The candidacy and subsequent meltdown of Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner can be credited to Dan Osborn, an “independent” candidate hoping to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts in Nebraska.
The video obtained exclusively by Townhall Media shows an apparent campaign staffer identified as “Colleen” explaining the Osborn-Platner connection to an unidentified individual.
“So he has also recruited other candidates around the country to run that are doing similar things,” the video shows Colleen saying, referring to “a few independents” and “a few Democrats.”
“This is not really out there publicly, but he recruited Graham Platner,” Colleen said in the video obtained by Townhall Media. It is not known when the video was created.
When asked if Osborn and Platner “know each other,” Colleen responded, “Yeah.”
“Dan, after the last election, he started a program to recruit working class candidates to run,” Colleen said, directing the individual to the website for Working Class Heroes Fund.
“Dan is an independent who ran for US Senate against an incumbent Republican Senator,” the website says on the “About Us” page, identifying him as the leader.
Sources tell Townhall Media Nebraska Democrats are planning for Democratic Senate candidate Cindy Burbank to drop out so the November race will feature Ricketts against Osborn.
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Colleen’s statements underscore Platner’s statements when he revealed on the Lever Time podcast that he was recruited by Osborn.
Recounting a conversation with a campaign operative, Platner said, “‘Do you know who Dan Osborn is?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, of course,’ and he’s like, ‘Good, this will be much easier. We’re in Maine and we’re looking for somebody to run for U.S. Senate.’”
Platner said the individual came back with Morris Katz from a political consulting firm called Fight Agency.
“Then we sat down for three hours and they laid out an actual plan and all of a sudden Amy (Platner) and I are like, shit,” Platner said on the podcast, confirming the ultimate recruiter was Osborn.
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