Maine (Emerson)
Platner: 48% (+7)
Collins: 41%
Press Herald - Thousands of Mainers gathered in protest against the Trump administration Saturday as part of the third nationwide “No Kings” demonstrations, which organizers say could be the largest day of protest in U.S. history. Protests were held in dozens locations across Maine, from larger urban areas like Portland, Lewiston-Auburn and Bangor to smaller towns as far and wide as Bethel, Eastport and Fort Kent.
University of Maine at Augusta may start training air traffic controllers (wmtw.com)
Press Herald - David Jones had a mission: neutralize Bobby Charles. At a March Republican gubernatorial debate in Bangor, Jones, a businessman and real estate broker, spent his entire closing statement attacking Charles. He called his opponent a “swamp rat” from Washington, D.C., who had inflated his career, made unrealistic promises to voters and lied on the campaign trail.
The crowd booed and some turned their backs to the stage. Charles seized on the moment.
“So this is what it looks like to be the front-runner — by double digits!” he said to a round of applause.
In a crowded Republican field for governor, Charles has pitched himself as hard on crime and fraud — an attorney, litigator and manager who has tackled the issues at the federal level.
If you believe the early polls, his tough talk has propelled him to the top of the crowded pack. If he wins the Republican nomination, he will go on to vie for the chance to succeed Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who is term-limited and running for U.S. Senate.
The ad features women reacting to Platner’s old social media posts making light of sexual assault. That’s just one scandalous theme in a trove of more than 1,800 deleted Reddit posts. There’s no shortage of material from Platner’s past: Socialist Rifle Association instructor, self-labeled “antifa supersoldier,” and did I mention the (now covered-over) Nazi tattoo? This week, Mills released another ad highlighting an old anti-gay slur and other offensive language. “The closer you look,” the ad concludes, “the worse it gets.”
Platner has apologized for some of his past posts, saying he was struggling after his military service. And when I talked to voters, his controversies never came up — unless I asked about them.
As Mills trails in the polls, she has resorted to spotlighting oppo hits to slow the political newcomer’s momentum as they vie for the chance to unseat Maine’s senior U.S. senator, Republican Susan Collins. Mills’s calculation seems to be that voters haven’t had enough time to acquaint themselves with Platner’s iniquities. But in today’s political climate, Americans are also plenty conditioned to controversy. And Democrats, desperate to reanimate the party, have been quick to drop the faux outrage. Though the 78-year-old Mills still has establishment backing in Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), big-name senators like Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) are supporting Platner. Many Maine voters feel similarly.