Maine Democrats’ Costly Senate Primary Pits Mills Against Platner to Challenge Susan Collins

NPR reports that Maine’s Democratic primary to take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins has turned into a bruising, high‑spending fight between Gov. Janet Mills and first‑time candidate Graham Platner, even as Collins and national Republicans conserve resources for November. The June 9 primary has become a proxy war between party factions: Mills was recruited by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for her statewide track record, while Platner, a combat veteran and oyster farmer, is backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and appeals to Democrats angry at Washington leaders’ past failed efforts against Collins. The contest has been reshaped by revelations of Platner’s old offensive social‑media posts and a now‑covered tattoo mirroring Nazi imagery, which he admits are his; Mills is now airing ads highlighting a 2013 Reddit comment in which Platner blamed intoxicated women for sexual encounters, while Platner has apologized and blamed his wartime anger and disillusionment. Despite that baggage, recent polls from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center and Pan Atlantic SMS show Platner leading Mills in the primary, raising Democratic worries about nominating a damaged candidate in a race party strategists already view as a longshot but still important to their uphill bid to retake the Senate. Republican‑aligned outside groups are outspending both Democrats to protect Collins as she runs for a sixth term, underscoring how national money and internal Democratic divisions are colliding in a small but potentially pivotal state.