New polling from Emerson College shows Graham Platner holding a significant lead over Gov. Janet Mills in the Democratic primary in the race for one of Maine’s seats in the United States Senate.
Among likely Democratic voters, 55 percent have expressed support for Platner, while just 28 percent have said they plan to vote for Gov. Mills. 13 percent remain undecided.
When pitted head-to-head against incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R), both Platner and Mills perform equally well, with results suggesting that either candidate would be able to earn a plurality of the votes.
In both scenarios, just over ten percent of voters were undecided, enough to sway the results in favor of either candidate.
Sen. Collins, Platner, and Mills all held similar favorability ratings, ranging from 38 percent to 42 percent. The share of likely voters who held an unfavorable view of Platner, however, was smaller as a substantial 20 percent were unsure of their feelings toward him.
When respondents were asked to identify what they believed to be the most pressing issue facing the state, 33.8 percent pointed toward the economy. The next most widely cited concerns were threats to democracy at 17.2 percent and housing affordability at 15.8 percent.
According to Emerson College, this poll has a margin of error of ±2.9 percent. Surveys were conducted between March 21, 2026 and March 23, 2026.
