Maine Democrat Graham Platner is pushing to secure his party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican incumbent Susan Collins — setting up what’s shaping up as one of the more watched Senate contests of November 2026.
Platner wants the nomination locked down. Collins, a four-term senator, has survived competitive races before — most recently in 2020, when she beat Democrat Sara Gideon despite polling that showed her trailing for months.
The race
Collins has long been one of the few Republicans who holds a Senate seat in a state that leans Democratic in presidential elections. That tension has made her a perennial target. Platner is now the Democrat trying to end her run.
Whether Platner can clear the nomination without a serious primary challenge isn’t fully settled, according to CBS News, which reported on the contest Tuesday, June 10.
Collins hasn’t said much publicly about her Democratic challenger yet. Her campaign hasn’t released any response to Platner’s move to make the nomination formal.
Originally reported by CBS News. Read the original report.
