Graham Platner, a left‑wing Democrat standing for the U.S. Senate seat from Maine, has repeatedly described his campaign as the strongest grassroots effort the state has ever seen. He has also insisted that he does not need corporate political action committees, relying instead on a self‑described “grassroots army”.
Payments to Good Influence
Campaign finance records indicate that Platner’s campaign has paid an amount described as tens of thousands of dollars to Good Influence, a consulting firm headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. The firm was founded by Democratic political operative Stuart Perelmuter and markets itself as creating impact for causes and campaigns through a network of online messengers.
Good Influence lists Qasim Rashid as a featured influencer. Rashid has publicly praised Platner’s progressive policies and urged supporters to donate to the campaign. He has also produced articles and videos that promote Platner, including a Substack post that called Platner’s fundraising text “the best fundraising text I’ve ever seen”. The Substack piece did not contain a disclosure about any financial relationship with Good Influence or Platner’s campaign.
According to Perelmuter, Good Influence does not require its influencers to disclose when they are paid. Federal campaign rules require campaigns to disclose payments made to independent vendors such as Good Influence, but they do not require disclosure of which specific influencers were paid. The IRS also requires political nonprofit organisations to list their five highest‑paid independent contractors who receive more than $100,000 for services.
Brendan Fischer of the Campaign Legal Center has expressed concern about the opacity of the arrangement, stating, "You can't see where the money is coming from, and you can't see where it's going."
Platner has been portrayed by outlets such as Politico and The New Yorker as harnessing “grassroots energy” capable of defeating the establishment, yet neither publication has reported on the payments to Good Influence.
The practice of paying social‑media influencers for political promotion is described as a relatively new phenomenon, raising questions about the transparency of modern campaign financing.