Susan Collins's super PAC has raised $15,562,897.01 in itemized contributions from billionaires, shady dark money groups and Newsmax (which has given $50,000) so far. None of it -- not one cent -- is from Maine. #MEpolitics

Chris Murphy weighs in on texts Platner wrote to women other than his wife and what it means about his character. #MEpolitics

UK-based Financial Times parachutes into Ellsworth and finds disgruntled former Trump and Susan Collins supporters, at least one of them resolved to vote Platner in November. tinyurl.com/4f3w354p (Paywalled.) #MEpolitics

Portland Press Herald letter titled: "Where is Susan Collins? Not in my town, anyway." #MEpolitics

The problem with Platner's sexts is that Susan Collins votes with Trump 95% of the time and played a pivotal role in shredding abortion rights in America. #MEpolitics

NEW: WSJ reports that in the context of brainstorming possible opposition research/vulnerabilities last year, Graham Platner's wife Amy told a campaign staffer she had once found sexts to other women on Platner's phone...a disclosure that has now found its way to a Murdoch outlet. Hmm. #MEpolitics

Susan Collins and her team seem taken aback that Mainers are so far viewing anonymous sh*tposts her opponent put up on a discussion board as a private citizen 7 or 10 or 13 years ago as less weighty/grave than her votes and official acts as a US senator. This should not be a surprise! #MEpolitics

Another high profile veteran -- this time a centrist Dem rep -- blasts Susan Collins for absolving herself of responsibility for the fate of soldiers who wound up in Iraq due to her many pro-war votes. Collins has lots of high-profile vet allies. Their silence on this speaks volumes. #MEpolitics

Only time we're aware of Susan Collins giving an extended answer about her responsibility for the cost in lives and treasure of her Iraq vote is at 59:57. Striking how self-directed the answer is and the absence of even a hint of regret. (Note the shift since then on Trump as well.) #MEpolitics

'Despite voting with Trump 95% of the time, Collins only 9 points behind Platner in new poll' #MEpolitics

For the first time in her electoral career, Susan Collins's profound inability to mix it up with regular folks in unscripted situations seems likely to be a big liability. You can't combat the creeping feeling that you're out of touch and have sold the state out from inside a bubble. #MEpolitics

Sen. Ruben Gallego (another veteran) would like a word. If there's been a groundswell of veteran support for Susan Collins over her viral comments that seemed to shrug off her responsibility for the Iraq war...we haven't been able to find it. #MEpolitics

Nowhere in this article does Susan Collins say she'll vote against Trump's ballroom $$$ if it's paired with other funding -- as it certainly will be. You could forgive Randy Billings and Portland Press Herald for getting duped if Collins hadn't been pulling this same act for decades. #MEpolitics

Graham Platner out with a video response to Susan Collins's viral moment distancing herself from responsibility for the fates of soldiers who enlisted to serve in the time of the Iraq war which she voted for and supported. #MEpolitics

Platner has successfully baited Susan Collins into publicly absolving herself of responsibility for the Iraq war she supported and voted for -- at a cost of thousands of American lives and trillions of dollars. Clip seems bound to wind up with lots more attn than her Reddit attacks. #MEpolitics

This is false and any reporter worth their salt would take it up with Susan Collins: She's sent hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years to committees actively working to elect Paxton. So she's ALREADY involved in his race. The only question is if she'll send even more $$$. #MEpolitics

Not a huge fan of the line Platner has used about Susan Collins having 'sent him to Iraq'...but also not convinced it's wise to get involved in this kind of hairsplitting if you're Susan Collins. Was inevitable she'd get retorts like this -- in this case from a veteran congressman. #MEpolitics

Welp, Susan Collins personally going negative and attacking Platner. Her internals must be pretty bad and they've concluded ads and attacks via surrogate/Fox News aren't working if they're resigned to having attacks come out of her mouth. Never happened with Gideon to our recollection. #MEpolitics

No idea if Platner will defeat Susan Collins. But building this kind of campaign is a key part of why he even has a shot. This is the way. #MEpolitics

This slanted clip from Susan Collins bootlicker Phil Hirschkorn helps show why Collins is fighting for her political life: Mainers are now so skeptical that, even when media stack the deck in her favor and accept her sketchy claims as fact, lotta folks aren't buying what she's selling. #MEpolitics

If only she knew someone etc etc etc. The playacting shtick is so old at this point. Even Collins seems tired of it. #MEpolitics

Hopefully it goes without saying that if Trump's admin e.g. brings charges against Platner -- or other Dem candidates -- it should be treated with the same skepticism that greeted the politically-motivated probes of Tish James, Comey and now E. Jean Carroll (tinyurl.com/5b49cww9). #MEpolitics

Susan Collins has no Reddit posts worth pouring over...but she did this to America's women. Surely at some point the focus of ME-SEN coverage will turn to this topic for a bit, right? Right?!? #MEpolitics

Susan Collins would prefer that no Maine legacy media outlet write a story exploring why so many billionaires are so thirsty to reelect her...and so that story never gets written. It's not much more complicated than that. #MEpolitics

All the usual caveats. #MEpolitics

More and more people are noticing this. #MEpolitics

"Do you support Talarico?" is a question that any reporter with access could ask Susan Collins and it only takes four words. #MEpolitics

Thesis here is that with Paxton as the nominee, GOP will have to spend $$ defending a Texas seat that would've otherwise gone to defend Susan Collins. Sure, but it's also "about" Collins in that she herself has sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to the groups who'll do that spending. #MEpolitics

Susan Collins has funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to GOP committees that are about to spend millions of dollars to try to elect "ethically challenged" Ken Paxton. There's nothing to stop her from asking for her money back...but something tells us she's not going to do that! #MEpolitics

Uh-oh Platner's finished. #MEpolitics

"I don't take positions on local issues" was Susan Collins mantra for decades. Marriage equality, abortion laws, gun referendums etc etc. But finally in 2026 she found something she cared enough about to make her position clear. #MEpolitics

The Jackson-Platner and Bellows-Platner events are an interesting phenomenon. Stamp of support from established, esteemed ME-GOV candidates makes Platner feel more senatorial while Graham's thumbs-up links Bellows and Jackson to the outsider energy that seems a crucial 2026 ingredient. #MEpolitics

Susan Collins's team is gonna spend the next 5 months doing everything they can to distract people from her actual record in office. #MEpolitics

The contrast between the imagery being put out by the two campaigns right now is totally wild. #MEpolitics

Metaphor Watch: Susan Collins campaign posts a clip of her parading down a street with no well-wishers. #MEpolitics

Seems like ages ago that ICE hooligans threatened Mainers on video -- saying they'd be put on a terrorist watchlist for having the temerity to film ICE's unconstitutional acts (tinyurl.com/2w94tvc7). But it was like four months ago! And now Susan Collins wants to send ICE/CBP $72B more! #MEpolitics

Is it a good sign when you're deeply discounting your campaign merch five months before Election Day? #MEpolitics

The problem with being a con artist is that once it becomes widely understood what you're up to, the jig is up. #MEpolitics

As far as we know Angus King has never been asked by any reporter about this alleged phone call on January 2, 2021 -- four days before Trump's attempted insurrection. #MEpolitics

Stealth Susan Collins propaganda outlet BDN runs a letter praising Collins from a Republican state senator -- without identifying her as such -- who Collins's PAC maxed out to two months ago. Everyone involved in this should be ashamed of themselves. But these people have no shame #MEpolitics

Shenna Bellows shares the same message. #MEpolitics

Bellows, Jackson and Pingree all ranking each other -- telling voters that they trust each other with the job and that neither nepo Angus nor Shah should not be the nominee. #MEpolitics

Interesting video: tinyurl.com/56n9pnns Fox News talks to nine Mainers about Graham Platner controversies and most if not nearly all say/imply that the Reddit posts etc won't affect their vote. If that's what Fox is choosing to show ya gotta think the results were even more lopsided. #MEpolitics

Who sounds like they are in charge of appropriations in this scenario? Not Susan Collins. #MEpolitics

Graham Platner ranked Shenna Bellows second and Hannah Pingree third on his ME-GOV ballot per Phil Hirschkorn of News Center Maine tinyurl.com/mrywbmam #MEpolitics

Graham Platner says that on his ME-GOV ballot he ranked Troy Jackson first and also ranked Bellows and Pingree. Didn't share the ranking order of the latter two as far as we can tell but seemed to imply those are the only three he ranked. #MEpolitics

Okay what are folks thinking about the ME-GOV primary? #MEpolitics

Looking past the hilarious word "confronted" here (!) what's actually going on is that Susan Collins is signaling that as long as Trump's dude pinky swears that MAGA won't use the corrupt slush fund for one particular corrupt purpose she's okay with it. That's your headline. #MEpolitics

Susan Collins: Pretending to be stupid since 1997. (And reporters pretending to believe her.) #MEpolitics