Sullivan oysterman Graham Platner enjoys a significant lead over Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) in a heated Senate race despite recent controversies surrounding his Nazi tattoo and social media posts, a new University of New Hampshire (UNH) Pine Tree State poll found.
[RELATED: Graham Planter’s Senate Bid Rocked Again — This Time Over Nazi-Linked Tattoo…]
As Platner and Gov. Mills vie for a chance to run as the Democratic nominee against incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a poll of 1,015 likely voters conducted from October 16-21 gave the radical Platner a significant lead.
The poll indicates that 58 percent of Democratic voters favor Platner, compared to only 24 percent who support Mills.
No Democratic candidates except Mills and Platner drew more than one percent support in the poll, with “undecided” coming in third with 14 percent of respondents.
Notably, the poll was conducted after some of Platner’s controversial social media posts came to light, including statements in which he called himself a communist, referred to all police officers as bastards, and labeled all white rural people as racist. He has since disavowed his old posts.
[RELATED: Graham Platner Wrote Some Dumb Stuff, So What?…]
On the last day pollsters were collecting responses, Platner made national headlines when it was revealed that he had a tattoo resembling a Nazi SS “Totenkopf” symbol on his chest. He claimed that he was unaware of the symbol’s Nazi association until very recently.
His former political director, Genevieve McDonald, argued that he was aware of the symbol’s association and failed to have the tattoo covered until the controversy emerged.
Because the poll ended on the day the tattoo was revealed, it likely does not reflect the full impact of the controversial body art on his political chances. It does, however, suggest that voters were not deterred by his old social media posts.
After the poll concluded, Maine Wire Editor-in-Chief Steve Robinson revealed that Platner previously taught firearm courses for Maine’s Socialist Rifle Association.
According to UNH, Platner’s lead was fueled largely by strong support from self-described socialists, progressives, and younger voters.
In Maine’s hotly contested 2nd Congressional District race, Republican frontrunner former Gov. Paul LePage is outpacing incumbent Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), drawing 49 percent support compared with Golden’s 44 percent.
Fifty-seven percent of respondents overall, including 36 percent of Democrats, believed that Rep. Golden does not deserve to be re-elected.
