(The Center Square) — Oyster farmer and political newcomer Graham Platner is leading Gov. Janet Mills in Maine’s U.S. Senate Democratic primary race by 20 points, according to a new poll.
The poll, funded by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee — which endorsed Platner after it was released on Wednesday — found 58% supported Platner to 38% for Mills, with other candidates in the race trailing single digit percentages. Only 2% of the 845 likely Democratic voters said they were undecided, pollsters said.
Platner’s support was broad but strongest among respondents 50 years old or younger — with 77% of whom said they would vote for him over Mills, according to the poll.
“Platner isn’t just leading in the Democratic primary. He’s leading by a lot,” Z to A pollster Nancy Zdunkewicz said Wednesday during a live-streamed event to announce the poll’s findings. “There are very few undecided voters or weak supporters for Mills to win over at this point in the race.”
Platner, a former Marine, jumped into the race in August, has won support from progressives including Democratic Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who argues that the political newcomer is the party’s best shot at defeating incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins next year and regaining control of the U.S. Senate.
Mills, 77, a two-term governor and former attorney general, jumped into the race in October. She is prevented from seeking another term.
A University of New Hampshire poll last month showed Platner with a similar lead over Mills, 58% to 24% with about 14% of likely voters still undecided.
But the progressive group’s poll comes after Platner has faced criticism over previous remarks about women and race as well as a skull-and-crossbones tattoo he got years ago that resembled a Nazi symbol. He’s apologized for some of those comments and reportedly covered the tattoo.
Whoever emerges from the Democratic primary will face a formidable challenge to unseat Collins, who remains popular among a broad cross-section of Maine voters, including independents.
The 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.
The UNH poll in October showed Collins with a “commanding” lead over her Republican challengers — Carmen Calabrese and Dan Smeriglio — with support from 66% of those surveyed.
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 Senate race as a toss-up.
