U.S. Senate race headlines Maine primaries as voters head to polls Tuesday

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(The Center Square) - Voters in Maine will head to the polls Tuesday in high profile primary races that could help determine control of Congress.

The races have garnered national attention due to controversies surrounding candidates and for outcomes that are expected to be fiercely competitive.

Here are some of those races.

U.S. Senate

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is running for a sixth term in the United States Senate. She faces an uphill battle for reelection against Democrats, who have garnered national attention, including controversial oyster farmer Graham Platner.

President Donald Trump has avoided endorsing Collins in the race for Senate, highlighting a tension between the two. Collins voted against final passage of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a large piece of legislation that carried many priorities of the president’s agenda including funds for immigration enforcement, tax cuts and Medicaid cuts.

Collins cited concerns over the cuts to Medicaid proposed in the bill as to why she was one of three Republicans who voted against it, drawing ire from the president.

“I did the right thing for the people of Maine and I am proud of my no vote,” Collins said.

Platner, who has faced several significant controversies throughout his campaign, leads Democrats in the race despite the many accusations. 

Several women have accused Platner of physically threatening behavior and sending sexually explicit texts to women who are not his wife. Then there was the revelation that Platner had gotten a Nazi Totenkopf tattoo on his chest.

Platner’s campaign denied the allegations of physically threatening behavior and said he struggled with undiagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in which he used drugs and alcohol to cope.

“I’m not proud of who I was then, but I am proud of the work I’ve done since, and the movement we are building in Maine,” Platner said in a statement.

Former Maine Gov. Janet Mills was also in the running for Maine’s Democratic nomination but dropped out of the race due to a lack of funding. Platner has been endorsed by Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., before the most recent controversy came to light.

Platner has advocated for a 5-6% tax on wealth over one billion dollars and a “cost-of-living” tax exemption for middle-class Americans.

“The federal government could adopt a property tax fairness credit – similar to Maine’s – that ensures low- and middle-income families do not pay more than 4% of their income in property taxes,” Platner wrote.

David Costello, another candidate in Maine’s Democratic primary, is competing against Platner. He has advocated for expanding Medicare for All and universal childcare.

“David Costello has the least baggage and the background, reform agenda, and experience to defeat Susan Collins,” Costello wrote on social media. “Money, press attention, and voter recognition won’t be an issue post primary.”

Platner has received more than $16.2 million toward his campaign for Senate, according to most recent filings from the Federal Elections Commission. 

Recent campaign filings reveal Platner accepted a $1,000 donation from a lobbyist associated with Abbvie, an American pharmaceutical company, and other lobbyists representing Boeing and Anduril.

Collins received more than $10.5 million in campaign contributions, according to recent FEC filings. She received a more than $24,000 donation from the group “Friends of Kennedy," a political fund associated with Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.

She also received a $2,500 donation from Johnson and Johnson PAC, Walmart and Abbott Laboratories.

The Cook Political Report ranks Maine’s Senate race as a “toss up” which means a candidate from either party has a chance of winning the election.

U.S. House

District 2

Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, will not run for reelection to Maine’s second congressional district. In his place, several Democrats and one Republican are seeking the congressional seat.

Paul Lepage, the former governor of Maine, is running as the sole Republican in the second congressional district. He has called for lowering taxes, cutting government regulations and supporting the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.

“He will work to eliminate wasteful spending, which drove up inflation under Biden,” Lepage’s website reads.

Trump endorsed Lepage in the race for Maine’s second congressional district. Lepage has more than $1.5 million in contributions to his campaign. 

Maine state Sen. Joe Baldacci, Auditor Matthew Dunlap, social worker Paige Loud and Jordan Wood are all running as Democrats for the nomination to the second congressional district.

Wood leads the pack in campaign fundraising, with more than $5.3 million in contributions. Most of his campaign contributions appear to be small, individual contributions.

Wood has called for limiting corporate ownership of housing and said he would support the Senate’s bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act. He also said he would eliminate certain tax advantages that allow hedge funds to purchase real estate in Maine.

“The number one issue on this campaign is getting big money and corporate money out of our politics because they have a stranglehold on our system, and that’s why I lead with reform because I think we need to fix that issue first so that we can deliver on housing, health care, and child care reforms,” Wood said in a recent debate.

Matt Dunlap, Maine’s state auditor, follows Wood with more than $920,000 in campaign contributions. He has received donations from the national Nurses PAC and more than $25,000 from ActBlue, a campaign funding website for Democrat candidates that is under congressional and other investigations over allegations it enabled donor fraud including by accepting donations from foreign entities.

Dunlap has called on expanding Medicare for All, abortion rights and lowering inflation costs.

“I’ll fight for universal childcare, good-paying jobs, and a surge in affordable housing to help our neighbors manage a middle-class life again,” Dunlap’s website reads.

Governor

A slew of candidates are vying for the Maine governor’s mansion after Democrat Janet Mills reached her term limit.

Among Democrats, former Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah and former state Sen. Troy Jackson lead in the polls. Shah has pushed for a moratorium on AI data centers in Maine through his campaign.

“My approach is simple: people first, communities first, and ratepayers first,” Shah’s website reads. “Maine can recognize that AI can be useful while refusing to let it undermine safety, privacy, fairness, human judgment or basic dignity.”

Jackson has been endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Platner. He has pushed for programs to incentivize housing growth and affordability.

“We’ll expand and make permanent the programs that actually work. Expanding the low-income housing tax credit, strengthening the rural rental tax credit, and removing the sunset on the state affordable housing tax credit,” Jackson’s website reads.

Among Republicans, Bobby Charles has held a commanding lead in the polls to secure the nomination and head to the general election. Charles has focused his campaign on reducing crime and taxes, including the state’s income tax.

“What we do spend needs to prioritize great teachers and great outcomes for our students,” Charles' website reads. “By lowering the cost of local education overhead, we lower the burden on the local taxpayer.”

Polls will be open in Maine from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9. For more information and results, visit thecentersquare.com/maine.