Correction: Bobby Charles was polling at 28 percent, not 38 percent as was previously stated in this article.
The latest Pine Tree State Poll from the University of New Hampshire brought disturbing news for Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Tuesday when it showed Graham Platner with a significant lead in a senate general election.
The poll also revealed clear frontrunners in the Republican and Democratic gubernatorial primaries and gave former Gov. Paul LePage a slight lead in the Second Congressional District’s general election.
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Pollsters asked a group of 1,120 how they would vote in the upcoming high-stakes Senate election, and the results placed Platner as the clear frontrunner in both the primary and general elections.
In the Democratic primary, the radical political newcomer Platner drastically outperformed the aging Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine), with a blowout 38-point lead, as Platner drew 64 percent support compared with Gov. Mills’ 26 percent.
That lead has increased by four points since the Pine Tree State Poll’s October results.
Platner’s substantial lead is bad news for the incumbent Sen. Collins.
Pollsters found that, in a general election matchup with Gov. Mills, Collins would currently have a slight lead, with a 41-40 percent face-off, and 10 percent of voters undecided.
The percentage of undecided voters could easily sway the results in a Mills-Collins matchup, but not in the seemingly more likely Collins-Platner race.
Pollsters found that 49 percent of voters would support Platner, compared with 38 percent support for Collins and just 9 percent of voters who are undecided.
The UNH poll wasn’t all bad news for Republicans; however, it gave LePage, the likely Republican nominee for Rep. Jared Golden’s (D-Maine) House seat, a slight lead over possible Democratic candidates.
A LePage matchup with state Sen. Joe Baldacci (D-Penobscot) drew a 48-47 percent matchup in favor of LePage. With State Auditor Dunlap, the results were 47-46, and against failed Senate candidate Jordan Wood, LePage led with 48-44 results.
The New Hampshire poll also revealed the likely gubernatorial matchup, showing clear frontrunners in both party primaries.
Former Maine Center for Disease Control Director Nirav Shah had substantial support at 25 percent, compared with runner-up Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ 19 percent, while a notable 23 percent of voters remained undecided.
Among Republicans, Bobby Charles held a massive lead, with 28 percent support compared to just 12 percent support for runner-up former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason. A substantial 31 percent of likely Republican voters remained undecided.
Pollsters also revealed that the cost of living and housing remain the top concerns for Mainers, with 20 percent citing the cost of living as the most important issue facing the state and 15 percent citing housing.
