Overview
- Graham Platner is the Democrats’ presumptive nominee after Gov. Janet Mills ended her campaign following weak polls and fundraising.
- A pro–Susan Collins super PAC called Pine Tree Results has booked nearly $2 million in TV and YouTube ads that reprise his old Reddit posts and a Nazi‑linked tattoo he says he covered.
- Federal filings show the PAC is funded largely by out‑of‑state billionaires and dark‑money nonprofits, including Stronger America, Inc., with major checks from donors such as Stephen Schwarzman.
- Several Mills allies in Maine say they are not ready to endorse Platner, even as national progressives like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren back him and he says he would not support Chuck Schumer as party leader.
- A federal court ruling struck down Maine’s $5,000 limit on super PAC donations, leaving unlimited outside spending in place with two appeals now pending before the First Circuit.