Two campaigns. Similar money. Opposite donors.
Collins and Platner have raised roughly the same amount for the 2026 race. What's completely different is whothe money comes from — and that's the part that tells you whose interests each one answers to.
Source: OpenFEC Collins for Senator (C00314575) · Graham for Maine (C00916437). Coverage through 2026-03-31.
- Only 13.4% of individual money is small-dollar.
- Took $905k in PAC money.
- Her top state is Florida, not Maine; Maine ranks 4th by itemized dollars.
- Plus the outside super PAC (Pine Tree Results) raising $12.7M — almost none of it from Maine.
- 64.5% of individual money is small-dollar.
- Took only $78k in PAC money — about 12× less than Collins.
- His #1 state is Maine — 6,914 itemized Maine donors vs. Collins's ~1,110.
- No comparable billionaire super PAC behind him.
Platner raises real money from out of state too — California, New York, and Massachusetts are all in his top donor states, same as Collins. The difference isn't geography alone. It's structure: Platner's money is overwhelmingly small-dollar (64.5%) with almost no PAC money, while Collins's is large checks plus PAC money plus a $12.7M billionaire super PAC. A small-dollar coalition and a big-check-plus-PAC coalition answer to very different people — regardless of what state the donors live in.
Collins's campaign, cycle by cycle
| Cycle | Receipts | Itemized | Small-dollar | PAC $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $27.9M | $17.9M | $5.19M | $2.53M |
| 2022 | $1.14M | $630k | $46k | $229k |
| 2024 | $1.62M | $909k | $31k | $322k |
| 2026 | $10.5M | $5.16M | $798k | $905k |
2020 was her last election year. 2022 and 2024 are off-cycle. Source: OpenFEC committee totals by cycle for C00314575.