Janet Mills and Graham Platner battle for female voters in Maine's key Senate race

Gov. Janet Mills and oyster farmer Graham Platner are battling over female voters as Maine’s critical Senate race heats up, underscoring how the group could be decisive both in the June Democratic primary and the November general election

Gov. Janet Mills and oyster farmer Graham Platner are battling over female voters as Maine’s critical Senate race heats up, underscoring how the group could be decisive both in the June Democratic primary and the November general election.

Mills and Platner have launched TV ads in recent days narrated by women and held dueling events highlighting women who are backing their campaigns. Platner’s campaign also has been heavily targeting women with ads online.

The latest missive came Thursday as Mills released another TV ad targeting Platner over online posts in 2013 in which he downplayed sexual assault. Platner, a combat veteran, has disavowed those posts and attributed them to his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder following his service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The back-and-forth on the airwaves demonstrates how both campaigns are vying for female voters in the primary to take on GOP Sen. Susan Collins. The Maine race is a must-win contest for Democrats in their quest to net four seats and take control of the Senate.

“It’s hard to imagine winning the Maine primary without doing well amongst women, and particularly older women,” said David Farmer, a Maine Democratic strategist who is not involved in the Senate race. He noted that women over age 65 tend to make up a plurality of primary voters in Maine. Polls indicate that women, a key part of the Democratic coalition broadly, are particularly fired up ahead of the midterm elections.