The Platner Primary

Graham Platner
Graham Platner in Portland, Maine, June 2026. Photo: Laura Brett/Getty Images
Leigh Ann Caldwell
June 8, 2026

Join Puck to listen to this article

By tomorrow night, embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner will officially be the Democratic nominee. But he’s hardly the guy whom Democrats originally envisioned taking down Sen. Susan Collins. The incumbent was already a formidable campaigner; now she has at her disposal an encyclopedia of oppo research with which to sway the moderate Democratic and independent voters who will decide the general election.