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Voters cast ballots in Maine, North Dakota, Nevada, and South Carolina
Graham Platner shrugs off scandals to win Maine Democratic Senate primary
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The polls have closed in Maine, and we can report that Graham Platner, the Democrat expected to win his party’s nomination for US Senate, has received at least one vote: from Stephen King, who announced on social media that he voted for the candidate.
Platner’s chief competitor, Maine governor Janet Mills, had suspended her campaign citing lack of funds, but there was a late push from some out-of-state Democrats for voters to supports Mills after Platner was accused by a former romantic partner of having been physically abusive to her on two occasions between 2013 and 2015.
Collins, 73, will now face off against the presumptive Democratic nominee, Graham Platner, a 41-year-old marine veteran and oysterman with no national political experience and a controversial past. Despite dredged-up racist, sexist and homophobic online posts – and a now-covered-up tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol – Platner continues to amass a rare kinetic energy that has seen hundreds of Mainers flock to town halls across the state to hear his gravelly voiced excoriation of Washington. His rise ultimately forced the state’s two-term governor, Janet Mills, to suspend her primary bid, citing dwindling financial resources.
Platner’s youth and outsider profile have created a sense that Maine – a state with the oldest and whitest population in the country – may be ready for a change in political leadership. There’s a prevailing sense of “we like her, and she’s been good for Maine, but it’s time for somebody new or younger”, one former state Republican official, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the race, said of Collins. The senator’s campaign spokesperson did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment about her performance to date.
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