Common Defense Endorses Graham Platner for United States Senate in Maine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2025

Augusta, ME – Today, Common Defense, the nation’s largest grassroots membership organization of veterans and military families, is proud to announce our endorsement of Graham Platner for United States Senate in Maine. 

Common Defense represents over 550,000 veterans, military family, and civilian members nationwide and more than 1,100 in Maine alone. As we are seeing an authoritarian takeover in realtime, we need leaders like Graham Platner who are ready to do the hard work of protecting democracy and standing up to the ultra-rich who have been rigging the system against us all and stealing power away from everyday folks like the Mainers Graham is fighting for.

Leadership at Common Defense released the following statements:

Maine native Perry O’Brien, U.S. Army veteran, and Senior Campaigns Director at Common Defense, said:
“As a proud Mainer and Afghanistan veteran, I know what real leadership looks like, and Graham Platner embodies it. From his own tours in the Marines and Army to his tireless work as an oyster farmer, to the way he’s serving his community, and the way he’s fighting for working families, Graham gets it. He's the type of fresh, new leader we need to take on Washington insiders and bring home real wins for people everywhere. We’re proud to endorse Graham Platner for Maine.” 

Naveed Shah, U.S. Army veteran and Political Director at Common Defense, added:
“Graham Platner leads with the same core values and sense of duty that every veteran can appreciate. Platner knows the VA is a promise this country made to everyone who served and not some sort of welfare program like others are painting it out to be. We can trust that he will fight to fully staff and fund VA care, stop the outsourcing that drains resources from the VA, and deliver the timely mental health, housing, and job‑training support veterans have earned. That’s the standard that our members expect, that’s the standard Mainers deserve and it’s why Common Defense is proud to endorse Graham Platner.”

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Common Defense Civic Engagement is a grassroots, veteran-led organization (501c4) that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.