Collins Sticks to Script as Dem Chaos Erupts Following Platner Exit

Her opponent is changing, but little else is as Collins keeps up her hyper-local campaign plan.

Sen. Susan Collins

Sen. Susan Collins, the five-term senator, has long been atop the list of incumbents Democrats hope to topple this cycle, given her standing as the lone Republican representing a state won by former Vice President Kamala Harris two years ago. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins has a simple campaign strategy after Graham Platner’s implosion: Stay the course.

Democrats in Maine and at the national level are reckoning with their own tumult after a woman publicly accused the Democrats’ nominee of sexual assault, effectively ending Platner’s campaign. Now the party is forced to launch a two-week process to coalesce around his replacement.

But Collins is hardly changing a beat in her operation despite facing a brand new general election opponent — one who could be vastly different from the progressive Platner, who Republicans were itching to draw a contrast with — just over three months out from the midterm elections.