Graham Platner pays influencers to promote him

Graham Platner's 'grassroots' Maine Senate campaign paid tens of thousands to firm that pays influencers to promote him

Democrat Graham Platner has built his Maine Senate campaign on the promise of grassroots authenticity, no corporate PACs, just ordinary people powering a populist challenge to Republican incumbent Susan Collins.

But his own campaign finance disclosures tell a different story. Since September, Platner has paid at least $36,437.94 to a Democratic consulting firm that maintains a stable of social media influencers who promote candidates and causes for pay, and at least one of those influencers has repeatedly urged his audience to donate to Platner without disclosing any financial connection.

The Washington Free Beacon reviewed Platner's FEC spending records and found the payments went to Be a Good Influence LLC, a Louisville, Kentucky-based firm commonly known as Good Influence. The company describes itself as "the trusted partner for measurable creator-led campaigns" and says it "bundles elite news and cause-focused online creators together to create a network effect" for its clients.

The gap between Platner's public image and his spending habits is the kind of thing voters in a purple state like Maine deserve to know about, and the kind of thing mainstream outlets have so far failed to report.

Platner built his campaign on the claim that he answers to ordinary people, not moneyed interests. His own FEC filings show he's paying a professional operation to manufacture the appearance of organic enthusiasm. If that's grassroots, the word has lost all meaning.

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Be A Good Influence LLC is a political consulting firm that recruits and pays social media influencers to promote Democratic Party candidates and left-leaning causes to their audiences.

In early 2024, Josh Cook joined the company, Good Influence LLC, as its president. For A long-time Democratic Party digital strategist, Cook had been a digital strategist for President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.