Progressive oyster farmer Graham Platner, whose insurgent U.S. Senate campaign has weathered scandals and ended Gov. Janet Mills’ political career, will face Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins in November after winning his Tuesday primary.
Platner had 77.7% of votes to 16.7% for Mills, who remained on the ballot despite suspending her campaign in April, when the Bangor Daily News and Decision Desk HQ, its election results partner, called the race at 9:07 p.m. Former government official and 2024 U.S. Senate nominee David Costello received 5.6%.
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Platner led in polls for months and became the presumptive nominee after Mills suspended her bid, citing a lack of cash after Platner built up early enthusiasm and fundraising last summer. His victory Tuesday marked a test of his grassroots support and a show of strength for a political newcomer plagued by controversies while going on the offensive against a powerful five-term incumbent in one of the country’s biggest races.
During his victory speech, Platner said it was his job to earn the trust of those who did not vote for him, thanking Democrats for backing him and crediting his campaign’s success to his staff and volunteer network.
“This is because of you,” he said.
While he was leaking relatively few Democratic votes early on election night, he now faces a different set of questions in cautious Democrats, independents and an increasing onslaught of advertising from Collins-aligned groups that are already flooding tens of millions of dollars into Maine to help Republicans hold the Senate.
Some established Democrats in Maine and Washington remain concerned about revelations that Platner sent sexually explicit messages to several women early in his marriage, and was accused by ex-girlfriends of toxic behavior. These stories followed lingering criticism over a Nazi-linked tattoo he’s since covered and old offensive social media posts about women, Black people and rural Mainers.
The Democrat has apologized for his Reddit posts and denied any inference that he’s been violent in past relationships. He’s also framed his campaign around his own growth after years with post-traumatic stress disorder, while also pushing for a working-class movement to upend the status quo in Washington.
His private life has been “weaponized,” he told a cheering crowd at a Bar Harbor rally Friday, arguing that Collins’ public life has dodged adequate scrutiny over nearly 30 years in the Senate. But the general election will put to the test Mills’ assertion in February that Republican ads will “make mincemeat” of the political newcomer on the road to November.
More than $150 million in advertising time has been reserved in the race, according to AdImpact data. That is already more than the $120 million during Collins’ record-smashing 2020 race. Of that, $100 million has been from Republicans. A pro-Collins group released two ads Tuesday that feature Mainers reading offensive posts from the candidate.
“Mainers aren’t looking for bitter campaigns, grand promises, or angry speeches riddled with lies,” Collins spokesperson Shawn Roderick said in a statement. “They’re looking for results. They want affordable health care, safe communities, good-paying jobs, strong schools, and someone who will show up and do the work.”
Republicans aren’t the only ones criticizing the newly minted nominee. Centrist U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-New Jersey, told CNN on Tuesday that Platner should withdraw from the race. But several leading progressives such as U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, have not jumped ship.
Platner has described Collins as part of a corrupt system beholden to corporate donors. He supports a number of progressive initiatives, including a Medicare for All system, a billionaires tax, immigration reform, tribal sovereignty and ending so-called forever wars.
His supporters have backed up that message, including at the polls Tuesday. Bobby Taylor, a 58-year-old truck driver and independent who voted in the Democratic primary, said Platner reminded him of himself and that many of the scandals had no business being aired in public.
“I’m kind of a lot like Graham. I have a big mouth. I say the way things are, and I’m not scared of it,” Taylor said. “I don’t hide it. I think he’s very upfront.”
BDN writer Cameron Levasseur contributed to this report.