Congress Extends Controversial Spy Law For 45 Days After Senate Rejects House Bill<\/p>\n
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Senatorial candidate Graham Platner speaks at a town hall at the Leavitt Theater in Ogunquit, Maine, on Oct. 22, 2025. Platner is a U.S. Marine veteran and oyster farmer running for the seat held by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.<\/p>\n
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It also opens up a new line of attack for Republicans, who plan to lean into Platner\u2019s past progressive views and his connection to his main backers: Sen. Bernie Sanders,<\/a> I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.<\/p>\n “This is the new Democrat Party,” Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. “I don’t know how to, I don’t even know how to digest all that nonsense. This is crazy.”<\/p>\n Read On The Fox News App<\/a><\/p>\n Scott, who chairs the Senate\u2019s campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, painted Platner as the “extreme” candidate compared to Mills\u2019 more centrist image.<\/p>\n Democrats Fail To Shatter Republicans’ Resolve On Eve Of Crucial Iran Deadline<\/a><\/p>\n Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., arrives at a Senate hearing in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5, 2026.<\/p>\n He previewed points of attack against Platner, including his insults of rural White voters, old Reddit posts where he<\/a> blamed women for rape, and his “absolute condescension towards minorities, and Black people specifically.”<\/p>\n “Schumer \u2026 went after Mills, and what do you find yourself with? Exactly the opposite,” Scott said.<\/p>\n Still, Platner, who has never held elected office, is polling ahead of Collins, who is seeking a sixth term in the Senate.<\/p>\n RealClearPolitics has Platner ahead by an average of nearly eight points. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who chaired the NRSC when Republicans flipped the Senate in 2024, told Fox News Digital that the last time Collins ran, she was behind in early polling as well.<\/p>\n After Third Assassination Attempt, Debate Grows Over Whether Trump Attack Warrants Another Investigation<\/a><\/p>\n Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, seen at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 3, 2025.<\/p>\n “Every poll, going right up to Election Day, and she ended up winning by eight points,” Daines said. “Susan Collins is a tough out and she’s going to win Maine.”<\/p>\n Republicans also see Platner\u2019s ascension as the continuation of a shift in the Democratic Party from the old-guard establishment to more progressive candidates, following the success of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a> \u2014 another victory story from Sanders\u2019 and Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s stable of candidates.<\/p>\n Click Here To Download The Fox News App<\/a><\/p>\n They\u2019re hoping to tie Platner to Mamdani, whom Republicans have painted as a proverbial boogeyman in contrast to more centrist Democratic candidates.<\/p>\n “The Democrats continue to nominate far-left candidates,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital. “This is the Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren,<\/a> AOC, wing of the party that is in control.”<\/p>\n![\"Sen.](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1777786455_692_f8d961786168311f98090918c0d0f0a1.jpeg\"\/)
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