politics
Poll shows Democratic Senate candidate with 4-point lead in Maine
A new survey found Democrat Graham Platner ahead of Republican Sen. Susan Collins by 4 percentage points. Analyst Nate Silver said the result is narrower than earlier public polls and noted past polling errors in Maine.
Jun 4, 11:17 AM·1m read2 sources
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A poll released Wednesday by Public Policy Polling showed Democrat Graham Platner leading Sen. Analyst Nate Silver wrote on X that the internal survey result is not reassuring because internal polls often overstate a candidate's standing by about 4 points.
He added that the margin is smaller than Platner's lead in most earlier public polls. Silver also pointed to 2020 data showing Collins trailed former state Rep. Sara Gideon by wide margins in nearly every survey yet won by 8.6 points, one of the largest polling errors in recent records.
He noted that since 2014, Republicans in Maine races with multiple late polls have outperformed their polling averages by roughly 4 points.
Campaign developments Platner posted on X that Collins is "spineless and corrupt" and that voters will defeat her in 153 days. On Tuesday he met with Senate Democrats after a Wall Street Journal report detailed sexually explicit text messages he sent in 2023. The candidate continues to receive support from Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
