Graham Platner leads Janet Mills in Maine Senate primary, poll says

Oyster farmer Graham Platner has a wide lead over Gov. Janet Mills in the Maine Democratic primary election for the U.S. Senate, according to a new poll. The race may be critical as Democrats try to take back control of the Senate, where Republicans hold a narrow 53-47 majority.

The poll, conducted by Emerson College, also shows that in a hypothetical general election, both Platner and Mills have an advantage over incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Platner, a 41-year-old former Marine and combat veteran, is one of many younger Democrats nationwide looking to upstage older candidates.

According to the poll, Platner has a 27-point lead over Mills among likely Democratic primary voters, with 54.7% of respondents indicating they would vote for Platner and 28% indicating they would vote for Mills; 13% of respondents said they were undecided.

When asked if they would support Platner or Collins if the election were held today, 47.8% of respondents in the Emerson College poll said they would support Platner, versus 40.6% who would support Collins.

When the same question was asked about Mills and Collins, 46.2% of respondents said they would support Mills, versus 42.5% who would support Collins.

Mills was first elected in 1997 and has frequently clashed with President Donald Trump on federal policies, including on transgender rights and reproductive care. At 78, she would become the oldest ever freshman senator if elected.

Platner's campaign has also faced controversy: A tattoo of a skull and crossbones, associated with Nazi symbolism, that he got nearly two decades ago and old Reddit posts he made about sexual assault and political violence garnered national attention.

Since then, he’s acknowledged and apologized for the Reddit posts and revealed a new tattoo to cover the old one.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face off with Collins in November. A centrist Republican, Collins, 73, has had public disagreements with Trump – she was one of three Republicans who voted against confirming Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. However, she has also voted reliably with her party on many key decisions.

The Emerson College Polling survey polled 1,075 likely Maine voters between March 21 and 23. It had a margin of error of 2.9 points. There were 530 likely Democratic primary voters in Maine surveyed, with a margin of error of 4.2 points.