Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins responded to Democratic challenger Graham Platner, who said she made a mistake when she “voted to send him to Iraq.” “First of all, he not only enlisted twice –after the war was started– but he also went to work for a security company, a controversial one named Blackwater, after his term in the service was over,” Collins said when asked by someone with The Maine Wire. “The anger that I feel is for the people that sent me, who are frankly still the same people who are sending people off right now to be in harm’s way so we can have this stupid war with Iran,” Platner told the New York Times in an interview this month.

Senator Collins responds to the scurrilous claim from Graham Platner that she sent him to “die in Iraq.”

“That was Platner’s decision to serve. He was not drafted.” pic.twitter.com/3hyPjxkfyn

– The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) May 28, 2026

Sen. Collins said: “I respect anyone who steps forward to serve their country, but the fact is, that was Platner’s decision to serve. He was not drafted.”

The comments came at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Auburn Public Safety Building, which Collins secured $ 2.5 million in financing for back in 2022. pic.twitter.com/oVVQ6pg9RC

– The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) May 28, 2026

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