Copyright Newsweek
Graham Platner, a Maine Democrat seeking to challenge GOP Senator Susan Collins, was dealt a blow in the latest poll of the battleground race. Newsweek reached out to spokespersons for Platner, Collins and Democratic Governor Janet Mills for comment via email. Why It Matters Maine’s Senate race is viewed as one of Democrats’ best pickup opportunities on paper ahead of the 2026 midterms, as Collins is the one Republican representing a state won by former Vice President Kamala Harris last November. However, Collins has proven to be able to win in tough environments in the past, including in 2020, when she won despite former President Joe Biden easily winning the Pine Tree State. Platner has become a favorite among the party’s left flank, but a series of scandals surrounding old Reddit posts and a tattoo appearing to use Nazi imagery have threatened to derail his campaign. He is facing Governor Mills, a more moderate Democrat who has earned backing of the party establishment, in the primary. A new poll reveals how those scandals have affected his chances against Collins if he were to win the party’s nomination. What to Know A new poll conducted on behalf of the Democratic organization EMILYs List—which has endorsed Mills—was made public on Wednesday. It delivered troubling news for the Platner campaign. Most voters in Maine would prefer to reelect Collins over Platner, according to the survey first reported by Politico. Collins held a nine-point lead over Platner in the poll (51 percent to 42 percent). When respondents were provided more information about Platner’s scandals, Collins’ lead grew to 19 points (57 percent to 38 percent). Collins still led by 14 points after respondents were given a response by Platner (55 percent to 41 percent). It surveyed 700 likely voters from October 22-27 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. The poll found that Maine voters would still prefer to vote for Democrats on a generic ballot by a nine-point margin (46 percent to 37 percent), and that Collins’ approval remains underwater, with 54 percent disapproving of her performance and 44 percent giving her positive marks. Notably, it did not include a question about the hypothetical matchup between Mills and Collins, or the Democratic primary. CNN first reported Platner’s resurfaced Reddit posts on October 16. Posts ranged from identifying as a "communist" to comments about rural white voters. In a 2020 Reddit thread titled "White people aren’t as racist or stupid as Trump thinks," he responded: "Living in white rural America, I’m afraid to tell you they actually are." In a second round of resurfaced posts reported by The Bangor Daily News on October 17, he reportedly posted a question about Black people not tipping and a post about sexual assault victims. He allegedly wrote that people should "take some responsibility for themselves and not get so f***** up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to?" He has also faced backlash over his tattoo that resembled the Totenkopf, or "death’s head," a symbol adopted by Nazis. Platner has apologized for the posts and tattoo. He told The Associated Press he has covered the tattoo and said he was unaware the symbol was linked to Nazism. He told CNN the posts were "very much me f****** around the internet." What People Are Saying Pollster Adam ZCarlson raised concerns about the poll on X: "If you’re an org backing Mills trying to push a narrative that Platner is unelectable with hard numbers, sorry but you’re gonna have to show your work." Maine State Representative Laurel Libby, a Republican, wrote on X: "You mean Mainers don't want an avowed Communist as their Senator?" Zeteo Politics Editor Andrew Perez wrote on X: "Mills and her allies are trying to end Platner’s grassroots campaign without doing any actual work. So far, there is little sign of a Mills Senate campaign in Maine. EMILY’s List for some reason didn’t bother to include Mills in this poll." What Happens Next Candidates will spend the coming months making their cases to Mainers about why they are the strongest candidates in the Senate race. Forecasters like the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball classify the race as a pure toss-up.
