"Republicans had welcomed Graham Platner as a foil to Collins, who is trying to win a sixth Senate term in a state that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024. But now, while Maine Democrats prepare for an intense two-week sprint to replace Platner, Collins's team will have to start from scratch in their strategy against a new nominee — who may not be known until close to the party's July 27 deadline to declare one.
"And according to a person familiar with the campaign's thinking, Collins's team had viewed Platner as a uniquely vulnerable opponent whose personal controversies could help offset a big challenge in 2026: running as a Republican in the era of President Donald Trump.
"Polling published in late June showed Collins and Platner in an extremely close race.
"'She can certainly win, but they didn’t want to change candidates,' the person familiar with the campaign's thinking said. 'The stuff we already knew about Platner was going to propel Collins to overcome the Trump anchor. Now it’s going to be a Democrat with a cleaner record, presumably.'"
—POLITICO, July 9, 2026
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