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Top Republican groups are pivoting quickly to launching a negative barrage at Platner as he seeks to defeat Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. It’s a mission that’s taking on an almost militaristic tone given Maine’s outsized importance in the battle for the Senate majority.
“I can just tell you that we should have an all-out assault on the concept that somehow, some way, Graham Platner will squeak through. He has to be exposed,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., told Semafor.
Scott said Mills “obviously would have been more mainstream for Maine. And frankly, I care about the future of our country, and what is clear is Graham Platner should not, cannot, and will not be the future of the party or the country, because we’re going to stop that from happening.”
Senate Republicans’ primary super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, has reserved $42 million in fall ads. A sister nonprofit group, One Nation, is running a suite of ads now totaling $18 million.
“It’s a good thing Graham Platner isn’t a real oysterman from Maine because he’ll no longer be able to live in the state after we thoroughly beat the sh*t out of him,” said SLF executive director Alex Latcham.
Platner did not immediately comment but said Thursday he wants to work with Mills “to defeat Susan Collins and turn this seat blue again.”
Democrats have their own expanding ad campaign against Collins. The Democrat-aligned Senate Majority PAC has made a $24 million reservation for fall TV ads and also has a “significant” digital campaign, according to SMP spokeswoman Lauren French. Nonprofit Majority Forward has also spent several million in the state and is currently targeting Collins over Iran.
“Bring it on. Susan Collins is an anemic and tired candidate. Any semblance of a record has been swept aside after six years of voting against the interests of Maine and with Donald Trump 90% of the time.
She has become a caricature of her former self,” French said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee both supported Mills over Platner but suggested they will have his back against Collins. They said Thursday that “Collins has never been more vulnerable and we will work with the presumptive Democratic nominee Graham Platner to defeat her.”
Neither the DSCC nor the NRSC have reserved ads in Maine yet. Collins has about $10 million on hand for her campaign, while Platner has raised nearly $12 million but spent most of it, with about $2.7 million on hand.
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