Graham Platner, a political newcomer mounting a bulldog campaign against two Maine political heavyweights, has made railing against the Washington establishment a hallmark of his bid for U.S. Senate.

Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer, has framed his campaign as a grassroots movement, touting the large crowds at his rallies and his legion of roughly 12,000 volunteers, while shunning the political machine and consultants in D.C.

“This is not a campaign that’s run by consultants,” Platner said at a Feb. 5 online volunteer training in a recording obtained by the Press Herald. “It’s not a campaign where we’re bringing in a bunch of fancy D.C. people who just have money and connections. This is a campaign that is literally being run primarily by Mainers here on the ground.”

Platner has made similar comments in local and national interviews.

But his campaign finance records show he spent about $2.5 million on out-of-state consultants for general campaign and digital strategy, media buys, fundraising, communications and compliance — nearly all of which, $2.25 million, went to consultants in Washington, D.C.

Ben Chin, Platner’s campaign manager, downplayed the spending. He said the strength of the campaign is its grassroots organization and volunteers, which are overseen by field director Spencer Toth, who he said grew up in Bangor.

“We are not running a regular campaign here in Maine,” Chin said in a written statement. “We are building an organizing operation the likes of which have never been seen in Maine. … It’s how we collected the necessary signatures to get on the ballot in 48 hours — weeks quicker than our opponents, and it’s how we’ve positioned ourself to win this primary in June and the general in November.”

Most of the out-of-state money has been spent on D.C.-based Helix Campaigns, which received $2.2 million for digital consulting, records show. Common Pheasant Consulting, also based in D.C., received $40,000 for communications consulting.

Chin, who’s based in Maine, said the “vast majority” of the money paid to Helix was for digital advertising.

The campaign has spent another $155,000 combined on consultants from Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, Florida, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maryland, campaign finance records show.

Some $23,300 was spent on Maine consultants, with nearly $18,800 being paid to former state Rep. Genevieve MacDonald, who had a messy divorce with the campaign. She left in October along with several other staffers amid the fallout over numerous Platner controversies, including his online writings and a Nazi symbol tattoo.

The campaign has also used two national political advisers, Joe Calvello and Morris Katz.

Calvello worked on John Fetterman’s 2022 Democratic U.S. Senate campaign in Pennsylvania and Zohran Mamdani’s New York City mayoral campaign. Calvello left Platner’s campaign earlier this year to run communications for the Mamdani administration.

Katz maintains an office New York City and works for the Fight Agency, which has been handling the campaign’s communications since Calvello’s departure.

Katz and Calvello were instrumental in recruiting Platner to run for senate and in launching his meteoric campaign with a buzzy video. Their work netted Platner national coverage at a crucial early moment in his run.

They also led the campaign’s response to the controversial and since-deleted posts on Reddit and the candidate’s since-covered up tattoo resembling a Nazi image.

Platner seems to have weathered those storms by addressing them head-on in interviews and at his many town hall events, where attendees have said they’re impressed with the candidate’s authenticity.

Platner’s campaign also paid out nearly $111,000 in salaries to seven Maine-based workers, including $14,400 to his wife, Amy Gertner, who coordinates volunteers and manages the campaign schedule.

The campaign recently touted that Platner had signed a contract with his union staff. A spokesperson said that agreement covers 12 people, offers 100% employer-paid health insurance, and sets minimum pay at $4,500 a month.