Susan Collins addresses controversies surrounding Democratic rival Platner

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, touched on her closely watched race against scandal-plagued Democratic candidate Graham Platner, calling him the “antithesis” of the steady leadership he has provided Maine.

“I never expected to have an opponent like Graham Platner,” Collins said in his first national interview since Platner’s candidacy. “He is very different from me. He is the antithesis of the steady leadership I provide and the Washington that delivers real results for the state of Maine and our nation.”

Platner, a former military man and oyster farmer, spent much of his campaign on the defensive as multiple scandals rocked his candidacy, including a chest tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol and allegations of harassment from ex-girlfriends.

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Collins’ race against Platner includes progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and You. It has become one of the most watched in the midterm cycle as leading Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., backed the controversial candidate.

Platner is pushing an economically populist agenda, targeting corporate interests and defending the working class during his campaign.

Collins, running for a sixth six-year term in the U.S. Senate, remains in a tight race with Platner in left-leaning Maine despite the resurfaced controversy.

“There’s been a lot of controversy. Most of the time he denies it and others who tell him what he said deny it,” Collins told Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum on “The Story.”

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The Democratic candidate seeking to unseat Senator Susan Collins in Maine admitted to exchanging sexually explicit messages with several women after marrying his wife two years ago, according to a report. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“One of the most appalling, in my opinion, is when he mocks and ridicules a Purple Heart recipient wounded by the Taliban for lying on the battlefield. Another example is his treatment of women in general, as well as his opposition to law enforcement. We couldn’t be more different on all of those issues.”

In response to the scandals, Platner opened up about his struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder during four tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He said he was “open about a very dark period in my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, self-medicated with alcohol much of the time, and was far from a perfect boyfriend.”

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Incumbent Republican chair Collins has clarified whether she believes Platner’s controversies would disqualify her from running.

Graham Platner addresses the crowd at a watch party after winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate at the YMCA on June 9, 2026 in Blue Hill, Maine. Platner will face Republican Senator Susan Collins in the election for the seat. (Matthew Symons for Fox News Digital)

“In a different time, I would have said that any of these would disqualify anyone running for office in the United States Senate, whether Democrat or Republican, to serve our country and the state of Maine,” the senator said. he said.

In his nomination acceptance speech during the primary, Platner accused Collins of being “as spineless and corrupt as the institution she currently serves.”

Collins argued that voters did not want someone representing them with “angry rhetoric” in Washington and said their senators needed to have appropriate “character.”

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“Ultimately it comes down to whether you want a candidate who will go to Washington, spew angry rhetoric every day, but not get anything done, whether you want my service to the people of Maine, where I deliver real results to the people of Maine,” Collins said.

“I believe the people of Maine want stable leadership,” he continued. “They want independence, they want someone who cares deeply about the state and our country and has the character to serve.”