Susan Collins wins Maine GOP Senate nod in race key to majority
Why it matters: The six-term incumbent now heads toward a general election that could help decide control of the Senate.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins locked up Maine’s GOP Senate nomination Tuesday after running unopposed in the party primary, formally setting up a high-stakes re-election fight in a race seen as pivotal to control of the chamber. Collins, 73, is seeking a sixth term in a state that often leans Democratic in federal contests. Her expected November opponent is Graham Platner, a military veteran and oyster farmer who became the Democrats’ likely nominee after Gov. Janet Mills left the race earlier this spring. Platner’s campaign has been strained by controversies tied to past online comments, a tattoo he later covered, and allegations about his past behavior, which he has partly attributed to untreated PTSD and alcohol abuse.