Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins’ carefully constructed re-election strategy collapsed following Democrat Graham Platner’s abrupt exit from the Senate race due to multiple credible allegations of sexual misconduct and assault, according to a new report.
In its report, Politico argues Collins’ campaign spent months stockpiling opposition research on Platner, betting his personal scandals would dominate coverage and allow her to reposition herself as the more trustworthy choice.
Now that Platner is no longer in the running, that calculation is worthless, as the focus shifts back to Trump’s unpopularity, writes Politico.
“She can certainly win, but they didn’t want to change candidates,” a GOP operative told Politico. “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.”
Internal polling showed Platner trailed Collins in her own campaign’s flash poll, Politico’s Sophia Cai wrote, but three alternative Democratic candidates who lost the gubernatorial primary either led or ran neck-and-neck with her.
GOP operatives acknowledged Collins faces a significantly weakened position, noting, “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.”
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