Maine Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner is calling for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to be replaced after some party members voted to end the government shutdown without the inclusion of health care subsidies.
“This happened because Chuck Schumer failed in his job yet again because they do not understand that when we fight, we win,” Platner said in a short video posted Monday on X. “When we hold the line for working families, for working people, we win. But they don’t get this. They see all of this as a game.”
“Call in today, call your senators. … Call your senators and say that Chuck Schumer can no longer be leader,” he said.
Schumer and most Democrats voted against the early Republican proposal to move toward ending the shutdown, but he’s being blamed by progressives for the defection of eight Senate Democratic caucus members.
Platner is running in a Senate primary against Governor Janet Mills, who was recruited by Schumer to enter the race against incumbent Republican Susan Collins.
Platner’s campaign has been plagued by previous controversial comments on Reddit and a Nazi symbol tattoo he has since had covered up.
