Maine labor spokesman says Dems who buck Platner will be ‘up against the wall,’ calls it a joke

A spokesman for Maine’s largest labor federation set off a backlash this week after suggesting on social media that Democratic critics of Senate nominee Graham Platner would be “first up against the wall when the revolution comes,” a remark he later said was a joke.

Andy O’Brien, communications director for the Maine AFL-CIO, a statewide federation representing 160 local unions, made the comment in response to an opinion piece in The Hill by Democratic strategist Laurie A. Watkins, who argued that her party should not stay silent about character concerns surrounding Mr. Platner simply because he carries the Democratic label. Mr. O’Brien, a former state representative, shared the op-ed and added the line about the “wall,” a remark The Daily Caller reported he wrote in response to The Hill’s posting of the op-ed on the social platform X.

It was not the first time Mr. O’Brien had used the joke. In an October Substack post defending Mr. Platner against controversy over his old Reddit posts and a chest tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, Mr. O’Brien wrote that “DC consultants” who lecture Mainers on politics “will be first up against the wall when the revolution comes,” appending the parenthetical “(Joke!)” to the line — a recurring bit he said was aimed at out-of-state pundits rather than a threat.

In a follow-up statement on social media, Mr. O’Brien said the post referenced a line from Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and was not a threat.

“That’s not what I said. I was making a joke about people from away Mainesplaining our state because they summered here,” he wrote, adding that he “deplore[s] political violence” and apologized to anyone who was offended.

The episode comes as Mr. Platner, a Sullivan oyster farmer and Marine combat veteran, continues to face scrutiny over his past. The married Senate candidate has faced controversy over a Nazi-resembling tattoo, sexual messages on the messaging app Kik, offensive deleted Reddit posts and allegations of abuse. Massachusetts Rep. Jake Auchincloss has called the tattoo “disqualifying,” while Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have continued to back Mr. Platner’s campaign — a split among national Democrats over how to handle the nominee. 

Despite the controversies, Mr. Platner holds a narrow 49%-47% edge over Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent, according to a New York Times/Portland Press Herald/Siena poll released Monday, with the margin within the survey’s sampling error. A majority of Maine voters in that poll said they do not believe Mr. Platner has “good character” or the “right kind of moral values,” and nearly half called him too extreme, while a clear majority gave Ms. Collins high marks on character. 

Mr. Platner won the June 9 Democratic primary over Gov. Janet Mills, who had suspended active campaigning but remained on the ballot, and a third candidate, David Costello.