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Major shake-up in Maine Senate Democratic primary
Chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports after Gov. Janet Mills drops out of the Maine Senate Democratic primary, leaving controversial candidate Graham Platner as the presumptive nominee.
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Senate Republicans are eyeing the chance to go after Graham Platner now that Maine’s Senate race is locked in.
Platner’s position as the Democratic nominee against Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was all but cemented Thursday when Maine Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the race over a lack of cash flow.
Mills’ exit is two-pronged. It could signal that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the Democratic establishment are losing their grip, given that Mills was handpicked by Democratic Party bosses to challenge Collins.
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Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at a town hall at the Leavitt Theater in Ogunquit, Maine, Oct. 22, 2025. Platner is a U.S. Marine veteran and oyster farmer running for the seat held by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. (Sophie Park/Getty Images)
It also opens up a new line of attack for Republicans, who plan to lean into Platner’s past progressive views and his connection to his main backers — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
“This is the new Democrat Party,” Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. ”I don’t know how to, I don’t even know how to digest all that nonsense. This is crazy.”
Scott, who chairs the Senate’s campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, painted Platner as the “extreme” candidate compared to Mills’ more centrist image.
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Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., arrives at a Senate hearing in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5, 2026. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
He previewed points of attack against Platner, including…
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