Platner Sets His Exit for Monday — and the First Poll Says Maine Is Still a Coin Flip
Shah, Bellows and Jackson each run within a point of Collins. Democrats have 17 days to pick one.
Graham Platner privately told his staff he will file the paperwork ending his Senate campaign on Monday — the legal drop-dead date for Maine Democrats to replace him — Axios reported Thursday night.
The first public measure of the wreckage landed the same day, and it upends the doom narrative. Z to A Research, polling 988 likely voters Tuesday and Wednesday for a group backing Nirav Shah, tested three potential replacements against Senator Susan Collins: Shah leads 47–46, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows ties 47–47, and former Senate President Troy Jackson trails 47–48. Every result sits inside the ±3.1-point margin. The seat Platner was supposed to have thrown away remains a dead heat — with a placeholder candidate.
