Susan Collins refuses to weigh in on Platner's sexting scandal as Maine voters head to polls
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, repeatedly declined to weigh in on Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner's sexting controversy last week, opting to keep her distance from the escalating scandal as Maine voters head to the polls Tuesday.
"I really have nothing to add to it," Collins told Fox News Digital when asked about the allegations surrounding Platner, the Democratic frontrunner and her presumed opponent.
Collins reiterated that position when pressed further, declining multiple opportunities to comment as scrutiny surrounding Platner intensified ahead of the Democratic primary.
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"As I said to you earlier, I do not have anything to add to this," Collins said.
Collins' refusal to engage comes as Republicans have increasingly made Platner's controversies a central line of attack ahead of the primary. Outside organizations backing Collins have aired ads and amplified criticism of the Maine Democrat, while the senator herself has largely avoided publicly weighing in despite being expected to face him in November’s midterms.
Collins' recent reluctance to comment differs from her earlier remarks about Platner. Last month, she criticized the Democratic candidate when speaking to Fox News Digital after he mocked a wounded U.S. soldier.
"It’s never appropriate to mock a downed American soldier," Collins said to Fox News Digital last month. "It’s just appalling."
But she has repeatedly declined to address the more recent sexting scandal allegations that occurred while Platner was married, which have dominated discussion of the race in the final days before the primary.
The silence also shows the difference in how Democrats have responded to the controversy. Party leaders and allies have increasingly backed, and even formally endorsed, Platner as more controversies continue to surface in his campaign. Democrats have directly targeted Collins over her voting record and argue that flipping the seat remains a top priority despite all the allegations surrounding Platner.
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Platner has continued campaigning, with top lawmakers such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who reiterated his support for the Maine Democrat to Fox News Digital in an interview Friday night, arguing that Platner is "taking accountability" for his past and that "we need that redemption in this country."
With polls open Tuesday, Maine voters face a choice that could shape one of the country's most-watched Senate races, as Platner seeks to move past the controversy and secure a matchup against Collins.