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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Graham Platner won the Maine Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, channeling voter frustration over the high cost of living
and overcoming revelations about his past to set up a high-stakes race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Speaking to supporters in the small town where he was born, Platner, an oyster farmer and combat veteran, stressed a message of redemption as he promised to oust Collins. Democrats see the race as a top opportunity to flip a GOP-held seat and a must-win as the party tries to claim control of the Senate in November.
Platner's expected win in the primary came after days of questions about his past personal conduct, particularly his relationships with women, that threatened to undermine enthusiasm on the left over his candidacy.“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, as the crowd cheered on. “And the reason I believe that is because I have lived it.”
Maine 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. He'll be facing one of the most powerful legislators in the Senate, and one of its few remaining moderate Republicans.
“Any of those who feel let down, or disappointed, or disillusioned, it is my job to earn your trust, faith and support, and I will spend every day of this campaign, and if I have the privilege, every day in the United States Senate doing exactly that,” Platner said.
Maine voters on Tuesday also were choosing nominees for governor and U.S. House. The Democratic and Republican primaries for governor and the 2nd Congressional District will be decided by ranked choice voting after no candidate won a majority Tuesday.
After thanking his supporters, Platner quickly pivoted to attacking Collins, who was unopposed in the GOP Maine primary.
"Susan Collins has never met a war she didn’t like, she’s been supporting endless wars since I was a teenager, and I know, I had to fight in two of them,” Platner, a Marine and U.S. Army veteran, said. “You and your friends profited, and my friends died.”
He also criticized Collins for voting alongside Trump, particularly pointing out that she was a key vote in favor of putting conservative judges on the U.S. Supreme Court.
“She has become just as spineless and corrupt as the establishment she now serves,” Platner said, pointing out that Collins once promised to only serve two terms.
First elected in 1996, Collins has said her experience and key position as chair of the powerful appropriations committee are two reasons to send her back to the Senate.
“While others talk about revolution and division, Susan Collins is delivering for Maine communities by funding rural hospitals, supporting our shipbuilders and fishermen, improving infrastructure, expanding broadband, and strengthening public safety,” said Collins’ spokesperson, Shawn Roderick. "Maine people are practical. They care about whether their communities are stronger and their families are better off. That’s exactly what Susan Collins is focused on every single day.”
Platner, 41, has focused his campaign on fighting the high costs he says hold down the middle class and said he got in the race to focus on income inequality. He had early support from progressive champions helping to boost his candidacy.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who backed out of the race earlier this year after citing trouble raising enough funds, has yet to endorse Platner. In a statement Tuesday, the governor thanked her supporters but did not mention Platner.
Platner's background has repeatedly generated criticism from both the right and the left.
Old online comments made by Platner in which he appeared to endorse political violence, dismiss rape in the military, and criticize police officers and rural America surfaced last year. Platner apologized for the comments and said he was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression when he wrote them.
He’s also faced questions about a skull-and-crossbones tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol. Platner has repeatedly said he was unaware of the symbol’s association but has since had the tattoo covered with a different design. A former girlfriend told the New York Times that he did.
More recently, reports emerged that he previously exchanged sexually explicit text messages with several women while married. Platner hasn’t directly denied the texts and instead criticized the aide who talked to news outlets and accused the media of running gossip.
The New York Times last week reported about his relationships with previous girlfriends, one of whom said Platner twisted her arm during an argument and locked her in a room. Platner’s campaign disputed the allegation.
Voter Annette Babcock, from Sullivan, said she's met him a few times and likes that he’s not an established politician. His recent controversies didn't dissuade her from supporting him.
“The Republicans don’t have much moral high ground to stand on when they’re criticizing him for what he’s done when Trump is a convicted felon,” she said.
In the governor's race and 2nd Congressional District, no Democratic or Republican candidate won the majority of votes Tuesday, so the race will go to a ranked runoff.
Democrats are choosing gubernatorial candidates between Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows; former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson; former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Hannah Pingree; energy executive Angus King III; and former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Nirav Shah.
In the 2nd Congressional District, former Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, state Sen. Joe Baldacci, former U.S. Senate candidate Jordan Wood, and social worker Paige Loud are on the ballot for the Democrats. The winner will face former Gov. Paul LePage, a Trump ally.
On the Republican ballot for governor, voters are choosing between former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Bobby Charles; healthcare executive Jonathan Bush; former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason; University of Maine System trustee Owen McCarthy; former Paris, Maine, selectman Robert Wessels; and business owners David Jones and Ben Midgley.
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Associated Press journalist Rodrique Ngowi contributed from Sullivan, Maine.
