Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) drew more than 6,500 people to a Labor Day rally in Portland, endorsing two Democratic candidates who cast themselves as champions of workers and vowed to build a government that serves everyday people and not billionaires.
Bernie Sanders Casts Rally As Urgent Progressive Push
"More than 6,500 people turned out in Portland, ME tonight for a Labor Day rally to see the next senator and governor of the great state of Maine, Graham Platner and Troy Jackson," Sanders posted on X after the event at Cross Insurance Arena.
According to a report by the Portland Press Herald, Sanders warned the crowd that the United States faces a "dangerous" moment that demands progressive leadership and a mass movement focused on wages, health care and corporate power.
"This is an unprecedented, and in fact, dangerous moment in American history," Sanders told the crowd. “We have got to respond in an unprecedented way, and the way we respond is to build a kind of strong, progressive, grassroots movement, the likes of which this country has never seen.”
The rally, part of Sanders' "Fighting Oligarchy" tour, featured U.S. Senate hopeful Graham Platner, a Sullivan Democrat challenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Troy Jackson, the former Maine Senate president now running for governor. Union supporters flanked the stage as the candidates argued their campaigns would put workers first.
The Vermont independent linked his Maine stop to a broader push he has made against what he calls an economy tilted to the billionaire class, a rhetoric he has used throughout 2025. "I know it's a radical idea, but we need a government that represents working families, not the billionaire class," he said recently.
Platner And Jackson Pitch Worker-First Agenda
Platner and Jackson, who both brand themselves as political outsiders, pressed that argument. Platner, a former Marine and oyster farmer, criticized a system he says that’s "extracting wealth out of working Americans." Jackson, a fifth-generation logger from Allagash, pledged to "break the status quo."
Sanders Continues Attacks On Trump’s Economics
Their posture comes as Democrats face headwinds. A recent CNBC All-America Economic Survey put national Democratic Party favorability in the mid-20s, highlighting voter skepticism the candidates said they aim to overcome with bread-and-butter appeals.
Sanders also repeated his case that Trump-aligned economic policy favors oligarchy, arguing tariffs and tax choices reward the wealthy while workers absorb higher costs. He has sharpened that critique this year in appearances from Los Angeles to festival stages, urging younger voters and unions to "stand up to the billionaire class."
Photo Courtesy: Rich Koele on Shutterstock.com
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