Maine voters head to polls on Tuesday for closely watched primary election

Voters in Maine head to the polls on Tuesday for one of the most closely watched primary elections in the country. The US Senate race has become a national fixation as Democrats try to unseat a longtime Republican with a political newcomer who has spent months under fire . Graham Platner, 41, is set to advance as the Democratic nominee for the Senate, after his primary rival – the state’s two-term governor, Janet Mills – suspended her campaign in April. The primary result will likely set up a months-long run-up between Platner, an oysterman and marine veteran with a groundswell of popularity and a mounting list of scandals, and Susan Collins, a 73-year-old Republican senator who has held the seat for nearly three decades. Democrats see Maine as one of their few real pickup opportunities in the fight for Senate control. Platner’s barnstorming run has drawn big crowds in rural towns and fueled a surge of in‑ and out‑of‑state donations. His populist message has tapped into a base fed up with Washington’s machinations. “Our tax dollars can build schools and hospitals in America instead of bombs to drop on them in Gaza and Iran,” he told supporters in Portland recently. He often leans on his combat experience – and the health care he says he receives from being “blown up enough times” – for his push to overhaul the system. For her part, Collins last appeared on the ballot in 2020, winning a fifth term even as Joe Biden carried the state. …