Mainers Want Fresh New Faces to Repesent them in Washington, DC Such as Oyster Farmer and US Marine Vet Graham Platner, 41.  He Has Served Deployments as a US Marine in Iraq and Once in Afghanistan as a Member of the National Guard.

New survey results released today show Graham Platner well ahead of Governor Janet T. Mills (D-ME) in the Democratic Primary for US Senate, having widened his lead to 33 percentage points, 6l% to 28%.  Platner also leads in a general election match up with incumbent Senator Susan Collins by 9 points, 48% to 39% with 12% undecided.

The poll conducted in late March by Maine People’s Resource Center, after a wave of negative advertising against Platner from the Mills campaign. shows that the attack ads may have backfired, with Mills’ unfavoracble rating rising to the highest level in at least the last five years.

Platner led Mills among men and women and in all age ranges.

In other results, the February surge by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Maine seems to have hardened public opinion against the federal agency.  Asked “do you approve or disapprove of the way the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, is doing its job?”  55% of Mainers said no, for a net job approval of – 16%.  That’s down from – 11% when the same question was asked in October.

48% of Mainers say that most undocumented immigrants in the US should be provided with a pathway to legal status, compared to 43% who favor deportation.

The survey, conducted by the Maine People’s Resource Center of 1,168 likely voters from March 20th to March 31st, has a statistical margin of error of +2.9%, 95 times out of 100.

Graham Platner has been endorsed by Congressman Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren as well as several other progressive Congressmen.