In Maine, Many Older Women Prefer Graham Platner for Senate + Janet Mills Attack Ad Against Graham Platner Backfires

[Celerity]

Women in their 60s and beyond will likely play a key role in choosing which Democrat will face Senator Susan Collins: Mr. Platner, 41, or Gov. Janet Mills, 78.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/27/us/graham-platner-maine-women-voters.html

https://archive.li/XNLpI



Nettie Nelson, 76, had seen the ads for Graham Platner, the 41-year-old Democrat running for Senate in Maine. She was intrigued by Mr. Platner’s focus on the needs of working people, but unsure about his “gruff” demeanor. So Ms. Nelson, who lives in rural Clinton, Maine, drove to a coffee shop in nearby Skowhegan with her husband, Bob, on a recent Saturday to hear Mr. Platner in person. With Maine’s Democratic primary a little more than two months away, Ms. Nelson is carefully weighing her choices. Older women like her are among the most reliable primary voters in the country, and they will almost certainly play a key role in choosing which Democratic challenger will take on Senator Susan Collins, the Republican who has held the seat for three decades, in November.

But the high-stakes showdown between Mr. Platner, an oyster farmer and Iraq War veteran with a populist message, and Gov. Janet Mills, 78, a seasoned moderate from a political family, is playing out amid a nationwide generational rebellion in the Democratic Party. The Platner-Mills battle is among the highest-profile examples of the shift, which has chased household names like Nancy Pelosi and Richard Durbin from Congress, put incumbents such as Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts on their toes and signaled to the party’s field of 2028 presidential aspirants that young voters will demand a voice.

The irony in Maine, the state with the oldest population in the country, may be that many older voters are drawn to the party’s youth movement, too. “It’s hard to say it, but I don’t really want to vote for someone as old as Janet Mills,” said Lucy Leaf, 79, a Democratic voter from Ellsworth, Maine. “I just think we need a fresh look on everything.” In more than two dozen interviews across Maine last week, many older women said they had voted for Ms. Mills in the past, and appreciated her handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and her tough stance against President Trump. Some also spoke admiringly of the barriers she broke as the first woman to serve as Maine’s governor and, before that, attorney general.

Yet for many women in their 60s and beyond — a group that could be seen as likely supporters of Ms. Mills — the choice is not yet clear. While they respect the governor and her achievements, many said that her age was a factor in their deliberations, along with their growing conviction that new leadership, energy and ideas are essential for meeting what they view as a moment of crisis in the country. “She has a lot of experience,” Ms. Nelson said of Ms. Mills, looking pensive as she settled into an armchair at Mr. Platner’s event in Skowhegan. “Is that good?”

snip


related


Leaked Video: Janet Mills Attack Ad Against Graham Platner Backfires With Maine Democrats

A Zoom recording with Gov. Janet Mills captures unfiltered voter reactions to the governor’s recent attack ad against her U.S. Senate primary opponent, Graham Platner.

https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/leaked-video-janet-mills-attack-ad-graham-platner-voter-reactions

On March 19, Gov. Janet Mills attended the Hancock County Democrats’ monthly meeting to answer questions from prospective voters ahead of the upcoming U.S. Senate primary. Days earlier, the Mills campaign released an ad attacking her Democratic primary opponent Graham Platner over disparaging remarks he made on Reddit in 2013 about victims of rape.

Drop Site has obtained a Zoom recording of the Q&A with Mills, showing significant dissatisfaction with the attacks among voters in Platner’s home county. The negative ad—which features Democratic Party consultants—was released on March 17, as multiple polls showed Mills trailing Platner in the primary and underperforming him in general election matchups against Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

The recording begins with a question from a Hancock County woman concerned by the recent negative tone of the Mills campaign.

“I’m a member of the #MeToo generation, and I was offended by your ad. I’d very much like you to run a clean campaign,” the female Hancock County voter says to Mills. “Let’s have a positive campaign. I don’t think anyone should be attacking another Democrat, right before the primary, and using underhanded means and that kind of language. What you have done is wonderful. So, speak about what you have done, don’t demolish the other candidate in an underhanded way. And I’m sorry, that’s not a question, that’s a statement.”

snip



POLLING:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_Senate_election_in_Maine

Democratic Primary Polling



Susan Collins vs. Janet Mills Polling - General Election



Susan Collins vs. Graham Platner Polling - General Election

[Faux pas]

1. The pearl clutching concerned

useless thing needs to go! And, so should old susie

[wolfie001]

3. I'm getting a "Kirsten Gillibrand" vibe with Mills

Fake outrage to besmirch her competitor.

[EdmondDantes_]

9. Both of the men in question have years of bad behavior towards women

It's weird to claim it's fake outrage to be upset about a man who admitted and apologized for giving women reasons to doubt him or a man who spent years using misogynistic language (going along with homophobic language). Also both women have worked to protect women, Gillibrand through her pro bono legal work and in Congress on sexual assault in the military and Mills in protecting abortion rights in Maine.

Why are we continuing to give men a pass on persistent bad behavior and claiming any woman being upset is phony?

[JI7]

19. Mills also came in and cleaned up after that creep man that was Governor

[yorkster]

43. Yes. Le Page. May it forever be turned.

He was godawful.

[wolfie001]

58. Al Franken should still be in the Senate

Many Dems participated in that fiasco. Unfortunately for KG, she was the face attached to the political assassination. That's just how the cookie crumbled. This guy is gaining support and bringing people together from all angles. He's apologized. We need to win and gain as many seats as we can get.

[wolfie001]

2. Interesting primary

We need fighters. Of course, that's what I thought Fetterman was gonna be. Until he chickened out. He needed the job for medical reasons and not for his constituents.

[questionseverything]

4. The whole call was the governor bitching people out

She speaks down to people

[leftstreet]

5. 50+ town halls and meet-ups

The entire population of Maine is about the same as the city of San Antonio TX

If he keeps this up, he'll have met every voter in the state!

[Fiendish Thingy]

6. Thanks for all the data! Nt

[David__77]

7. Seems very canned.

[SSJVegeta]

8. Weĺp. If he wins I hope he doesnt suck.

[Bumbles]

10. My response to another ccomment to the aticle in the comments section

Ammo, Thank you for expressing my thinking. I'm a healthy and active 83 year old and, though Janet has experience and has done a fairly reasonable job as governor, I know too many things can go wrong when you reach a "certain age." I've been saying for years, since Bernie brought out younger voters, that it's time for younger generations to lead. They should be determining their future not the elderly. I'm very concerned!

[2naSalit]

11. Still...

Not interested in voting for him. I just don't think he;s going to be any better than shady vance.

[Brenda]

12. Worse than shady.

The whole Nazi death's head tattoo, women allow themselves to get raped, etc. ad nauseum posts from him don't just go away because he's progressive on some issues. Those were not things he did 20 years ago. Try 5 years ago.

Is that really the only choice in Maine now: Asshole vs Old Lady? I thought I saw another cool progressive candidate - don't remember his name but I think he was a gay man.

[2naSalit]

14. Old Lady still has more going on...

Than either platner or collins. I will be voting for the old lady.

[Brenda]

15. I hear ya!

I was just wondering if that other guy had a chance.

Hope you're enjoying your relocation there.

[2naSalit]

21. So far...

It feels pretty good.

[Jack Valentino]

51. Strimling: Why Gov. Mills is losing support among Democrats

:snip:

"Let’s take two big issues in national and Maine news: ICE raids and gun safety.

"On the ICE raids, according to the same polling firm, almost 60% of Mainers, including 99% of Democrats (and, incidentally, a majority of unenrolleds), oppose Trump’s crackdown. Just released polling from the Maine People’s Resource Center (which, like Beacon, is a project of Maine People’s Alliance) confirms that result showing 90% of Democrats (and 54% of independent voters) disapproving of “how ICE is doing its job.” That is likely because of what Mainers have seen nationally, but also because 140 Mainers through July (the last month for which data is available) have now been kidnapped by ICE.

"These people were dragged away in front of their child’s elementary school (in, at least, one case) thrown in prisons and/or deported. At least 85% of these people have never been convicted of any crime. A dozen are children.

"Yet, unlike Democratic governors across the country who are standing up to this fascism – like Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois, Gavin Newsom of California, and Kathy Hochul of New York – Gov. Mills has said (and done) virtually nothing – even when one potential action is literally sitting on her desk."

https://mainebeacon.com/strimling-why-gov-mills-is-losing-support-among-democrats/


The old lady is polling worse than Platner against Collins,
and even worse against Platner. She is not going to be nominated.

[RandomNumbers]

42. Old lady is better than asshole any day in my book

especially when "asshole" should rightly be preceded in this case by either 'Nazi' or 'idiot'.

[PeaceWave]

13. If your daughter or granddaughter dragged this home...

What would you say? Seriously!

[eShirl]

16. "Put a damn shirt on!"

[PeaceWave]

20. No respect for women. No respect for minorities. No respect for his own body. But...

A great deal of respect for Nazis.

[Blaukraut]

17. Janet Mills is 78. Susan Collins 73.

That's only a 5 year difference. Once people are in their 60s and 70s, 5 years are barely a blip on the radar. There's something else going on here. Is Janet Mills less likeable than Collins? I don't see how. Platner really sounds like a trojan horse candidate. How is he leading against Collins in the polls when Mills is not? This is really weird.

[DFW]

27. I've seen Collins, don't know her

I’ve known Janet for a few years. Smart, funny, I like her. When I first met her, and heard she was from Maine, I asked her what she did up there (no one had told me). She said, « oh, I’m the Governor. » Just like that, as if she ran a hardware store. Not in the slightest full of herself. No « lookit me! » attitude. My kind of people. She comes across to me as the opposite of her opponent and his advocates.

[JI7]

18. He is the face of the progressive movement

[PeaceWave]

23. Shirtless, in his undies, with a Nazi tattoo...That's one hell of a "face of the movement"

[DFW]

24. My deepest sympathies for the progressive movement

If they can’t find themselves a better banner-waver than Platner

[Intractable]

25. Says who?

You?

[JI7]

26. Bernie Sanders and others that take up that label

they all support him.

[Intractable]

28. That doesn't make him the "face." That's on you.

Since you are not a progressive, you shouldn't speak for us.

[JI7]

31. I don't need to speak for others. I'm just saying what they are saying

we see the support he gets .

[PeaceWave]

34. Is Platner the "face of the movement" or more like the "torso of the movement?"

[Intractable]

35. Who is saying he is the "face"? Only you.

Since you value Bernie's opinion on the subject, it must be Bernie, right?

Again, stop speaking for progressives.

[JI7]

36. Sanders went as far as to tell Mills not to even run against Platner

it shows how important Platner is to the movement.

[Intractable]

37. Who is saying he is "the face"? Only you.

The face. The face. The face. Only you say that!

Platner is the new kid on the block.

[PeaceWave]

41. So Platner is the "new" face of the progressive movement?

[yorkster]

45. Or how important Bernie is to himself.

[Intractable]

56. This comment is nonsense.

[yorkster]

57. I lived in VT for many years and we were

Involved in town and county Dem. activities. There are many good things about Bernie. First time he ran I supported him for several reasons pretty much knowing that Hilary would get the nomination and that I would volunteer for her campaign. I was less than thrilled that he ran a second time.
While I support a lot of what he stands for, and he caucuses with the Dems, his weak, last minute support of HRC and sometimes balking at various Dem initiatives have not always been helpful.

[Intractable]

59. What does this have to do with your previous comment?

[yorkster]

60. Seems clear to me. Res ipsa loquitur in fact.

I believe it's a question of overactive ego with a soupçon of stubbornness. some of which most of us possess, myself included.

BTW, I found your first comment somewhat harsh. So, best we cease and desist.

[DFW]

30. Like a friend of mine in Geneva once said

« Ce n’est pas une référence. »

[MustLoveBeagles]

50. I respect Bernie

I even supported him in 2016. I think he's wrong on this. Same for Elizabeth Warren. The guy just seems like a Republican plant to me. I'd love to be proven wrong on this. Right now I'm team Mills

[Nixie]

39. .......

[yorkster]

44. Janus maybe? Not sold.

This is no purity test. He is someone with serious baggage on several fronts.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

22. That "Grandmas for Graham" pic

reminds me of the drunken inbred hillbillies wearing "I'd rather be Russian than Democrat" T-shirts.

"...nationwide generational rebellion in the Democratic Party." Not this again!

[DFW]

32. Like the earlier «Dems in Disarray»

Sensationalist headline writers love alliteration.

[FascismIsDeath]

33. Why can't Maine Dems ever find a solid, effective Democrat with no baggage to run against Collins?

Mills would be fine if not for the age factor. Platner has a million red flags and I feel like Collins and is gonna chew him up and spit him out in the general.

[Celerity]

38. No, Mills is unfortunately flawed on multiple other issues, all besides the age issue.

For instance she is pro filibuster, she is anti-decriminalisation for small personal use amounts of drugs, she is anti red-flag laws for guns, she has vetoed collective bargaining rights (so is anti-union to a wholly unacceptable degree), she vetoed wealth taxes, she vetoed protections for renters, and she vetoed some tribal sovereignty laws, etc.

Also, one does have to take into account the fact that Mills will be 85yo at the end of her first term, thus, IF she wins, she will be the oldest ever first time elected US Senator, and she adds up to a very problematic, far from strong candidate, especially if a person is locked in as a 'Never Platner'.

Platner of course is also flawed, as he has a lot of baggage that can be used against him in the general (it does not seem to be working in the primary though). Very problematic that he was not vetted better.

I so wish the people of Maine (and by extension all Democrats nationwide) had a better viable third Democratic candidate option to chose over those two, but alas, it is too late now.

[FascismIsDeath]

46. Mills has won quite a few statewide elections in Maine... at least 4 by my count.

If it weren't for her age, I can ignore her "centrism". I want us to win that seat. If it weren't for her age, she would be much more strongly positioned to beat Collins. After serving like 4 terms in the Maine house, She won AG a handful of times and governor twice. She had a 13 point margin of victory in her race for Governor in 2022. That means Maine voters are very comfortable with voting for her at a statewide level.

And despite everything you said, Platner's flirtations with Nazi elements, regardless of the excuses he throws around, are more troubling than all of that combined.

[PeaceWave]

47. I knew about Platner's Nazi tattoo but not about his "flirtations with Nazis."

Do tell.

[FascismIsDeath]

48. The tattoo is the flirtation and I don't believe him when he says he didn't know what it meant.

He also engaged in hate speech against LGBT+ people on reddit.

He said sexual assault victims should take responsibility for getting raped if they were drunk at the time.

This stuff adds up.

I'm not right about everything but I'm kinda good at spotting a snake. I knew something was off about Fetterman, Sinema and Gabbard before it was a popular. Platner gives me similar vibes. I do not trust him.

[PeaceWave]

49. I find it disturbing that young people think being old is more worrisome than being a Nazi.

[FascismIsDeath]

52. Its definitely a problem. I think we are getting too far removed from WW2.

I grew up in the 80s and 90s, it was still very well understood that fascism, the Nazis and anything like the Nazis is just about the worst thing the modern world had ever bore witness to. I think for the younger generations, its now some distant event in the past and doesn't hit as hard. As we get closer to the point where its been literally 100 years, I fear a lot of people will view it as ancient history. Thats how we end up allowing it to happen again.

[demmiblue]

40. What a clusterfuck. n/t

[OAITW r.2.0]

53. I'll be voting in this contest

Graham looks great, media-wise, but I don't know a lot about him. I do know Janet Mill's, when she was mentoring my wife for her run in ME-32 House in 2008. I trust her. Will Graham be the shiny object that disappoints us after he's elected? Thinking Fetterman, here.

[NBachers]

54. I'm way over on the other coast, but Fetterman was one of my adopted candidates, and I don't want another Fetterman.

My initial exposure Platner made me like him. Further inspection makes me apprehensive.

[OAITW r.2.0]

55. Exactly my concern. Will see how it plays out. Mills will get my vote, most likely.

She has stood up against Trump.