New Maine Senate poll finds Platner with narrow lead over Collins
A new poll puts Platner narrowly ahead of Collins, while showing weaker ratings for his character.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates Yahoo News, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
The reporting is attributed to USA TODAY, an established national newsroom, and the article identifies the pollster and provides sample size, field dates and margin of error. The Yahoo page identifies the material as originally appearing at USA TODAY.
- Source type — Established national news organization is credited with the reporting.
- Transparency — The article names the poll, sample size, field dates and margin of error.
- Author attribution — A named USA TODAY reporter is credited.
The story supplies specific poll results and basic methodology, and it gives readers additional measures beyond the head-to-head result. It relies primarily on the poll’s findings and provides limited detail about its methodology or independent interpretation.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The story includes results favorable to Platner as well as findings favorable to Collins, including character assessments and demographic splits. It offers poll details but little additional outside context or response from the candidates.
- Counterarguments presented — The article reports measures that cut in favor of both candidates.
- Source diversity — The central evidence comes from one poll, without quoted outside analysts or candidate responses.
- Omitted context — It provides basic methodology but limited discussion of the poll’s context and limitations beyond the margin of error.
The article reports poll results in a largely neutral manner, includes the margin of error, and presents findings that favor both candidates on different measures. Its framing does not show a discernible partisan lean.
- Language tone — The wording is predominantly descriptive and attributes findings to the poll.
- Framing — The story reports the head-to-head result alongside the statistical uncertainty and other measures.
- Source selection — The poll is identified as the source of the reported findings.
Republished with credit
Republished from USA Today, with credit to the original publisher.
13 stories · 79–84 · updated Oct 5, 2026
This is USA Today's own score, and this article is credited to USA Today. The host score in the Source Check is Yahoo News's.
A New York Times/Siena poll found Graham Platner leading Sen. Susan Collins 49%-47% among likely Maine voters, a margin within the survey’s error range and therefore a statistical dead heat. The poll also found Collins leading on character measures and Democrats ahead in the generic congressional ballot.
The poll surveyed 608 likely voters by landline and cell phones from June 19-26 and was released June 29. Platner led Collins 49%-47%, within the 4.8-point margin of error; Democrats led Republicans 53%-42% on the generic congressional ballot.
The poll found that 61% of respondents said Collins had good character, compared with 44% for Platner, and that 60% disapproved of President Donald Trump’s job performance. The article also recounted controversies involving Platner that came to light during his primary campaign.
Community verdict
VOTING CLOSEDNo good or bad look here
This story reports what happened without casting Platner in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward Platner’s record.
People in this story
SWIPE →Republican incumbent in Maine’s Senate race
Collins's version of this story ↗President discussed as a factor in the race
Part of a bigger story
15 OUTLETSA Fox News poll gave Susan Collins a 50%-47% lead over Graham Platner among registered voters in Maine, while Platner led among voters who said they were extremely motivated to vote. Left-leaning outlets center Platner’s anti-corruption platform and allegations about Collins, presenting them as his campaign’s challenge to the incumbent. Center outlets report competing claims and campaign developments, pairing accusations with responses and polling with other voter measures. Right-leaning outlets emphasize Collins’s lead and Platner’s vulnerabilities, though some also note his edge among highly motivated voters.
- ARTICLES
- 19
- OUTLETS
- 15
- AVG CRED
- 58
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