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Graham Platner, a candidate for the US Senate seat in Maine, is shown speaking at a rally in Portland in a campaign ad released on May 7, 2026.
(Screenshot from a video by Graham Platner for Senate)
'Charade Is Over': New Platner Ad Takes Aim at Collins' 'Symbolic Opposition' to Trump Agenda
"Symbolic opposition doesn't reopen hospitals. Weak condemnations don't bring back Roe v. Wade," the Democratic challenger thundered in a new broadside against Maine's five-term Republican senator.
May 07, 2026
US Senate hopeful Graham Platner called out the "performative politics" of his Republican opponent, Sen. Susan Collins, in a campaign ad released Thursday.
"Susan Collins' charade is over," Platner said in a recent Portland speech featured in the minute-long ad which calls the Maine incumbent—a self-styled "moderate"—out for what he describes as "symbolic opposition" to President Donald Trump while co-signing his agenda.
Despite frequent public statements of opposition to the president, according to a tracker by VoteHub, Collins voted in alignment with Trump nearly 95% of the time in 2025.
While criticizing Trump's threat to wipe out all of Iranian civilization as "incendiary language," Collins has on multiple occasions voted against war powers resolutions that would give Congress a check on the president's warmaking authority. (Though she did recently break with Trump by voting to advance another failed measure to remove US forces after a 60-day deadline in late April—making her one of only two Republicans to do so.)
Previously, while expressing concerns about the "harmful impact" of massive Medicaid cuts in last summer's Republican budget legislation and ultimately voting against the final bill, Collins played a critical role in its passage by casting a decisive vote that allowed the legislation to clear a procedural
In 2022, when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Collins warned the ruling would lead to “extreme abortion bans,” but ultimately voted against a bill that could have codified abortion rights into law while refusing to help lift the filibuster to pass her own bill.
"We don't care that you pretend to be remorseful at the start of a new forever war that you chose to let happen," Platner thundered from the podium in the new ad, which will air digitally and on TV across Maine. "We don't care that you are 'concerned' while we go broke as you sell us out to the president and to the Epstein class," referring to the wealthy allies of the late billionaire sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.
Platner said these elites "are engineering the greatest redistribution of wealth from the working class to the ruling class in this nation's history."
"Symbolic opposition doesn't reopen hospitals. Weak condemnations don't bring back Roe v. Wade. And selling out working-class voters who've delivered mandate for change after mandate for change is not forgivable," he continued. "A performative politics that enables the destruction of our way of life is disqualifying."
After Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills suspended her floundering campaign last week, Platner, a 41-year-old former Marine-turned-oyster farmer, is on track to easily win the nomination to take on the five-term incumbent Collins in a race that could decide the Senate’s balance of power in November.
Platner’s campaign, which has unapologetically deployed the rhetoric of class war and centered on proposals like Medicare for All, a tax on extreme wealth, and an end to foreign wars, has been described as rewriting the conventional wisdom of what sort of Democrat can be viable in a purple state like Maine.
Though Mills had the backing of the Democratic Party establishment, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), polls have consistently shown that Platner’s message has resonated much more with the state’s Democratic voters. It appears to be resonating with general election voters as well.
According to a poll by Echelon Insights in early April, before Mills dropped out, Platner was leading Collins by a six-point margin of 51-45%, while Mills led by just two points.
But Platner will face a challenge to maintain this lead, as the Pine Tree Results PAC—an outfit supporting Collins with funding from wealthy tech and Wall Street barons—has more than $11.5 million on hand to pepper him with attacks in the coming months, according to Politico.
Platner has rejected super PAC donations, but has dominated with small donors, raising around $4 million from about 88,000 individual contributors in the first quarter of 2026, though he has just about $2.7 million left after his protracted battle with Mills.
During the same quarter, Collins raised just over $300,000 from individual donors of under $200, according to Federal Election Commission filings—less than 15% of her total fundraising haul.
In an email, the Platner campaign said it hoped the new ad would help it make "the case for change in Maine" as Collins "sells Mainers out to corporate lobbyists."
Ryan Grim, the editor and co-founder of Drop Site News, remarked on social media that with this ad, Platner was taking a much harsher tone towards Collins than previous Democratic opponents have.
"Platner hits the Epstein class in his first ad," he said. "Treating Collins with kid gloves hasn’t worked before. Platner is taking them off."
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US Senate hopeful Graham Platner called out the "performative politics" of his Republican opponent, Sen. Susan Collins, in a campaign ad released Thursday.
"Susan Collins' charade is over," Platner said in a recent Portland speech featured in the minute-long ad which calls the Maine incumbent—a self-styled "moderate"—out for what he describes as "symbolic opposition" to President Donald Trump while co-signing his agenda.
Despite frequent public statements of opposition to the president, according to a tracker by VoteHub, Collins voted in alignment with Trump nearly 95% of the time in 2025.
While criticizing Trump's threat to wipe out all of Iranian civilization as "incendiary language," Collins has on multiple occasions voted against war powers resolutions that would give Congress a check on the president's warmaking authority. (Though she did recently break with Trump by voting to advance another failed measure to remove US forces after a 60-day deadline in late April—making her one of only two Republicans to do so.)
Previously, while expressing concerns about the "harmful impact" of massive Medicaid cuts in last summer's Republican budget legislation and ultimately voting against the final bill, Collins played a critical role in its passage by casting a decisive vote that allowed the legislation to clear a procedural
In 2022, when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Collins warned the ruling would lead to “extreme abortion bans,” but ultimately voted against a bill that could have codified abortion rights into law while refusing to help lift the filibuster to pass her own bill.
"We don't care that you pretend to be remorseful at the start of a new forever war that you chose to let happen," Platner thundered from the podium in the new ad, which will air digitally and on TV across Maine. "We don't care that you are 'concerned' while we go broke as you sell us out to the president and to the Epstein class," referring to the wealthy allies of the late billionaire sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.
Platner said these elites "are engineering the greatest redistribution of wealth from the working class to the ruling class in this nation's history."
"Symbolic opposition doesn't reopen hospitals. Weak condemnations don't bring back Roe v. Wade. And selling out working-class voters who've delivered mandate for change after mandate for change is not forgivable," he continued. "A performative politics that enables the destruction of our way of life is disqualifying."
After Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills suspended her floundering campaign last week, Platner, a 41-year-old former Marine-turned-oyster farmer, is on track to easily win the nomination to take on the five-term incumbent Collins in a race that could decide the Senate’s balance of power in November.
Platner’s campaign, which has unapologetically deployed the rhetoric of class war and centered on proposals like Medicare for All, a tax on extreme wealth, and an end to foreign wars, has been described as rewriting the conventional wisdom of what sort of Democrat can be viable in a purple state like Maine.
Though Mills had the backing of the Democratic Party establishment, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), polls have consistently shown that Platner’s message has resonated much more with the state’s Democratic voters. It appears to be resonating with general election voters as well.
According to a poll by Echelon Insights in early April, before Mills dropped out, Platner was leading Collins by a six-point margin of 51-45%, while Mills led by just two points.
But Platner will face a challenge to maintain this lead, as the Pine Tree Results PAC—an outfit supporting Collins with funding from wealthy tech and Wall Street barons—has more than $11.5 million on hand to pepper him with attacks in the coming months, according to Politico.
Platner has rejected super PAC donations, but has dominated with small donors, raising around $4 million from about 88,000 individual contributors in the first quarter of 2026, though he has just about $2.7 million left after his protracted battle with Mills.
During the same quarter, Collins raised just over $300,000 from individual donors of under $200, according to Federal Election Commission filings—less than 15% of her total fundraising haul.
In an email, the Platner campaign said it hoped the new ad would help it make "the case for change in Maine" as Collins "sells Mainers out to corporate lobbyists."
Ryan Grim, the editor and co-founder of Drop Site News, remarked on social media that with this ad, Platner was taking a much harsher tone towards Collins than previous Democratic opponents have.
"Platner hits the Epstein class in his first ad," he said. "Treating Collins with kid gloves hasn’t worked before. Platner is taking them off."
US Senate hopeful Graham Platner called out the "performative politics" of his Republican opponent, Sen. Susan Collins, in a campaign ad released Thursday.
"Susan Collins' charade is over," Platner said in a recent Portland speech featured in the minute-long ad which calls the Maine incumbent—a self-styled "moderate"—out for what he describes as "symbolic opposition" to President Donald Trump while co-signing his agenda.
Despite frequent public statements of opposition to the president, according to a tracker by VoteHub, Collins voted in alignment with Trump nearly 95% of the time in 2025.
While criticizing Trump's threat to wipe out all of Iranian civilization as "incendiary language," Collins has on multiple occasions voted against war powers resolutions that would give Congress a check on the president's warmaking authority. (Though she did recently break with Trump by voting to advance another failed measure to remove US forces after a 60-day deadline in late April—making her one of only two Republicans to do so.)
Previously, while expressing concerns about the "harmful impact" of massive Medicaid cuts in last summer's Republican budget legislation and ultimately voting against the final bill, Collins played a critical role in its passage by casting a decisive vote that allowed the legislation to clear a procedural
In 2022, when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Collins warned the ruling would lead to “extreme abortion bans,” but ultimately voted against a bill that could have codified abortion rights into law while refusing to help lift the filibuster to pass her own bill.
"We don't care that you pretend to be remorseful at the start of a new forever war that you chose to let happen," Platner thundered from the podium in the new ad, which will air digitally and on TV across Maine. "We don't care that you are 'concerned' while we go broke as you sell us out to the president and to the Epstein class," referring to the wealthy allies of the late billionaire sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.
Platner said these elites "are engineering the greatest redistribution of wealth from the working class to the ruling class in this nation's history."
"Symbolic opposition doesn't reopen hospitals. Weak condemnations don't bring back Roe v. Wade. And selling out working-class voters who've delivered mandate for change after mandate for change is not forgivable," he continued. "A performative politics that enables the destruction of our way of life is disqualifying."
After Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills suspended her floundering campaign last week, Platner, a 41-year-old former Marine-turned-oyster farmer, is on track to easily win the nomination to take on the five-term incumbent Collins in a race that could decide the Senate’s balance of power in November.
Platner’s campaign, which has unapologetically deployed the rhetoric of class war and centered on proposals like Medicare for All, a tax on extreme wealth, and an end to foreign wars, has been described as rewriting the conventional wisdom of what sort of Democrat can be viable in a purple state like Maine.
Though Mills had the backing of the Democratic Party establishment, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), polls have consistently shown that Platner’s message has resonated much more with the state’s Democratic voters. It appears to be resonating with general election voters as well.
According to a poll by Echelon Insights in early April, before Mills dropped out, Platner was leading Collins by a six-point margin of 51-45%, while Mills led by just two points.
But Platner will face a challenge to maintain this lead, as the Pine Tree Results PAC—an outfit supporting Collins with funding from wealthy tech and Wall Street barons—has more than $11.5 million on hand to pepper him with attacks in the coming months, according to Politico.
Platner has rejected super PAC donations, but has dominated with small donors, raising around $4 million from about 88,000 individual contributors in the first quarter of 2026, though he has just about $2.7 million left after his protracted battle with Mills.
During the same quarter, Collins raised just over $300,000 from individual donors of under $200, according to Federal Election Commission filings—less than 15% of her total fundraising haul.
In an email, the Platner campaign said it hoped the new ad would help it make "the case for change in Maine" as Collins "sells Mainers out to corporate lobbyists."
Ryan Grim, the editor and co-founder of Drop Site News, remarked on social media that with this ad, Platner was taking a much harsher tone towards Collins than previous Democratic opponents have.
"Platner hits the Epstein class in his first ad," he said. "Treating Collins with kid gloves hasn’t worked before. Platner is taking them off."
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