Graham Platner went from unknown to viral, survived a nearly unprecedented onslaught of negative stories highlighting his offensive internet posts, raised $12 million and just outlasted the two-term governor of his home state to win the Democratic nomination for Senate, becoming the first progressive insurgent to win a battleground Senate nomination in more than a decade.
Now comes the hard part.
Gov. Janet Mills’ decision on Thursday to drop out of the Maine Democratic Senate primary has given Platner a golden opportunity and a daunting assignment: He will be the party’s candidate, charged with defeating six-term incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins.
“Republicans are planning on running a scorched-earth campaign, and we’re ready for that,” Platner told reporters during a brief appearance on a conference call on Thursday, adding: “When we build something that Mainers can get behind, that is grounded in giving a voice and power to working Mainers, they show up. I am very, very confident that the movement we are building is going to fight back against that kind of politics.”
Collins has an aura of invincibility following her 2020 victory and the ability to brag about bringing home huge sums of federal dollars as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, but she is facing steep political headwinds, with both her and President Donald Trump’s approval ratings sinking as the political environment turns poisonous for the GOP. A slew of public polls in recent weeks have shown Platner leading Collins in general election matchups.
