Despite the New York Times, Platner received about the same level of support he had before the latest manufactured scandal.

Source: CNN

Graham Platner was all but certain to win Maine’s Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday.

But the swirl of controversies over Platner’s past personal behavior had raised a slew of questions about the outcome: Would there be a significant number of protest votes lodged for Gov. Janet Mills, whose name was still on the ballot even though she suspended her campaign in April? Would Democratic voters skip the race entirely?

None of that came to pass. With votes still being counted Tuesday night, the progressive populist Platner was on course to earn about three-fourths of primary voters’ support — effectively ending any question about whether Maine Democrats wanted him to be their standard-bearer against Republican Sen. Susan Collins in one of the nation’s marquee races in November.

His speech – and the reaction from both parties – set the fault lines for what will be a race Democrats consider critical for Senate control.

Susan Collins and the Republican machine know that to win in November, she'll have to get about 15% of Democrats to turn on Platner.

Platner: Susan Collins said she would only serve two terms. She's now running for her sixth. She has worked in politics longer than Joe Biden. She hasn't held a town hall since I was in eighth grade. I've held 83 town halls in the past eight months. What are you trying to hide? pic.twitter.com/801fXujqJj

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 10, 2026

Graham Platner in the UNH poll conducted before sexting revelations/NYT allegations: 76%

Graham Platner tonight: 74%

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) June 10, 2026