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Graham Platner is no longer running for the U.S. Senate in Maine. But that doesn't mean he won't be a major figure in the campaign to defeat Sen. Susan Collins (R).
After Democrats officially nominated former state Senate president Troy Jackson over the weekend, Republicans unveiled their strategy to take him down: Tie him, in any way possible, to Platner, who won the Democratic nomination earlier this year, but ended his campaign after a woman he once dated accused him of sexual assault.
The first salvo came from the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely tied to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R). They announced a six-figure ad campaign in the minutes after Jackson was nominated, with an ad showing images of Jackson campaigning alongside Platner and leaning on Washington Post reporting about the former Senate president's confrontational style that some said bordered on bullying.
"Jackson is like Graham Platner, but worse," the narrator of the ad says.
Then Pine Tree Results PAC, the super PAC supporting Collins's reelection bid, released an ad noting Jackson "bragged about being one of Graham Platner's earliest supporters" and stood by the controversial candidate through his numerous scandals.
"When the news of Platner's Nazi tattoo came out, Jackson stood with Platner. When Platner blamed women for getting raped because they get drunk, Jackson stood by Platner, and when the media reported Platner was violent toward women, Jackson stood again with Platner," says the narrator in the ad before showing Platner at a rally thanking Jackson for his support.
The two ads make the Republican strategy clear: Turn Jackson into a Platner double.
It has long been the obvious strategy against whomever Maine Democrats nominated to replace Platner, but it's particularly potent against Jackson, who was once one of Platner's most fervent supporters. Collins has been notably mum when it comes to Platner and Jackson, a strategy that has allowed her to largely focus on her own record, at least for now.
"When chaos threatens to drown out competence, experience matters," says the narrator in an ad from Collins campaign that was released Tuesday. A Collins aide said their strategy has not changed - they plan to continue running on Collins's record.
The outside Republican strategy, though, will also force Jackson to tread carefully when tying himself to the movement that Platner built (which also helped get Jackson the nomination) without linking himself to Platner the man.
"There's no doubt Graham did a great job as far as getting people going," Jackson said on MS NOW on Tuesday morning, before arguing that the campaign against Collins is "way bigger than any one person, bigger than Graham, certainly bigger than me."
"It's about continuing to make sure that the movement goes forward, that I make sure and let people know that, look, all these things that you wanted when you were talking to Graham, we can still get them, we can still do that," Jackson said.
Democrats in Maine are skeptical that tying Jackson to Platner will work.
"Mainers are well aware that Graham Platner isn't the Democratic candidate anymore, so these backward-looking guilt-by-association attacks won't resonate," said Ian Russell, a Democratic operative who works in Maine politics. "But it's imperative that Troy Jackson introduce himself to blunt these attacks - and judging by the fact that he's the top fundraiser on ActBlue right now, he'll have the resources to do just that."
The reason all this matters is because Collins is particularly vulnerable this year. This election is almost certain to be difficult for Republicans, and Maine has moved away from even Collins's centrism in recent years.
Additionally, a decade of Collins having to strike a balance between her natural centrism and staying in line with Trump's MAGA base has taken a toll on how voters in Maine view her. A University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll released earlier this month found the race between Jackson and Collins is statistically tied, but also revealed that the Republican senator has a net approval rating of -18 percentage points, with 35 percent of voters holding a favorable view of her, compared with 53 percent who have an unfavorable view.
"Susan Collins has never been more vulnerable after she voted with Donald Trump 96 percent of the time, confirmed the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, and enriched herself and her special interest backers at the expense of Mainers," said Maddy McDaniel, a spokesperson for the Democratic Senate's campaign arm. "Come November, Mainers will vote her out."
This Republican strategy doesn't mean this race is any less competitive - something that even the National Republican Senatorial Committee acknowledged. In a memo to donors, the committee acknowledges the public polling showing Jackson with a narrow edge and that Jackson "is fully capable of winning this seat if we become complacent."
"Millions were spent defining Graham Platner, but his exit resets the race," reads the memo that ratchets up the pressure. "We must act immediately to define [Jackson] before national Democrats frame him as a populist outsider."
Previously:
• For the DNC, no money, more problems
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