Maine's Senate race opened ad season this week with two campaigns broadcasting entirely different theories of 2026, per Bulwark's Sam Stein and Lauren Egan. Graham Platner's first spot is a hard-hitting populist frame that goes directly at Collins' record and ties her to Trump and the broader fight over who holds power. Collins countered with a nostalgic, locally-focused ad built around an infrastructure win from roughly a decade ago.
The strategic read: Platner is betting that defining Collins early — before she can re-establish her independent-brand armor — is the only path to winning. The offense-first move is classic challenger discipline. Collins' answer, leaning on a decade-old project, signals her team thinks the old Maine-specific goodwill still travels. That's a significant wager in a nationalized environment.
The open question is whether Collins' long-standing cross-party strength in Maine holds when the race gets nationalized around Trump. Platner's opening move is designed specifically to make sure it doesn't.