Maine Democratic Senate primary grows bitter as party vies to unseat Susan Collins

A bitter Democratic superior is unfolding successful Maine arsenic 2 candidates conflict for the accidental to situation five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins, 1 of the GOP's astir susceptible incumbents successful the upcoming midterm elections.

The contention pits a centrist sitting governor, Janet Mills, against a progressive firebrand, Graham Platner, an oyster farmer, subject seasoned and erstwhile backstage subject contractor who has built momentum successful caller months. It's besides a generational contest, with the 78-year-old Mills pointing to her way grounds of winning statewide portion 41-year-old Platner casts himself arsenic an outsider candidate.

Polling successful the contention is limited, but immoderate caller surveys amusement Platner starring Mills among Democratic superior voters. Platner's run whitethorn besides person a fiscal edge, raising immoderate $7.8 cardinal past twelvemonth compared to Mills' $2.6 cardinal and Collins' $4.6 million, according to national filings. Less well-known Democratic campaigner David Costello has raised conscionable implicit $21,000, not including loans.

The contention is 1 of this year's astir intimately watched Senate contests, a uncommon accidental for the enactment to prime up a spot successful the enclosure successful the midterms. It is definite to gully important extracurricular spending, fixed the aggravated involvement successful the contention and its nationalist stakes.

The high-stakes contention has triggered an escalation successful attacks, with the Mills run unveiling a antagonistic ad Tuesday that highlights arguable statements allegedly made by Platner connected the online forum Reddit.

The advertisement quotes Platner writing successful 2013 that women acrophobic astir rape should "not get truthful f***ed up they upwind up having enactment with idiosyncratic they don't mean to" and should "act similar an big for f***s sake."

According to sources acquainted with the campaign's media strategy, the six-figure advertisement bargain is moving statewide crossed broadcast, cablegram and streaming platforms.

CBS News has reached retired to representatives of Platner's run for comment.

Platner has antecedently apologized for galore of those posts. Asked astir the rape-related comment, helium told The Atlantic past twelvemonth that helium was "f***ing embarrassed."

"For those of you who person work these things and been offended, person work these things and seen idiosyncratic that you don't recognize, I americium profoundly sorry," Platner said successful an October video, saying the posts were written "in an earlier portion of my life." He added that immoderate of the posts echoed the "crude humor" that was communal successful subject circles, and reflected the slump and post-traumatic accent upset that helium faced aft his clip successful Iraq with the Marine Corps and successful Afghanistan with the National Guard.

Platner's Reddit past has drawn contention since past fall, erstwhile CNN and respective different quality outlets uncovered posts successful which helium allegedly called himself a communist, referred to cops arsenic "bastards" and appeared to hold with the sentiment that agrarian White radical are racist and stupid.

Platner has besides faced scrutiny aft it was revealed past twelvemonth that helium had a tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol. He said helium has since covered up the tattoo, which helium says helium got during a nighttime of dense drinking successful Croatia astir 2 decades agone and didn't recognize it had immoderate Nazi connotations.

The societal media posts and tattoo person fueled intra-party contention successful a contention wherever some large Democratic candidates person focused overmuch of their nationalist messaging connected attacking Collins.

Mills, a fashionable governor, was a apical enlistee of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. During the campaign, she has pointed to her grounds arsenic a territory attorney, lawyer wide and two-term politician — winning reelection successful 2022 with 55% of the ballot against erstwhile GOP Gov. Paul LePage. She has besides vowed to combat President Trump, drafting nationalist attraction past year, erstwhile she verbally sparred with the president astir transgender athletes astatine a White House event.

"See you successful court," Mills said to Mr. Trump aft helium threatened to chopped disconnected backing to Maine.

But Mills is simply a people for calls for generational alteration from the party's base. In 1 Platner advertisement released past year, an unnamed idiosyncratic says Mills "was a bully governor, but I deliberation it's clip for change." He has besides called the contest a "generational race" astir "old ideas vs caller ideas."

Platner has tally an insurgent campaign, seeking to entreaty to the populist and progressive wings of the Democratic Party. Platner and his allies person argued that Democrats, who are inactive unpopular successful caller polls, request a much confrontational campaigner consenting to not lone situation Mr. Trump and Republicans, but besides subordinate the enactment establishment.

While Mills has Schumer's backing, Platner has picked up endorsements from respective members of the Democratic caucus, including Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Bernie Sanders of Vermont. He's besides drawn endorsements from the United Auto Workers and the Maine State Nurses Association.

The victor of the Democratic superior successful June volition look disconnected against Collins, who has represented Maine successful the Senate for astir 3 decades. 

Collins is simply a apical people for Democrats, who request to flip 4 GOP-held seats successful bid to instrumentality a bulk successful the Senate, a gangly bid since astir of the Republican-held seats astatine play this twelvemonth are successful deep-red states. Maine leans Democratic, with Mr. Trump losing statewide by 7 percent points successful 2024.

But defeating Collins is not needfully an casual task. The lifelong Mainer — who hails from the state's northernmost and astir isolated region — has carved retired an individuality arsenic a mean who is consenting to interruption with Mr. Trump and GOP leaders, and she has deep section ties passim the state. Collins has vexed Democrats for years: She won reelection successful 2020 by 8.6 points adjacent arsenic Mr. Trump mislaid successful the authorities by 9 points, contempt spending fractional arsenic overmuch money arsenic Democratic hostile Sara Gideon.