Mainers Want Fresh New Faces to Repesent them in Washington, DC Such as Oyster Farmer and US Marine Vet Graham Platner, 41.  He Served Three Tours with the US Marines in Iraq and one Tour with the National Guard in Afghanistain

“The New Republic” this week highlighted Graham Platner’s strong position – not just in this June’s primary but also in the general.  Platner “has continued to lead in many polls,” and research shows that even though “Platner is less well known than Mills, he’s better liked — and that voters seem to like him more the more they get to know him.”  Further, the same poll found that “55 percent of voters say they ‘strongly supported his candidacy compared to ‘only 32 percent for Mills.

The piece details another poll which tested the Democratic candidates in a head-to-head against incumbent Senator Susan Collins (R),

“One of those surveys, conducted by Z and A Research between November 14 and 18, found that both candidates had a one-point advantage in a head-to-heatd race against Collins.  46 to 45 percent, with 7 percent unsure and 2 percent saying they had no plan to vote.  The only difference is in the undecideds:  For Platner, 7 percent are unsure and 2 percent say they had no plan to vote;  for Mills, those figures are 5 percent and 3 percent, respectively.  That figure is good news for Platner:  One of Mill’s most important arguments to voters is that she is the more ‘electable candidate,’  There’s little reason, either from this poll or several others, to suggest she has a huge advantage there.’

The story also discusses Platner’s campaigning which has helped him build such a strong lead, noting that he has recently “resumed the town hall meetings that made him a sensation.”  At event after event, Graham has turned out huge crowds across Maine.  It is “increasingly clear that he’s the front-runner” in this race.

The piece concludes:

“Maine might be the most important Senate race in 2026, given that a Republican presidential candidate hasn’t carried the state since 1988 – and yet Collins has represented it since 1997.  Many pundits outside the state, including me, wrote off Platner after his scandal-plagued October, but it’s increasingly clear that he’s the front-runner.”

Graham lives in Sullivan with his wife, Amy, just three doors down from the house where he grew up.