An independent poll of Maine’s U.S. Senate race released this month showed that nearly a third of respondents said they did not know enough about Graham Platner to say whether they like him.

It was a small sample of just 810 voters, but the Pan Atlantic Research survey revealed a key vulnerability for Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer who is leading Gov. Janet Mills in recent polls for the Democratic primary.

“Platner’s central issue is that no matter how much buzz he’s got online among Democratic likely voters, he’s still, to a lot of Mainers, sort of a mystery,” said Ronald Schmidt, a political science professor at the University of Southern Maine. “It’s really important that he defines who he is.”

With less than three months to go until the primary, both Platner and Mills are trying to do just that. Mills is reminding voters about Platner’s past controversial comments. Platner is apologizing for them, telling voters he’s a changed man.

They’re saturating broadcast TV, social media and online spaces with these competing ads, and the war likely won’t stop raging until June 9.

Last week, Mills attacked her opponent over old internet posts dismissing sexual assault, and Platner responded with two new ads of his own.

The intraparty battle is likely great news for Republican Sen. Susan Collins, whom Mills and Platner hope to take on this fall. (David Costello, a Brunswick Democrat who ran unsuccessfully in 2024 against Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, is also running in the Democratic primary.)

Democrats believe unseating Collins is vital to the effort to retake the Senate, and they’re bullish on their chances of winning. The five-term incumbent has historically low approval ratings, and is the only Republican running in a state won by Democrats in the 2024 presidential election.

But while Collins has faced some attack ads, Republican-aligned groups are spending big to boost her favorability ratings, highlighting her efforts to fund new firehouses and improve water quality throughout the state.

Meanwhile, Democrats are spending their cash talking about Platner.

Maine’s race has already drawn about $91.8 million in ad spending, with Republican-aligned groups having spent $21.5 million more than their Democratic-aligned counterparts, according to Ad Impact, which tracks political spending.

Platner currently holds a significant funding advantage, which positions him to write his own narrative. Backed by national progressives like Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and bolstered by an army of volunteers, his campaign has a roughly 3-to-1 advantage over Mills in both fundraising and ad spending.

Platner had raised nearly $7.8 million through the end of last year compared to Mills’ $2.7 million, allowing him to flood the zone with a variety of ads, ranging from biographical, to criticizing Collins, to responding to attack ads like the one from Mills last week.

As of Friday, Platner had spent more than three times as much on ads as Mills — $4.2 million to nearly $1.2 million, according to Ad Impact. The spending is mostly targeting people in the Portland and Lewiston media markets.

“Because of that fundraising advantage, we are able to not just go toe-to-toe with the governor on airwaves now that she’s launched her attack ad but reach Mainers with a broad array of ads that are focused on introducing Graham to Mainers, beating Susan Collins, the issues Mainers care about most, and the future,” a Platner spokesperson said in an email.

Platner’s campaign announced in late January that it planned to air TV ads through the June 9 primary. As of Thursday, the campaign has aired seven different spots, including commercials taking on drug companies, and highlighting his Maine roots, military service and his lead in the polls.

His online ads have highlighted his love of “every corner of this state and every person in it,” his work as an oyster farmer and his desire to fight the billionaires.

Mills has been less active on the TV front, which isn’t surprising given her wide name recognition and her current job as governor. Her largest ad buy focused on her feud with President Donald Trump, featuring images of their White House confrontation and her state of the state speech.

“Governor Mills is going to continue making her case to all Maine people about why she is the only candidate who can beat Susan Collins,” campaign spokesperson Tommy Garcia said in an email. “That includes drawing a clear contrast between her opponent and her record of expanding reproductive freedom, prosecuting domestic abuse, and standing up for Maine people against anyone who seeks to harm them.”

Last week marked a turning point for the governor, in terms of tone.

Mills hit Platner for his 2013 comments on Reddit about victims of sexual assault. He had posted that victims need to “take responsibility” and “not get so (expletive) up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to.” The ad that debuted March 17 depicted women reacting to the comments.

Schmidt said the ad targeted an important demographic for Democrats in Maine and nationally — women.

“I think her basic logic there is to try to mobilize women voters,” he said.

An independent poll from Pan Atlantic Research released March 4 showed Platner and Mills running neck-and-neck with women. That survey of 367 likely Democratic primary voters showed each with 41% support among women, while Platner held a 52% to 37% edge among men.

It’s a stark warning for the 78-year-old Mills, who has shattered glass ceilings in Maine by becoming the state’s first female elected district attorney, attorney general and governor. She also led efforts to expand abortion rights after the fall of Roe v. Wade.

Mills joined a video conference call with supporters last Wednesday, defending her decision to attack her opponent.

“Maine people know my record and they know where I stand,” Mills said. “They deserve to know the same about my opponent. And it’s important that Maine voters hear Platner’s words and the absolutely abhorrent things he has said.”

Platner’s old internet comments and his own disclosure of his now-covered tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, spilled out into the media last fall. Those disclosures led to a shake-up of his staff, including his political director.

His comments, which were deleted before his Senate run, included the repeated use of slurs for homosexuals and people with disabilities. He called rural white people racist and all cops bastards, and he questioned why black people don’t tip. He also called himself a communist.

After apologizing to the media last week, Platner and his campaign quickly released two new ads.

Wearing a red-and-black plaid flannel shirt, the candidate speaks over soft music while Mills’ ad plays over his shoulder. He doesn’t specifically address his comments about sexual assault. Instead he speaks generally about his past controversial remarks.

“If I saw these ads, I’d have questions,” Platner says directly to the camera. “These are words and statements I abhor from a time in my life I was struggling deeply after returning from war. These words are not who I am. So Maine, I am asking you not to judge me for the worst thing I said on the internet on my worst day 14 years ago, but who I am today.”

A second ad features a middle-aged woman speaking over photos of Platner in military fatigues.

“Here’s the deal,” the woman says. “When Graham came home 14 years ago, he said things he regrets. And now he’s being attacked by politicians who don’t want anything to change. Graham apologized. He changed.”

Schmidt said the response shows that the Platner campaign is concerned that the attacks could resonate.

The Mills camp foreshadowed more attack ads to come.

Her recent commercial closes with an image of a shirtless Platner and a magnifying glass focusing on the skull-and-crossbones tattoo he got in 2007 while on leave with fellow Marines in Croatia. The ink mirrors a Totenkopf, a symbol of death for the Nazis. He says he didn’t know about its affiliation and has since had it covered.

The spot closes with the narrator saying, “Graham Platner. The closer you look. The worse it gets.”