(The Center Square) — Democrat and oyster farmer Graham Platner is leading incumbent Sen. Susan Collins in Maine’s pivotal U.S. Senate race, according to a new independent poll released Thursday.
The Pan Atlantic Research Survey poll of about 800 likely Maine voters found Platner leading Collins by 48% to 41%, with 11% undecided. Collins had an edge in Maine’s conservative-leaning 2nd Congressional District — which President Donald Trump won in the 2024 elections — while Platner was ahead in the 1st Congressional District, which leans Democratic.
Pollsters also found that Collins is underwater in her ratings, with only 13% of those polled viewing her favorably. At least 56% said they viewed her “somewhat unfavorably” or “very unfavorably” in the survey. Platner is also leading Collins among women voters (53%-34%) while Collins appears to have a slight edge among male voters (47%-44%), according to the poll.
“One month ago a billionaire-funded super PAC launched a massive wave of attack ads in this race. Millions of dollars, all to give Susan Collins her sixth term,” Platner posted on social media, touting the poll’s results. “One month later, we lead by 7.”
Platner, a Marine Corps veteran who served four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, jumped into the race in August with support from progressives, including Democratic Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
He became the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee earlier this month after two-term Gov. Janet Mills announced she was bowing out of the Senate race amid lackluster polling and fundraising.
Democrats are pinning their hopes on the political newcomer as the party’s best shot at defeating five-term Collins next year and regaining control of the U.S. Senate for Democrats.
The Senate Majority PAC announced this week that it plans to spend $31.4 million on TV ads backing his bid to unseat Collins.
Collins, a moderate Republican, was first elected to the Senate in 1996 and has been handily reelected every term since then despite opposition.
In the 2020 election, Collins was reelected by nearly 9 points in the blue state, even as then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden carried the state by a similar margin. Ahead of the election, polls showed Collins trailing behind Democrat Sara Gideon.
Republicans have ramped up criticism of Platner in recent weeks, targeting his controversial tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol — which he had removed — and a now-deleted video where he mocked a fellow soldier on social media who was injured in a combat operation in Afghanistan.
The Senate Leadership Fund, which is aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, has devoted $10 million to TV ads supporting Collin’s reelection bid.
The Maine race is being watched by national political observers as Democrats push to retake the U.S. Senate — where Republicans currently have a 53-47 majority — in the midterms. Both the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball have listed the Maine Senate race as a toss-up.
