Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner built a national reputation as an anti-corporate crusader while cashing checks written by lobbyists and executives representing those same corporations, campaign finance documents show.
Platner has made criticism of big tech, the pharmaceutical industry, large banks and defense contractors a cornerstone of his Sen. Susan Collins. Federal Election Commission and Lobbying Disclosure Act records reviewed by Fox News Digital show that Platner accepted more than $30,000 from lobbyists representing a range of interests and executives at major companies between August 2025 and March of this year.
The donations were made personally by lobbyists and executives, not by the corporations themselves.
“Our new ad speaks to one of the most urgent issues I hear on the campaign trail: our healthcare system is collapsing,” Platner posted to X on March 24, referencing a campaign ad where he promised to take on the drug industry if elected to the Senate. “We should shut down Big Pharma, not our hospitals.”
The Senate hopeful also signed a pledge on March 25 promising to “to put patients over profits” by refusing “contributions over $200 from the executives, lobbyists, and PACs affiliated with the corporate health care industry, including private insurers, pharma corporations, and private hospitals who are organizing to take over our health care system.”
Platner, however, months earlier, accepted a $1,000 donation from a lobbyist at Cornerstone Government Affairs who was working as a lobbyist for AbbVie, a major pharmaceutical company, lobbying records show. Shortly after making his post on X, Platner accepted another $1,000 from a lobbyist at Brownstein who represents the drugmakers Novartis and Moderna.
A source at Brownstein told Fox News Digital that Platner’s campaign returned their lobbyist’s donation, seemingly consistent with his pledge. Cornerstone Government Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.
Platner also criticized Collins for attending an event that was “literally funded by Big Pharma,” only to then attend a coffee event put on by healthcare lobbyists.
“Graham Platners faux rage against the oligarchy falls apart the second you follow the money,” national press secretary Bernadette Breslin told Fox News Digital. “Hes a shell of a candidate whose phony working-class rebrand collapsed before it even got off the ground.”
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Academic research has found evidence that contributions to a member of Congress increase access to their office, suggesting that lobbyist donations are motivated by a desire to shape policy.
have been another target of Platners anti-corporate ire on the campaign trail.
On his campaign page, Platner accuses defense contractors of perpetuating “massive waste in procurement” and engaging in war profiteering.
“We need to take the funds currently paying for mansions in and Maryland for defense contractors, and reinvest them into closing the massive shipbuilding gap,” his campaign website reads.
and lobbying records, however, show that Platner has accepted thousands of dollars from lobbyists representing major defense contractors such as RTX, Boeing and Anduril.
On banks, for allegedly siding with the interests of big banks over her constituents, while accepting donations from lobbyists representing UBS, Visa and Citigroup and taking cash from a Bank of America executive.
Speaking about tech, Platner has pledged to break up large firms like Amazon and Google and stated that we will “” Jeff Bezos to make sure he pays more taxes. Despite these assurances, Platner
