Whatever his life before he came back to Maine, what Graham Platner accomplished during his campaign was remarkable, inspiring more people to become active campaigners. Do not disregard all of the people who voted in the Democratic primary.

I am an 83-year-old woman. Platner spoke to what I care about, and he spoke to what many younger people care about. We need health insurance for all. We need to lessen the huge wealth gap. We need to lessen the influence of billionaires. We need younger people to participate in democracy. We are in danger of losing our democratic institutions.

Personally, I find that Troy Jackson speaks to what I care about.

Whatever you do, don’t let national Democrats influence your decision. I campaigned for Gov. Janet Mills twice for governor, but do not believe the Democrats should have persuaded her to run for U.S. Senate.

If she had not been running, I believe several of the candidates running for governor would have run for U.S. Senate. Graham Platner is a remarkable communicator. It is a tragedy that he couldn’t continue as the Senate candidate. I hope he uses his talents to push for healthcare for all through some other means.

Priscilla Markley
Winthrop