It's the Win Some Democrats Didn't Want

Graham Platner won the Maine Democratic primary for US Senate on Tuesday, setting up a high-stakes race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Platner, an oyster farmer and former chair of the planning board in the small town of Sullivan, has little political experience but has drawn hundreds of people to rallies around the state. He also has faced with a string of controversies that have been the focus of attacks from his rivals. Democrats see Maine as a top opportunity to flip a GOP-held seat, the AP reports. It is the only state with a competitive Senate race where voters supported Democrat Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in 2024. Collins is the only Republican senator from New England.

Platner, a progressive who had early support from Sen. Bernie Sanders, has said he plans to focus on economic issues such as housing and healthcare. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who is nearing the end of her second and final term in office, had sought the nomination against Platner but dropped out in late April.

• As polls closed at 8pm Tuesday in Maine, Platner was making his final pitch to voters. "We're going to change the world," Platner said in a video posted on social media ahead of polls closing. "We. All of us."
• Platner's path to the nomination grew easier in late April when Democratic Gov. Janet Mills dropped out, citing a lack of money, though her name still appeared on the primary ballot because she suspended her campaign late in the race. The only other Democratic candidate was David Costello, a former government official in Maryland who has not campaigned aggressively.
• Platner has been dogged by political controversy, including sexually explicit text messages he reportedly sent to women while he was married and former girlfriends' claims that he could be demeaning toward women. His background has made some Democrats anxious about their chance to flip the important seat.
• Since entering the race, Platner has stressed the importance of believing in redemption for those like him who have made mistakes but are now working to be better people. "If you believe, as I do, that we can change our politics and change our country, then you must also believe that people can change," Platner said during his acceptance speech in Blue Hill, a rural town where he was born. "And the reason I believe that is because I have lived it."
• Platner's Democratic critics hoped a poor result on Tuesday would push him to bow out of the race. But in early results, he had around 75% of the vote, with just under 20% going to Mills, per the New York Times. Collins, meanwhile, was unopposed in the Republican primary.