Maine Veteran and Oyster Farmer Leads Senate Primary by Double Digits

Graham Platner is running away with Maine's Democratic Senate primary before a single vote has been cast. The 41-year-old Marine Corps and Army veteran and oyster farmer from Sullivan, Maine, held leads ranging from 27 to 38 percentage points over two-term Gov. Janet Mills across a series of recent polls, numbers so commanding that his campaign released a memo in early April declaring the primary "all but over."

The Emerson College poll showed Platner leading Mills 55% to 28%, a 27-point margin, with 13% undecided. A University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll conducted February 24 put the gap even wider: Platner at 58%, Mills at 24%, with 14% undecided. A Maine People's Alliance-affiliated poll from April showed a 33-point lead. Only a Pan Atlantic Research survey, among 367 likely Democratic primary voters, found a tighter contest: Platner 46%, Mills 39%.

The money told a similar story. Platner booked more than $2.9 million in advertising between March and early April. Mills, by contrast, halted new ad bookings entirely by early April, a significant retreat for a candidate who entered the race with the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and EMILY's List.

"There is a very tired playbook that the Democrats have run for a while where D.C. chooses establishment candidates based on their fundraising capacity," Platner said on CBS News' "The Takeout." "Clearly, that is a failed strategy."

Born in Blue Hill, Maine, Platner served eight years across four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan before briefly working for the U.S. Department of State in Afghanistan. He returned home in 2018 to take over the Waukeag Neck Oyster Farm in Sullivan, a small coastal town near Acadia National Park, where he also serves as harbormaster and Planning Board Chair. He cast his campaign as a "blue-collar revolution" against Washington insiders.

His endorsement list reflected the progressive wing's full commitment. Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed Platner in September 2025 and appeared with him at a Labor Day rally in Portland that drew over 6,000 attendees. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Martin Heinrich, and Ruben Gallego of Arizona followed. Gallego, a fellow former Marine, offered a blunt assessment: "Graham is the only Democrat running that can win Maine." Heinrich and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse also hosted fundraisers on Platner's behalf.

The campaign weathered serious controversy. CNN's KFile traced a series of since-deleted Reddit posts to Platner, including a 2021 comment in which he wrote "I got older and became a communist" on r/Antiwork, alongside posts containing offensive remarks about Black diners, rural white Americans, sexual assault victims, and law enforcement. He also faced scrutiny over a chest tattoo resembling a Nazi "totenkopf" skull, since covered with a new design. Platner attributed the posts to "disillusionment" after his military service. Mills launched attack ads targeting the controversies in March 2026; Platner responded with counter-ads, and his poll numbers held.

The stakes of the June 9 primary reach well beyond Maine. The winner will face incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, seeking a sixth term, in the only Republican-held Senate seat up for election in a state Kamala Harris carried in 2024 by approximately 7 points. Democrats hold a 53-47 Senate minority and see the race as their clearest path to a pickup. Collins defeated then-Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon by 9 points in 2020 but now carries a 57% unfavorable rating against 38% favorable. General election polling shows Platner leading Collins 48%-41% in one survey, while a Fabrizio, Lee & Associates poll gives Collins a narrow 45%-44% edge.

David Costello, the 2024 Democratic nominee, and write-in candidate Andrea LaFlamme, a University of Maine adjunct professor, are also in the primary. The general election is November 3, 2026.