You don’t have to hold elected office before running for a high-profile statewide seat — but it sure helps. Josh Elliott offered that take Thursday on lessons learned from the implosion of Graham Platner’s Democratic campaign for the U.S. Senate in Maine. Elliott, a progressive Hamden s tate representative, is challenging two-term incumbent Ned Lamont for governor in Connecticut. Both are slated to appear on the Democratic primary ballot on Aug. 11. Whoever wins that primary will face Greenwich Republican State Sen. Ryan Fazio in November’s general election. “What we’re hearing about these allegations in Maine is heartbreaking,” Elliott told the Independent on Thursday when asked about the demise of Platner’s campaign. “This is what happens when people run for these seats and don’t do this work prior.” On Monday, Politico reported a woman accusing Platner of forcing her to have sex with him. The allegation came a month after multiple people told the New York Times about Platner’s troubling behavior with women. Platner withdrew his bid for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday. He has denied all allegations of non-consensual sexual conduct. In some ways, Platner and Elliott are similar candidates: both are relatively young economic populists (Platner and Elliot are both 41) challenging older establishment incumbents (Lamont is 72, Republican Maine U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is 73) for high-level offices. Their platforms advocate for progressive taxation, more home-building, and a single-payer healthcare system. Platner’s and Elliott’s campaigns both also hired affiliates of Fight Agency: a political consulting firm that has worked with progressive heavyweights, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Fight Agency’s Morris Katz and Rebecca Katz played key roles in advising Platner’s campaign. Since qualifying for the Democratic primary ballot in May, Elliott has also worked with Fight Agency to film ads, including this one last week. However, Fight Agency does not advise his campaign on strategy, Elliott said on Thursday. “We didn’t need a political strategist,” he explained, since they already have “a great team” and “know the state.” For his part, Elliott sees “zero parallels” between him and Platner. “It is important to me that I treat the people around me well and that they treat the people around them well,” he said. Elliott, moreover, boasts a far more substantial track record in politics, having served as a state representative for Hamden’s 88th General Assembly District for 10 years. Platner, an oyster farmer and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, has never held elected office. When reflecting on what Platner’s campaign reveals about Fight Agency, Elliott acknowledged that the consultants sometimes seek candidates without much political experience. “The problem is, if you have someone running for one of those big seats, and they haven’t done the vetting by doing state or local work, you’re running a major risk of skeletons in the closet,” he said. Meanwhile, on Thursday afternoon, Elliott’s campaign reached another landmark, when the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) approved his application for $3.75 million in public financing. Elliott told the Independent that he plans to use the money to amplify his ads. The post Elliott On Platner: Vet Candidates Before They Run appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less