Internal Poll Shows Platner Leading Collins by 4 Points After Sexting Reports

An internal Public Policy Polling survey conducted June 2-3 found Democratic candidate Graham Platner leading Republican Sen. Susan Collins by 4 points among registered Maine voters. The poll of 670 voters showed Platner at 49 percent and Collins at 45 percent, with 6 percent undecided and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

The survey was taken after reports surfaced that Platner had exchanged sexually explicit text messages with several women while married. A campaign official confirmed to the New York Times that he exchanged messages with up to six women.

The internal poll result is narrower than the 7.8-point lead Platner held in the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of public polls taken before the sexting reports. That aggregate had shown Collins trailing by roughly 5 points. A University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll conducted May 21-25 found Platner leading Collins 51 percent to 42 percent among 1,397 Maine residents.

A Pan Atlantic Research poll from May 8-18 showed Platner ahead by 7 points.

Platner’s campaign described the internal poll as “slightly stronger” than its own mid-May internal survey and said the numbers reinforced the durability of his lead. The campaign also reported an 18 percent increase in small-dollar donations compared with the prior week.

" — Platner campaign memo The sexting disclosures followed earlier controversies involving Platner’s since-deleted Reddit account and a tattoo he once had on his chest resembling a Totenkopf symbol used by the Nazi SS. Platner has said he was unaware of the tattoo’s meaning when he received it as a Marine in Croatia and has since covered it.

A campaign official told the Wall Street Journal that aides believed the sexting matter should be handled between Platner and his wife, who were in marriage counseling at the time. Platner addressed the reports publicly on Sunday, calling the coverage “journalistic malpractice” and stating that he and his wife had worked through difficulties in their marriage.