Greg Bates is a writer and freelance editor living in Midcoast Maine.

At Graham Platner’s packed town hall in Belfast lately, someone asked a question close to my heart: How will you entice Mainers growing up here to stay, while attracting new families?

I miss my two children who left Maine to pursue careers thousands of miles away, so I strained to hear Platner’s answer.

To build strong families, Platner pledged free child care with decent wages for it; providers paid for by taxing billionaires. Let’s expand higher ed and vocational schools, lower housing costs, and support unions, he added.

His answer was music to my progressive ears. And that’s the problem. He energizes those who already agree with him. But to win, Platner must also convince many of Sen. Susan Collins’ voters.

That’s harder than windsurfing in a hurricane. Collins will deploy what’s defeated every challenger since her initial 1996 election. Now Maine’s senior senator, she will advocate for maintaining our power in the Senate through her chairing of the Appropriations Committee.

And she’ll highlight her record of garnering $577 million in federal funds for 231 projects in 2024, $308 million in 2023 and lots more before that.

To win, Platner must go all out organizing for what persuadable voters want most: creating tens of thousands of well-paid jobs for Maine. He supports unions. But we need more. In poll after poll, many Trump voters, be they independent, Democrat or Republican, voice one clear priority: rebuild industry with jobs propelling us to prosperity.

But why campaign for jobs in a low unemployment economy where many of us already have two or more? Because, while American children born in the 1940s had a 90% chance of doing better than their parents, the chance for children born in 1980 had dropped to 50%.

There is no excuse: wages have barely budged even as the country’s wealth has skyrocketed for decades. Let’s return to the days when one job generously supported a family, and two-income families could live like kings.

President Trump gets it. Unfortunately, his promise to provide so many jobs that we wouldn’t know which to choose from was hollow. But what if Democrats actually delivered on it? I don’t believe Platner’s focus on proposals like Medicare for All, increasing the federal minimum wage, unions and taxing billionaires, while all worthy goals, will galvanize those he must win over as effectively as prioritizing jobs.

Admittedly, there is a good case for not centering the campaign on jobs. Platner pointed out that many Trump voters — citing conversations with his neighbors — approve of Medicare for All and other programs. That’s important. But Trump’s voters also know that good jobs contribute far more to a satisfying and financially secure life than any government program can.

In short, the factor most likely to decide the election is a four-letter word rarely emphasized by Democrats: jobs.

Options for rebuilding manufacturing here abound. With the U.S. facing energy constraints, Maine could play a pivotal role in generating power for the AI revolution through solar, offshore wind and tidal. If the energy space isn’t your jam, the opportunities remain limitless nonetheless.

China outpaced U.S. shipbuilding by 1,000 to 8 last year, but Maine knows how to build ships. Like Americans everywhere, Mainers value hard work — and politicians who work hard to secure it. We stand ready.

Against the hunger for booming employment, Sen. Collins’ three-decade effort to procure federal funding that amounts to a few hundred dollars per Mainer per year is paltry. Maine needs a champion to put massive job creation front and center. Running as an outsider, Graham Platner is the change candidate best suited to lead the charge.

I share Platner’s optimism because his conversations with Trump voters mirror my own. Behind confounding divisions lies enormous common ground. During the 2024 election, many MAGA voters displayed signs reading, “Dream Big Again.” Yes, it’s time.