A couple of weeks ago, I told you Graham Platner was finished. He didn't know it yet. His supporters certainly didn't. But the dominoes were clearly already falling, and it was inevitable that everything was going to fall apart. Have they fallen apart yet? Not technically, but the latest domino is a big one, and boy, Democrats should feel pretty darn stupid now.
As you may recall, earlier this month, the New York Times published an investigative piece based on interviews with Platner's former girlfriends. Those women came armed with texts, social media messages, and diary entries corroborating their accounts. The portrait that emerged was brutal: heavy drinking, serial infidelity, and domestic abuse. That report landed just days after Platner personally assured Senate Democrats that nothing more damaging would surface. They believed him.
That was a mistake, and the fallout hit fast.
Democrat after Democrat began distancing from Platner, refusing to endorse him. Some blamed President Donald Trump for their own decision to back Platner in the first place. A few have reportedly started scheming to yank him off the ballot entirely.
It’s been a wild ride, watching Democrats realize they screwed up and are now stuck with a guy with a Nazi tattoo who abuses women.
Still, there are plenty of Democrats who are still solidly in his corner. Sens. Bernie Sander (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Ma.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) are still with him, though you have to wonder if they have no choice but to stick with him because pulling their endorsements would be even more devastating.
But the latest domino changes a lot. While the tattoo and the Reddit posts didn’t seem to matter to the left, now, the polling has caught up with all of it. New data from Quantus Insights shows that what was once a commanding Platner advantage has evaporated. Two weeks ago, Platner led Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) by roughly nine points. An internal Platner campaign poll conducted about a week later showed that the margin had already narrowed to four, and internal polls tend to flatter the candidate who commissions them, so even that figure skewed generous. The Quantus Insights survey now puts Platner at 46% and Collins at 45%, with 7% undecided and 2% going to other candidates.
NEW QUANTUS INSIGHTS POLL | June 12, 2026
— Quantus Insights (@QuantusInsights) June 12, 2026
Our latest Maine U.S. Senate survey finds the race tightening sharply since March, with Graham Platner now holding a narrow 1-point edge over Susan Collins.
📊 Maine U.S. Senate
🔵 Graham Platner: 46%
🔴 Susan Collins: 45%
⚪️… pic.twitter.com/e1yIO8piFW
"Notable movement in Maine since our March poll," Quantus Insights co-founder Jason Corley said on X. "Collins has climbed. Platner has fallen. What was a clear Platner advantage has now tightened into a pure toss-up heading into the summer months. This is one of the most competitive Senate races on the board."
One number in this poll deserves particular attention. On the generic congressional ballot, Democrats lead by 10 points. That means Platner runs roughly 11 points behind the average Democrat, while Collins runs roughly 11 points ahead of the average Republican. Maine voters are rendering a pointed judgment about this specific candidate, separate from any generic party preference.
But, even more troubling for Platner, Collins has a long track record of outperforming her polls. Across her last three elections, surveys underestimated her by roughly eight points.
Democrats have long been convinced that the path to flipping the Senate this year went through Maine. Now they're watching that dream fall apart in real time. The candidate they championed is collapsing. Who knew that banking your entire Senate strategy on a candidate with a Nazi tattoo was such a bad idea?
