Maine

As Susan Collins awaits, a generational divide splits Maine Democrats in pivotal Senate race | CNN Politics

Published

4 months ago

February 1, 2026

As Susan Collins awaits, a generational divide splits Maine Democrats in pivotal Senate race | CNN Politics

Portland, Maine
—

Gov. Janet Mills was laying out her case against Sen. Susan Collins to several dozen supporters recently when one attendee raised a question on the minds of many voters in Maine.

“How are you and your campaign going to push back against the argument that you are too old?” the voter asked.

“Damn!” Mills remarked with a chuckle before later saying: “The times are too urgent, too dangerous not to send the best person we have, the most tested candidate.”

Democratic leaders in Washington were thrilled when Mills, 78, entered the Senate race last fall, seeing the two-term governor as the type of battle-tested candidate who could finally unseat Collins and give their party a shot at the majority.

But Mills is confronting a persistent problem: Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and political newcomer just over half her age, is appealing to the hunger of many progressive voters eager for a new generation of insurgent Democrats particularly in the aftermath of Joe Biden’s presidency.

Mills takes questions about her age head-on and reiterates that she would serve just one term if elected, given she’d be the oldest Senate freshman ever sworn into office if she wins in November.

“Good Lord. I’m not Joe Biden for God’s sake,” she told CNN in a recent interview.

“I’m healthy, I’m me, I get stuff done. People see me at work every day, and they know what I can do. They know that I can deliver, and I have delivered,” she said after wrapping up a roundtable meeting with a handful of local health care professionals and business owners at a coffee shop in Portland.

No other Senate Democratic primary encapsulates the ideological, tactical and generational divides still gripping the Democratic Party than here in Maine, which is a must-win for the party as it tries to win a net of four seats to take back the Senate. Whoever wins the Democratic primary will face a tough battle in November: The GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund already plans to spend at least $42 million to bolster Collins in the campaign’s final stretch.

Polling in the race so far has been scarce ahead of the June 9 primary. Platner, who is backed by independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, has held 34 town halls across the state, according to his campaign. Mills has opted for smaller roundtables that her campaign dubs “candid conversations” with voters.

Asked about Platner’s large crowds, Mills said, “He has energy, but you also have to have positions that are backed up by knowledge and experience and what you’re going to do and how you’re gonna do it. … It’s easy to talk the talk. It’s a lot harder to walk the walk, and I’ve walked the walk.”

In his own interview with CNN, Platner, 41, called Mills’ comment “ironic,” citing policies he’s rolled out and his push to use “political power that I think is necessary to bring about that kind of policy change. I do not hear that from the governor.”

There are sharp differences between the two. On several hot-button issues, Platner went further to the left, even saying that President Donald Trump should “absolutely” be impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate if Democrats take Congress in the fall.

Platner says Chuck Schumer should be out as Democratic leader, while Mills says she’s undecided on that question. As Platner says tax hikes for the wealthy should pay for universal health care, Mills says such an idea is “too simplistic,” though she backs a similar health care system.

Platner said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement should “absolutely” be abolished and that it “cannot be reformed,” while Mills would not go that far when asked three times whether ICE should be eliminated, saying there’s a “role for immigration enforcement under a new reformed immigration process” and “humane” laws.

And asked whether Democrats should force a government shutdown over ICE, Platner said: “Absolutely … and not just over ICE. The Democratic Party should be using all the leverage it has to fight back against the array of absurdities that are occurring.”

Mills was more cautious on that question.

“Congress has a number of tools at its disposal, and the first thing they could do is hold hearings,” Mills said. “If people like Susan Collins had the backbone to do it, she could do it.”

After the killing of Alex Pretti, Mills reiterated her calls that Congress should “cut off any further funding for ICE” as she demanded a meeting with Trump, called for ICE agents to leave her state and said the Senate should reject Homeland Security Department funding unless there are major changes.

Mills mostly focuses on Collins, as she did in appearing before supporters last month, making scant references to Platner and not calling him out by name. But she did seem to reference one controversy surrounding Platner.

“My life is an open book,” Mills told the gathering. “I don’t have any tattoos. Trust me on that.”

Reports surfaced in the fall of a tattoo Platner had on his chest with Nazi imagery and past social media posts in which he denigrated police, minimized sexual assault, questioned Black customers’ tips at restaurants and implied White rural voters can be racist and “stupid.”

After CNN and other news organizations revealed the posts, Platner apologized, contending they came at a different time in his life after serving in combat. And he pleaded ignorance about the origins of the skull-and-crossbones tattoo he got in 2007 in Croatia while he was out drinking with his fellow Marines. He announced in October that he had the tattoo covered.

Platner argues the controversies are baked in with Maine voters and haven’t “turned anyone off.” He’s noted that he’s been speaking about the controversy publicly in media interviews and argued he’d be able to withstand GOP attack ads.

“I have not run away from it,” he said. “I’ve been happy to discuss the fact that I used to believe things I don’t believe today, and to talk about my transformation, because I think the ability for people to change is necessary if we’re going to build a better politics. It shows that I’m just a normal guy that has not been spending his entire life preparing to run for the US Senate.”

Yet Platner also offers a defense of sorts for some of his past remarks, including over his 2020 post suggesting that rural White Americans are “actually” as “racist or stupid as Trump thinks.”

“I hate to tell you this, but have you ever gotten into an argument on the internet?” he said when asked about the post. “Because when you get in arguments on the internet and you’re not planning on running for the United States Senate, you say things to bother the person you’re arguing with.”

“I’m a White guy from rural Maine. I grew up in rural Maine. I live in a small town, the one that I grew up in. All of my neighbors are rural White people in Maine. They aren’t stupid. They aren’t racist. Neither am I. I don’t believe that. If I did, I wouldn’t live there,” he continued.

Asked whether he believed some were racist and stupid, Platner deadpanned, “I think saying that some people in the United States are racist and stupid is not remotely a controversial statement.”

Mills says the posts are bound to become a “bigger liability” in a general election, underscoring her argument that Platner is a risk to nominate.

Collins, 73, has survived one tough election after another since her first Senate victory in 1996. She is a perennial swing vote who pitches herself as a consensus builder on issues such as new infrastructure projects, preserving Social Security benefits and bringing federal largesse back to Maine.

She announced Thursday that, at her urging, ICE had ended its “enhanced activities” in Maine after authorities launched an enforcement operation similar to the one in Minnesota.

“I have a long and clear record of bipartisanship,” Collins told CNN when asked whether Trump would be a problem for her in a general election.

But the 2026 election will be her first race since the US Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the federal right to an abortion. Collins won reelection in 2020 even after voting to confirm two of Trump’s three Supreme Court justices — and providing critical support for now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who later voted to overturn Roe v. Wade despite assuring her he would respect precedent preserving abortion rights. Collins later said Kavanaugh “misled” her in his private assurances.

Last year, Collins voted against confirming Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense and Kash Patel for FBI director. But she backed Linda McMahon as education secretary, Russ Vought to lead the White House budget office and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run US Health and Human Services.

“I think that presidents have the right to assemble their own Cabinets,” Collins said. “Except in extraordinary cases, I defer to the president’s choice, assuming the individual has the integrity and the ability to do the job.”

Asked whether she regretted her vote to confirm Kennedy, Collins said: “I do not regret the vote. That doesn’t mean that I agree with RFK Jr. on vaccine policy. I do agree with him on his focus on chronic diseases and his belief that ultra-processed food is not good for us.”

Mills pointed to Collins’ votes for Kennedy, McMahon and Kavanaugh.

“What she hasn’t done is she hasn’t protected the public health infrastructure in Maine by voting to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for instance,” she said.

In something of a paradox, part of the debate between Mills and Platner is about seniority.

Mills’ one-term pledge means she would only ever be a junior member in her caucus and on Senate committees, something both Platner and Collins pointed out in separate interviews.

“I know personally that I have far more clout and far more ability to get things done now as a senior senator than I did at the conclusion of my first term,” said Collins, a senior member of several key committees and chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which controls the purse strings of the federal government.

Platner added: “If we’re going to lose (Collins), and we very much need to lose her, her replacement needs to be someone who has the capability to rebuild that seniority and power.”

Mills dismissed the criticism, insisting that her voice “will be heard strongly in the United States Senate.”

“Seniority is nothing if you’re without effectiveness,” Mills said. “Seniority without effectiveness is merely tenure, and that’s what we’ve got right now.”

Mills, who met with Schumer last winter as she was weighing a potential run, said the decision to run was strictly hers, something she said she thought about last summer while attending an event at the historic Kennedy Caucus Room in the Senate’s Russell building.

“It’s all too comfortable to sit in the easy approval of friends and of neighbors than to risk the friction and the controversy that comes with public affairs,” said Mills, paraphrasing a quote used by then-Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in a speech at the University of Mississippi, as she weighed whether to add six more years to her more than 40 years in public life.

Asked how hard the race would be, Mills deadpanned.

“None of it’s going to be easy, but hey, what are they going to do to me?” she said. “I’m too old to care.”

Source link

Maine

Stalwart 7 in Varsity Maine baseball poll

Published

4 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Stalwart 7 in Varsity Maine baseball poll

Gorham shortstop Miles Brenner throws to first during the Rams’ 8-0 win over the Cheverus on May 5 in Gorham. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)

The only notable change in the top-seven of the Varsity Maine baseball poll is that Gorham now has eight first-place votes, two more than last week. The order of the seven teams is identical. In fact, the only change in the top-seven over the past three polls is the swap at the top after Gorham’s win over South Portland on May 19.

Furthermore, Gorham, South Portland, Oxford Hills, Cheverus, Bangor, Mt. Ararat and Fryeburg have been ranked in the top seven for four straight weeks, and six of those squads have been among the top seven in every poll this spring.

Meanwhile, Scarborough is ranked for the first time since May 5, and Ellsworth and Thornton swapped spots.

The Varsity Maine baseball poll is based on games played before June 2, 2026. The top 10 teams are voted on by the Varsity Maine staff, with first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points.

1. Gorham (8) 89
2. South Portland 79
3. Oxford Hills (1) 75
4. Cheverus 55
5. Bangor 42
6. Mt. Ararat 41
7. Fryeburg Academy 30
8. Ellsworth 27
9. Thornton Academy 25
10. Scarborough 12

Also receiving votes: Washington Academy 8, Monmouth Academy 4, Cony 4, Leavitt 2, Falmouth 2.

Source link

Maine

Maine harbormasters are having a moment. What do they do?

Published

14 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Maine harbormasters are having a moment. What do they do?

Portland Deputy Harbor Master Elizabeth Morrissey talks with Ruthann Weist, an animal control officer, after recovering a dead bottlenose dolphin in May 2024. A Maine harbormaster is a coastal traffic cop, park ranger and first responder rolled into one municipal job. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer)

Harbormasters are the municipal protectors of Maine’s 5,300-mile coastline, where a single day might include tasks as diverse as saving a sinking skiff, sorting a same-day mooring request and seizing undersized quahogs.

The job has existed for more than a century, but a buzzworthy political campaign and a heated lobster turf war have elevated this obscure government position to a new level of visibility in the public discourse, even if few people know what they really do.

“No day is the same,” says Daryen Granata, harbormaster and shellfish warden for Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth. “Ride in my truck or my boat for a week, and I can practically guarantee you that we wouldn’t do the same thing twice.”

Graham Platner used his $3,000-a-year gig as Sullivan’s former harbormaster to help frame his run for U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, South Thomaston hopes that hiring a harbormaster can resolve a dispute over dock access that some lobstermen say threatens their livelihoods.

Beyond the headlines, however, the duties of Maine’s 250 or so harbormasters vary from town to town. Some are highly paid police officers with arrest powers; others are seasonal mooring managers, like Platner was before he resigned in August, according to the town manager.

“Most people doing this job aren’t doing it for the money,” says Granata, who is vice president of the Maine Harbor Masters Association. “They’re doing it to be a steward, to be an ambassador of the harbor.”

Platner, who operates an oyster harvesting business, said he took the post to make sure the person hired to “run the show” had local waterfront experience. He said he was “bummed” that he had to give up the role due to his campaign schedule.

“There is something to be said about working-class folks coming together over the water despite their differences, all with the same goal in mind — to protect and preserve their way of life,” he said.

South Thomaston was one of Maine’s rare shoreline communities that had resisted hiring a harbormaster. Residents preferred to solve their own problems to keep their mooring prices artificially low. But that changed when a lobster turf war broke out.

The town is now advertising for a per-diem harbormaster to resolve the dispute.

A typical day for Granata might start by answering office emails at 7 a.m. and end with a 5 p.m. radio call about a boat sinking off Prouts Neck. In between, he juggles calls for illegal fishing, a shark sighting and a boat diesel spill, all while juggling walk-ins.

One of the most time-consuming parts of a harbormaster’s job, regardless of whether they are a police officer or a seasonal volunteer, is managing the vessel placements, or moorings, in their local harbor, Granata said.

Maine has more than 30,000 moorings. Small harbors may have a couple dozen, but larger ones can have up to 1,300. The harbormaster ensures each one is in the proper location with enough depth for a boat’s draft and enough anchor to hold it in place.

Unlike their counterparts in warmer climates, Maine harbormasters face a seasonal scramble. Because of winter ice, most of the state’s moorings must be pulled ashore in the fall and reset each spring to avoid being dragged around by moving ice.

The role is also one of public safety. Harbormasters coordinate with the U.S. Coast Guard and Maine Marine Patrol on search-and-rescue operations, monitor for navigational hazards, and inspect critical marine infrastructure like piers, docks and cranes.

In Portland, harbormaster Paul Plummer and his six seasonal deputies spend a lot of time keeping Portland Harbor safe — from marine debris that could cause accidents, from environmental threats, and from commercial-recreational boating conflicts.

His office escorts big commercial vessels through the busy harbor to protect the people in kayaks and sailboats that fill it up during the summer, many of whom are not familiar with Maine landmarks and water rules, Plummer said.

“We are out in the harbor and visit the islands every day,” Plummer said. “It’s not just to protect boats, but also the fragile working waterfront infrastructure. We have a lot of old piers and wharves that require a lot of care but are critical to our economy.”

Despite these differences, state law requires all harbormasters to get certification through the Maine Harbor Masters Association within a year of taking the job. The four-day certification must be renewed every three years.

Success in the role requires more than a technical knowledge of shackles and swivels, Granata said. Harbormasters must be able to shift from “swearing like a pirate” with a lobsterman to politely guiding a Vineyard Vines-clad tourist to a local luncheon spot.

“You can’t be down here being a stiff shirt,” Granata says. “This job is crazy, but it’s a privilege. Drinking straight from the hose, every day. You never get a break, not really, but you never get bored, either.”

Source link

Maine

‘Malicious gossip’: Wife of Senate candidate Graham Platner responds to texting claims

Published

24 hours ago

June 1, 2026

Press Room

‘Malicious gossip’: Wife of Senate candidate Graham Platner responds to texting claims

PORTLAND (WGME) – The wife of Democrat Graham Platner, who is running for U.S. Senate in Maine, is responding to stories in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times about sexually explicit text messages Platner allegedly sent to other women during their marriage.

CBS13 reached out to the Platner campaign for comment Monday but did not hear back.

According to multiple reports, Platner calls the stories “gossip.”

Amy Gertner, his wife of nearly three years, called the former staffer’s claims a “betrayal” and an “invasion of our privacy.”

Platner says the Wall Street Journal and New York Times ran stories without any evidence, based solely on gossip from a former staffer.

The wife of Democrat Graham Platner, who is running for U.S. Senate in Maine, is responding to stories in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times about sexually explicit text messages Platner allegedly sent to other women during their marriage. (WGME)

He says claims made by that staffer, former State Representative Genevieve McDonald, are untrue.

Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, says she trusted McDonald with the most private chapter of their lives.

“I confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend. In the months since, I have had to watch as she spread malicious gossip to anyone who would take her call,” Gertner said.

“The situation he’s in right now that’s most uncomfortable, I think, is that he and his wife seem to be telling different versions of the story,” USM Political Science Professor Ron Schmidt said.

Gertner defended her husband in a video she posted.

“I find it really shameful that there’s a group of media outlets, and people who are willing to spread gossip, instead of talking about real issues that Graham is running on like healthcare and education and childcare,” Gertner said.

The wife of Democrat Graham Platner, who is running for U.S. Senate in Maine, is responding to stories in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times about sexually explicit text messages Platner allegedly sent to other women during their marriage. (WGME)

She says being newly married while going through infertility and a Senate campaign is hard, but she says they are working on their marriage and mental health.

“I knew the man that I married had been through an immense amount of violent, active combat,” Gertner said. “No marriage is perfect, and I don’t want a perfect marriage. I want my marriage.”

“If this is a case of mistakes made early on in the marriage, and they’ve had marriage counseling, then the best thing to do is to say ‘I made a mistake. It was a while ago. It was related to something else, and it doesn’t have a bearing on where I am right now,’” Schmidt said.

A Platner supporter, who attended Sunday’s town hall meeting with the candidate, says the focus needs to be on policy, not personal matters.

“I think people should really continue to engage with Platner and the campaign around affordable housing, universal healthcare and issues that really matter to us,” Auburn Community Organizer Safiya Khalid said.

“Graham and I have a great marriage,” Gertner said. “And we love each other deeply. We deserve better. I think Mainers deserve better.”

Platner has apologized for other controversies like now-deleted Reddit posts calling himself a communist and blaming victims of rape, and a nazi-symbol skull tattoo his military unit got that he’s since covered up.

Through it all, he’s still leading in the polls.

Schmidt says Democratic voters like what Platner stands for, but he says the controversies are certainly a concern, especially with Senator Susan Collins, in his view, doing a good job distancing herself from President Donald Trump.

Source link