Poll Finds Platner and Collins Tied Within Margin of Error in Maine Senate Race

A New York Times/Portland Press Herald/Siena poll conducted June 19-26 showed Democratic nominee Graham Platner at 49 percent support and Sen. Susan Collins at 47 percent among 608 likely voters in Maine. Three percent of respondents refused to answer or said they did not know.

The two-point difference falls inside the poll's 4.8-percentage-point margin of error. Platner, 41, an oysterman who has never held elected office, won the Democratic nomination earlier in June after Gov. Janet Mills suspended her primary bid.

Collins, 73, is seeking a sixth term. More than 90 percent of likely voters said they had heard about controversies surrounding Platner's past conduct, including past online comments and allegations from former girlfriends. Sixty-one percent of respondents said the country is headed in the wrong direction, while 33 percent said it is on the right track.

President Trump received 38 percent approval and 59 percent disapproval in the state. On the generic congressional ballot, a Democratic candidate led a Republican candidate by 11 points. Fifty-four percent of voters said they want Democrats to control the Senate next year, yet Collins captured 10 percent of those voters.

A majority of respondents, including 57 percent of independents, said Collins would be too supportive of Trump. Platner received support from 52 percent of women. Sixty-six percent of likely voters said Collins has good character and 61 percent said she has the right kind of moral values.

Forty-seven percent said the phrase "too extreme" fits Platner well, compared with 34 percent who said the same about Collins. Sixty-one percent of voters said Collins would do better at bringing money and resources to Maine, while 34 percent said Platner would. Twenty percent of Platner's likely supporters said they were only "probably" going to vote for him.

Sixteen percent of Collins' supporters said the same. Republicans currently hold 53 seats in the U.S. Senate.