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Abortion Rights Group Endorses Platner Over Collins in Maine
The New York Times • • nation
Key Points:
- Planned Parenthood Action Fund has officially endorsed Democrat Graham Platner over Republican Senator Susan Collins in the Maine Senate race, despite Collins being one of the few GOP senators supporting abortion rights.
- The endorsement marks a shift from earlier support by a Maine affiliate, which had praised Collins for opposing cuts to Planned Parenthood funding as recently as May 2025.
- Planned Parenthood's national president, Alexis McGill Johnson, criticized Collins for inconsistent support on abortion rights, calling her a "fair-weather feminist."
- The race presents a dilemma for some Maine Democrats, torn between concerns about Platner’s reported conduct toward women and anger at Collins for her 2018 vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, who later helped overturn Roe v. Wade.
- Democratic strategists believe Platner’s campaign is leveraging abortion rights to challenge Collins’s moderate image and attract female voters, who constitute the majority of Maine’s electorate.
