The One Danger That Exists for Susan Collins Now That Graham Platner Is Kaput

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) really is Teflon. She avoided what could have been the hardest fight of her political career in 2020 against Sara Gideon, 

 

who was expected to win by seven points. Collins ended up winning by eight. Platner might have posed an equally tough challenge, except for the rape allegation, stories of domestic abuse, the Nazi tattoo, the graphic social media posts, and the weird rape fantasies he had. 

Platner 

 

suspended his campaign yesterday, noting that losing all meaningful support would mean losing access to the tools that made it impossible to run a campaign in the state. Now that Herr Platner is kaput, there is a new risk for Collins: it could make her re-election bid more challenging (via Politico):

According to a person familiar with the campaign’s thinking, granted anonymity to discuss it, Collins’ team had long viewed Platner as a uniquely vulnerable opponent whose personal controversies could help offset one of the biggest challenges she faces in 2026: running as a blue-state Republican in the Trump era.

“She can certainly win, but they didn’t want to change candidates,” the person familiar with the campaign’s thinking said. “The stuff we already knew about Platner was going to propel Collins to overcome the Trump anchor. Now it’s going to be a Democrat with a cleaner record, presumably.”

Collins’ campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, and it has not weighed in publicly since Platner announced the suspension of his campaign.

From the Collins campaign’s perspective, Platner offered an unusually favorable contrast.

They believed his baggage would have given Collins an opportunity to shift voters’ attention away from national politics and toward questions about his character.

Instead, Maine Democrats now have the opportunity to nominate a candidate with a cleaner profile, raising the prospect of a more conventional general election in which Collins will have to confront the same challenges facing other Republican incumbents.

Sure, but that’s on paper. For now, the Democrats are a circus up there, scrambling to find someone who isn’t equally damaged goods in time for the July 13 deadline. Also, no one voted for this person, whoever the Democrats pick.