Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) days as the Democratic Party’s leader could soon be over.
Schumer’s fate is tied on what happens with an unlikely trio jockeying for a Senate position in the critical battleground state of Maine.
The election in Maine could ultimately determine control of the U.S. Senate — and Schumer’s future as party leader.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the longtime moderate Republican, will face off against the winner of the Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner and current Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.
Mills, who was endorsed by Schumer, was seen as the clear favorite to run against Collins just a few weeks ago, but now faces an increasingly tough Democratic primary battle against Platner — who is facing a scandal of his own.
According to new data from RealClearPolling, Platner has a 22% average lead in primary surveys, despite the early days of his campaign being marred by scandal over a now-covered Nazi symbol tattoo and several resurfaced Reddit posts from the early 2010s in which he made demeaning comments about women and proclaimed that he “became a communist.”
Platner’s campaign manager Ben Chin told Axios that the campaign is “shifting gears and going full steam ahead into the general,” but noted they “aren’t taking our foot [off] the gas in the primary.”
Platner has also garnered the endorsements of Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), which many now view was a pivot to secure the far-left, progressive vote in the election.
“We’re feeling emboldened,” Chin told the outlet.
However, the 77-year-old Mills recently launched an attack campaign against Platner, a rural oyster farmer, in recent commercials, highlighting his scandals and running with the tagline, “Graham Platner: The closer you look, the worse it gets.”
One advertisement in particular features older, white women reacting to the populist Democrat’s comments on Reddit with disgust.
“These comments are shameful,” Mills continued to hammer the point home via X on March 24.
“While my opponent was saying this not long ago, I was fighting as Attorney General and Governor to deliver progress for Maine people.”
These comments are shameful.
While my opponent was saying this not long ago, I was fighting as Attorney General and Governor to deliver progress for Maine people. pic.twitter.com/wl8uC64neQ
— Janet Mills (@JanetMillsforME) March 24, 2026
However, the new numbers suggest that Platner’s campaign has rebounded following his apology over the posts in the fall.
One Republican strategist familiar with the race told The Daily Wire that the race remains a “target-rich environment” that could ultimately benefit Collins.
“It’s not really breaking through for her,” the strategist said regarding the Mills attack ads, adding that it’s “definitely not looking good” for the governor’s campaign.
In terms of the overall Republican approach, the strategist noted that it’s “equal opportunity until the day she drops out” and the Republicans will continue to “keep hammering on both.”
Collins, who has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, has seen a steady decline in overall popularity.
Collins defeated Democrat Sara Gideon in 2020 with just under 51% compared with Gideon’s roughly 42%.
As previously reported by The Horn News, Collins’ overall approval rating amongst Maine voters is at an all-time low.
As part of its quarterly poll of the Senator’s approval ratings, Morning Consult shows the favorability of the longtime Maine senator, now 72, to be the worst ever.
According to the recent poll, a whopping 54% of Maine voters disapprove of Collins’ job performance, marking a high point for her disapproval in the Morning Consult survey’s eight-year history.
By contrast, only 38% of voters in the state approve of her performance in office.
The new numbers for Collins are a sharp downturn from the last quarterly poll conducted by The Morning Consult survey from the fourth quarter of 2024, which showed 44% of Maine voters disapproved of Collins.
And an ever further decline from the third quarter of 2024, where only 42% disapproved, according to the Morning Consult’s poll at the time.
The Cook Political Report rates the general election race as a “toss-up,” along with the contests in North Carolina, Georgia, and Michigan.
And you can be that Schumer is anxiously watching.