A super PAC backing Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is spending $2 million on an ad attacking political newcomer and Democratic frontrunner Graham Platner.

The ad buy from Pine Tree Results, which comes more than a month before the June 9 U.S. Senate primary, reflects the growing consensus that the 41-year-old oyster farmer and combat veteran has a sizable lead for the Democratic nomination over two-term Gov. Janet Mills.

Platner is not Collins’ opponent yet, but Collins’ backers clearly think he will be.

The line of attack is similar to one deployed in March by Mills, who has been trailing by double digits in most independent polling. That attack was apparently unsuccessful. Mills stopped running the ad after a month and has since gone dark on the airwaves.

It also reflects the perceived vulnerability of Collins, who has historically low approval ratings and is the only Senate Republican running in a state won by Democrats in the 2024 presidential election.

Platner campaign manager Ben Chin said in a written statement that the attack shows the strength of Platner’s populist, anti-establishment message, noting that the pro-Collins group is backed by out-of-state millionaires.

“While Mills’ TV ads come off the air, Collins and her team are stepping in to help, making it perfectly clear: Politicians protect their own, and government works for them, not for us,” Chin said.

At least two versions of the ad are circulating.

A 30-second spot hits Platner for his controversial comments on Reddit, which were deleted before he ran for Senate. The candidate has apologized for his comments, saying they no longer reflect who he is as a person.

The spot, called “The Real Graham Platner,” highlights Platner writing that white rural Americans are racist and stupid, and that some lobstermen are drug-addicted “pieces of shit.”

It also calls attention to comments Platner made in 2013 on Reddit about sexual assault. At the time, Platner wrote that people can avoid getting raped if they don’t get drunk around people they don’t trust.

The ad also explicitly mentions Platner’s skull-and-crossbones tattoo, known as a Totenkopf, an image used by the Nazis during World War II. Platner said he did not know the tattoo’s origin when he got it in 2009 with fellow Marines while on leave in Croatia. He got it covered last fall.

A 15-second version of the ad focuses on the sexual assault comments and the tattoo.

While Mills’ attack didn’t seem to alter the polling, the April 22 ad buy from Pine Tree Results is much larger. The super PAC is spending nearly $2 million on the ad, compared to the $585,000 spent by Mills.

Pine Tree Results was formed for the exclusive purpose of supporting Collins, but it must by law operate independently from the five-term incumbent.

Through April 30, the PAC had raised $12.7 million, according to the Federal Elections Commission. The group has reserved $18.5 million worth of ads through November, according to AdImpact.

Some of the top donations to Pine Tree Results include:

• $3 million from Stronger America Inc., a leadership PAC aligned with former Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas
• $2 million from Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman
• $1 million from the Lexington Fund, a dark money group tied to conservative activist Leonard Leo, who owns a home on Mount Desert Island, and
• $1 million from New Balance chairman James Davis