Despite branding himself as the anti-establishment candidate who wants to take on the “oligarchy“, Graham Platner recently held a fundraiser in Washington D.C. with the corporate lobbyists who represent the very companies he has criticized.
As reported by Punchbowl News:
Maine Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner’s campaign hosted a D.C. fundraiser featuring Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) on Wednesday. While Heinrich was the featured guest, a number of the fundraiser’s co-hosts caught our attention.
Among the lobbyists co-hosting the event: Todd Webster, a principal member at Cornerstone who has lobbied for Google.
“Google shouldn’t exist,” Platner said at an event this fall, calling for anti-monopoly laws to dismantle big tech companies.
Another co-host was Andrew Usyk, the policy director at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. While Platner has railed against Big Pharma on the trail, Usyk lobbied for Moderna.
These kinds of fundraisers aren’t rare. But it’s notable when lobbyists are raising money for a candidate who’s dedicated to populist issue positions on the trail.
###