Can a Maine oyster farmer defeat Sen. Susan Collins and save the Democrats?

This isn’t typically a busy political season in Maine, with the primary some eight months away. But Graham Platner — the Down East oyster farmer hoping to defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a key race that could determine control of the U.S. Senate next year — is attracting big crowds.

"Everybody in Maine knows that the system that we live in is screwing us. All of us know this," Platner said on a recent evening at a crowded pizza restaurant in Rockport.

Platner spoke to a packed room, while an overflow crowd of several hundred people gathered outside. With a shock of blond hair and tattooed arms, he offered a populist economic message that takes aim at the high cost of living and a system he says is rigged against working people.

"We watch from the sidelines as a few with wealth and power can consolidate more wealth and power than any of us can even comprehend," he said. "Why can't we share in that success?"

In a country as rich as the U.S., working people should not have to struggle just to survive, Platner said. It's a message straight from the playbook of politicians like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who endorsed Platner and has campaigned with him. Like Sanders, Platner's brand of economic populism includes Medicare for all, raising the minimum wage, federal help to ease the housing crisis and higher taxes on the rich.

Platner, 41, is a veteran of the Marines and the Maryland Army National Guard who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He says he's "not afraid to name the enemy."

"And the enemy is the oligarchy," he said to applause, which prompted him to chuckle and add, "I've been told not to use that word because nobody understands it, but every time I say it, everybody claps."

Platner argues that it’s long-past time to replace Collins, who's seeking her sixth term. Despite touting a reputation as a moderate, Collins infuriated Democrats and many independents when she voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, helping form the majority that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Platner says her "weak condemnations and expressions of concern" about the defeat of Roe won't bring it back.

"Susan Collins' charade is wearing thin," he said.

A Collins spokesperson declined to comment about Platner's campaign, other than to say he has yet to win the primary or earn the right to challenge the senator.

But Platner is having a moment. His working class background and straight talk is appealing to independent voters like Heather Nelson of Thomaston, who attended the event in Rockport.

"I think he's bringing a voice to the common person," she said. Her husband, Colin Nelson agreed, and said Platner is "one of the few" politicians standing up for "working class rights."

Since he launched his Senate bid just a few weeks ago, Platner has raised more than $4 million, according to his campaign, while signing up thousands of willing volunteers. (According to federal financial records, Collins has more than $5 million in her campaign account.)

Platner's campaign haul is impressive for a guy who thought that his job as the local harbormaster was as far as he'd go in politics.

"There are some politicians who just have kind of the 'it factor,' and for whatever reason it seems like he has that," said Mark Brewer, chair of the political science department at the University of Maine.

Platner seems a little surprised himself by the early success of his campaign. He said that when people first urged him to run for the senate, he thought they were nuts.

"Honestly, my wife and I just said, 'No,' " he told WBUR at a recent fundraiser for him in Somerville, Massachusetts. He said when the idea was first brought up it seemed "laughable."

But Platner had done some local political organizing in Maine with Indivisible, the grassroots progressive political group, and he eventually decided to run, launching his campaign this past August.

He counts MAGA supporters among his neighbors and friends, and said he understands why they voted for President Trump.

"Many of them did it because they wanted the system to change — they wanted to destroy the system," he said. "They felt the system was taking advantage of them."

While Platner criticizes what he calls the Trump administration's "fascistic agenda," he's also critical of the Democratic Party, which he says has been unable to respond to the struggles that working people face.

"The Democratic party does not have an answer to that angst," he said.

So, while he attracts lots of folks from the left, he makes room for conservatives as well. That became clear at a recent campaign event in Caribou, which created a viral moment when Platner defended a woman who suggested undocumented immigrants are receiving benefits.

"What's your plan about the illegals in this state that are getting free benefits?" asked the woman, who was quickly shouted down by members of the audience who said, "They don't get free benefits."

Platner defused the tension in the room, saying people are angry — but not stupid — even if they're being lied to.

"The answer to that is not shame; the answer to that is not anger. The answer to that is empathy and compassion," he said.

Despite the promising start to Platner's campaign, Brewer said he faces a steep climb ahead. There are several other Democrats in the primary race vying to take on Collins, which could include the state's popular governor, Janet Mills, who's backed by the Democratic establishment and is reportedly close to a decision to run.

"Platner is the darling of the moment," Brewer said, "But if Mills get in, she's a force to be reckoned with."

Brewer said it would also be a mistake to write off  Collins, who easily fended off her Democratic challenger in 2020 to win her fifth term.

But as Democrats search for a path out of the political wilderness, Platner's brand of economic populism follows a map that a number of Democrats are using. Among them is Zohran Mamdani, who focused relentlessly on cost-of-living issues to win the Democratic mayoral primary in New York.

Adam Jentleson, president of the Searchlight Institute, a centrist political think tank committed to building Democratic majorities, said what Platner has done so far is impressive.

"He has in a very short period of time captured the imagination and the passion on the left," Jentleson said. But if Platner wins the primary, Jentleson said he might need "to appeal to a wider range of people" to win a general election in a purplish state like Maine.

If he does win the primary next June, it's hard to imagine Platner altering his approach. He rejects labels like "liberal" or "progressive," and said his focus is on what working-class people need — and what both parties have failed to deliver.

This story was updated with additional information from Platner's campaign on fundraising totals.