Dem Senate Candidate Wants Radical Changes to Supreme Court

A Democratic Senate hopeful in Maine is openly campaigning on a promise to dismantle the current structure of the U.S. Supreme Court — and replace it with a hard-left political weapon.

Graham Platner, a former Marine and military contractor who later became a small-business owner and oyster farmer, is running to unseat long-time Republican Sen. Susan Collins. And in a newly released campaign video, Platner made clear that one of his top priorities would be to “stack” the Supreme Court with liberal ideologues and impose Senate-created oversight mechanisms to bring the Court to heel.

“We’re going to have to start treating the Supreme Court like the political action wing that it has become of conservatism. It is not functioning as a constitutional body,” Platner told a small group of supporters in comments reportedly made in Skowhegan.

Platner went on to insist that a future Democrat-controlled Senate should wield its power to remake the judiciary:

“It’s very frustrating for me that there are — I think there are Democrats in the Senate that either do not understand or don’t want to understand the power they actually have. And there is — the Senate — if we re — retake the Senate and get the majority — fingers crossed — we need to use every single lever of power that we have to deal with the Supreme Court.”

He then explicitly endorsed court-packing and new oversight structures created solely by Senate rules.

“I’m a supporter of stacking the court. I’m also a supporter of — I mean, the Senate can write its own rules. The Senate can come up with its own ethics oversight requirements. It just chooses not to,” he said.

Platner took his rhetoric even further, claiming that multiple justices could be removed altogether:

“This is important. And I firmly believe if we held Supreme Court justices to the same standard that we hold other federal judges, there is a compelling case for the impeachment and removal of at least two sitting justices.”

A video circulating online contains only the audio of Platner’s remarks, but it has already sparked significant backlash — especially given longstanding accusations that Platner’s politics fall somewhere between hard-left socialist and outright communist.

Yet the radical rhetoric has not dented his early polling. RealClearPolitics currently shows Platner ahead of Collins by 4.8 points, and he also leads other Democrats in the primary field.

Collins, known as one of the most centrist Republicans in the Senate, has historically outperformed expectations in a state that leans blue during federal elections. Still, the 2026 race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in the country, and both national parties are preparing major spending operations ahead of November.

A new Cygnal survey reported by Politico on Monday added to Republican concerns by showing Collins trailing a generic Democrat 41% to 49%. The poll suggested that her political standing could shift if she supports extending Affordable Care Act subsidies — a position Democrats are aggressively pushing heading into the midterms.

According to the polling memo, Collins’ traditional strengths remain intact: she still outperforms the GOP’s baseline among college-educated women (+8), voters over 55 (+6), and swing voters (+10). And if she backs the ACA subsidy extension, her deficit narrows, with 43% supporting her and 45% opting for a Democrat.

CBS News noted that Collins has voiced support for extending the subsidies but says reforms are necessary.

Cygnal’s memo emphasized that her fate hinges on politically mixed moderates:

“Swing voters (+6 net) and a Moderates segment (16% of the electorate)—moderate, female, older, and less college-educated—hold the key to victory. If Collins supports extension, she outperforms Trump’s 2024 ballot share with this Moderate segment by 16 points. If she opposes extension, her support falls to 15 points below Trump’s share.”

For now, Platner appears eager to ride Democratic frustration with the Supreme Court all the way to Election Day — even if it means openly threatening the independence of the judicial branch.