Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner’s campaign projected confidence on Tuesday even as it expressed deep concerns about being overwhelmingly outspent thus far by Republican allies of five-term Sen. Susan Collins.
Last week, the campaign was enthusiastic about its own $440,000 in ad spending paired with another $1.2 million from Democratic groups. But Republican spending in the race exceeded $4.3 million, Platner campaign manager Ben Chin said in a call with reporters.
Total ad reservations for Republicans between November of 2025 through Election Day approaches $108 million, nearly double Democrats’ $55.5 million, according to AdImpact. Republican groups are outspending Democratic ones by more than four times this week and are currently tracking to have a notable advantage every week through November.
“We feel really good about going toe-to-toe with Sen. Collins’ campaign, particularly on the spending side,” Chin said. “But we are being absolutely blown out of the water by out of state spending by conservative super PACs.”
The press call came as the race is projected to draw almost $400 million in ad spending, the fourth-highest among Senate races across the country where Democrats hope to flip seats to take control of the chamber. It also came as Platner continues to make inroads with the Democratic establishment and hopes to tap into more fundraising and spending power even as his campaign touts its working-class donors.
Chin said the Platner campaign is excited about grassroots momentum and holding a slight lead in the latest New York Times/Siena College/Portland Press Herald poll. The second quarter’s average contribution will be about $30, with 99% under $200, he said. The quarter drew tens of thousands of new supporters, with two-thirds of donors giving for the first time.
“It’s working people ready to take on billionaire money that’s dominating our politics,” Chin said.
The Democrat’s campaign has touted a recent Maine Monitor report finding 100 billionaires and spouses have donated to efforts to back Collins. Her campaign on Tuesday noted that Platner has received donations from billionaires George Soros, Christy Walton, Jennifer Pritzker, and Jon and Pat Stryker.
While Platner has emphasized building a working-class coalition, the Times poll showed Collins winning non-college voters 58%-37%. Most voters in Maine don’t have a four-year degree.
“Graham Platner has built his campaign around attacking the influence of wealthy donors, yet he has no problem benefitting from millions of dollars in outside spending by Democratic super PACs and wealthy partisan donors like George Soros,” Shawn Roderick, Collins’ campaign spokesperson, said.
The oyster farmer and military veteran said he’s continued to engage with Democratic leaders such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who heads the Democrats’ Senate campaign arm. He described the effort as cordial and cooperative phone calls and meetings and the “boring” process of getting to know people better. The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee says it’s working to form a joint fundraising committee with Platner, Politico reported.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down federal limits on spending coordinated between political committees and federal candidates. The previous cap in U.S. Senate races for this cycle was between $130,000 to $4 million depending on the voting age population of each state, according to the Federal Election Commission.
The 6-3 ruling by the conservative-majority court dispensed with the limits, arguing they violated the First Amendment. It was championed by President Donald Trump and Republicans as a victory for free speech. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin and other Democratic leaders said the ruling was part of an effort by Republicans “to drown out the will of the voters by flooding elections with more money from their billionaire backers.”
Platner said he hasn’t given much thought to big-name Democrats he’d like to see come campaign and fundraise in Maine, but that he’d welcome them.
“We are certainly in a place where I’m happy to take all the support I can get,” he said. “We are up against an immense amount of money right now in this state. And we are up against a system that is not going to let us have this lightly.”