Collins calls Democratic challenger too extreme for Maine Senate voters

BANGOR, Maine — Republican Senator Susan Collins believes her likely Democratic opponent in November’s midterm elections, Graham Platner, is too extremist for voters in the New England state.

But Platner, who has pushed an economically populist agenda by targeting corporate influences and defending the working class, argues that it is the moderate Collins who is the “radical”.

With Sen’s support. Bernie Sanders Joined by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Vermont and Rep. Ro Khanna of California, Platner aims to unseat the longtime Republican senator in left-leaning Maine.

This race is one of several that will determine whether the GOP can maintain its slim Senate majority in the midterm elections, and the oyster farmer has been forced to go on the defensive in recent weeks amid growing controversy and negative headlines.

JUDGMENT DAY FOR TOUGH DEMOCRATIC GRAHAM PLATNER

While Collins has remained mostly silent about Platner’s political baggage, he has weighed in on his agenda.

Among his many progressive policy stances, Platner calls for “passing a constitutional amendment that would ban billionaires from buying elections” on his campaign website.

He also emphasized that he is a “strong supporter of Medicare for All” and that he would “support a path to citizenship and an end to the mass deportation machine.”

Asked in an interview with Fox News Digital last month whether Platner was too far left for voters in the northern New England state, Collins said: Maine voters. But frankly, I don’t take anything for granted.”

But Platner counters that Collins is too “radical.”

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Platner responded in an interview on Fox News Digital last month: “My answer is I’m trying to lower the costs of working for Mainers. I’m trying to make sure our communities aren’t emptied out as housing becomes unaffordable for young people. We’re trying to create a system where we don’t see our healthcare system as a way to screw over working people for the benefit of a health insurance CEO.”

“I don’t think that’s radical at all,” he added, claiming: “I actually think what most Mainers agree on is what we need to do.”

Rather, he argued: “The radical is someone like Susan Collins, who has repeatedly supported illegal and insane foreign wars for decades, enabling us to enact policies that help corporations and billionaires at the expense of workers.”

“He voted to send me to Iraq and now he continues to vote to support the war in Iran,” Platner accused. “I regret that I think it is much more radical than having a health care system for the people of Maine that is not collapsing before our eyes.”

FROM PLATNER TO SUPPORTERS: ‘MAINE, YOU SUPPORT ME’

Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine tours a food bank on May 5, 2026, in Harrison, Maine. The food bank was able to expand thanks to federal funding the senator helped obtain. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Despite much controversy, Platner drew large crowds and built a healthy fundraising war chest.

Democrats see Maine as a crucial opportunity in the 2026 midterm elections as they aim to regain the Senate majority in the fall.

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But it won’t be easy to defeat Collins, a moderate who is running for a sixth six-year term in the Senate and has voted against President Donald Trump’s agenda in the past. Six years ago, polls showed the senator heading for defeat, but Collins defied expectations and was re-elected, trailing then-Democratic House Speaker Sara Gideon by nine points.