Planned Parenthood Endorses Democrat Graham Platner Over Senator Susan Collins

The Planned Parenthood Action Fund, a prominent abortion rights organization, endorsed Democrat Graham Platner for the Senate in Maine. This decision was made on Monday, and he was chosen over Senator Susan Collins, one of two Republican senators who still support abortion rights.

In the past, a Maine branch of Planned Parenthood praised Collins for her longstanding support of the organization and her efforts to preserve federal funding for essential health care. As recently as May 2025, she was commended for opposing Republican attempts to cut funding for the organization.

However, during an event in Portland, Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO of the national Planned Parenthood organization, criticized Collins for not making decisive stands on abortion rights. McGill Johnson stated, “Senator Collins is a fair-weather feminist at best.” She added that Collins supports reproductive freedom only when it is convenient for her.

The race between Collins and Platner poses a challenge for some Democrats in Maine. Concerns have been raised over reports about Platner’s behavior towards women. However, there remains significant outrage over Collins’s vote to confirm Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in 2018. Kavanaugh later participated in the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had ensured a constitutional right to abortion for nearly 50 years.

Angela Kuefler, a Democratic strategist with extensive experience in polling on abortion rights, suggested that Platner’s campaign is using this issue to challenge Collins’s moderate image. This strategy also aims to strengthen support among Maine’s female voters, who form a majority of the state’s electorate.