Graham Platner, the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, is in a virtual dead heat with longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins, according to a new poll. Platner, who has been facing multiple controversies, stands at 49% support among likely voters, with Collins at 47%, and 3% of respondents undecided or refusing to answer.

Maine Senate Race

The high-profile and likely expensive race is among a handful that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority in November’s midterm elections. Republicans currently control the chamber 53-47, and flipping the Senate seat in left-leaning Maine is a key part of the Democrats’ path to retake the majority.

Platner, a military combat veteran and oyster farmer, has been backed by progressive champions Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. He has advocated for an economically populist agenda, taking aim at corporate influences and advocating for the working class.

However, Platner has also been facing controversies, including inflammatory online comments, a well-publicized tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol, and allegations of a history of rape fantasies and violent episodes. Platner has called the allegations of violence untrue and has apologized for his controversial online posts.

The new poll suggests that Platner is having some difficulty winning over voters who want the Democrats to take back power in Congress. Fifty-four percent of respondents said they’d like to see the Democrats win back the Senate majority, five points higher than the 49% who are supporting Platner.

Collins, a moderate Republican, has been running for a sixth six-year term in the Senate. She has been remembered for her 2018 vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, which eventually helped the court’s conservative majority overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that had legalized abortion nationwide.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.