversations. Go join a union or organize your workplace. Join a local community organization. Volunteer at a food bank. Just do not give up.

I love you. I love all of you. I love this state. I love what we have built. This has been the honor of my lifetime.

Thank you – from the bottom of my heart – for everything. Your time, your energy, your money, your voice. You made this possible.

Solidarity forever,

Graham Platner