Twenty Democratic state legislators are set to endorse oysterman Graham Platner in Maine’s U.S. Senate race on Thursday as he continues to consolidate Democratic Party support ahead of a likely general election against GOP Sen. Susan Collins.

The timing of their endorsements, to be unveiled at a press conference in Augusta, is not coincidental. Wednesday was the final day of the legislative session in Maine, meaning legislators are now freer to get crosswise with Gov. Janet Mills, Platner’s opponent in the Democratic primary.

Polling has shown Platner well ahead of Mills in the primary, which is set for June 9, and Democrats in both Washington, D.C., and Maine see the progressive as the party’s likely candidate against Collins in a race Democrats must win if they have any chance of taking back the Senate in this year’s midterm elections.

“Working Mainers are being screwed over by too many politicians who would rather cozy up to billionaires than fight for our wages, our healthcare, or our lives,” Platner said in a statement. “But there are champions – like the state legislators I am honored to be endorsed by – who have been fighting tooth and nail to change that. And they know that it will take structural change at every level of government.”

The endorsements also show how Platner has gained such an advantage over Mills, a sitting governor and the only Democrat to win statewide in Maine in two decades. Six years of her running the state has irritated erstwhile allies, allowing Platner to pick up the support of many of Maine’s unions, for instance.

State Rep. Nina Milliken, a progressive, had long planned to endorse Platner but held back from making it official, in part because of fears that Mills would veto or work against legislation she supported, or decline to act on clemency petitions she backed.

“I think there was some concern around whether or not there would be repercussions for our bills or repercussions for policies that we support,” Mililken said in an interview. “I wouldn’t say she was vindictive. But does she hold a grudge? Yeah.”

Beyond Milliken, Platner is receiving endorsements from state Sens. Pinny Beebe-Center, Chip Curry and Mike Tipping; and from State Reps. Deqa Dhalac, Janice Dodge, Karen Montell, Matthew Beck, Valli D. Geiger, Morgan Rielly, Kilton Webb, Dylan Pugh, Victoria Doudera, Gary Friedmann, Cheryl Golek, Rafael Macias, Laura Supica, Ambureen Rana, Ellie Sato and Mana Abdi.

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