Steve Missler

The ad hits a theme that's expected to be a central part of Senator Collins' bid for a sixth term.

It focuses on $6 million in federal funding she helped secure to repair a breakwater dock in Eastport, Maine, nearly a decade ago.

Collins' first ad coincides with a new spot from her prospective Democratic opponent, Graham Plattner.

The combat veteran-turned-oyster farmer blasts the Republican for her early support of the war against Iran.

He also accuses her of enabling President Trump and policies that enrich the wealthy at the expense of working-class Mainers.

For NPR News, I'm Steve Missler in Brunswick, Maine.

Hands up!

Hands up!

Both Democrats are dipping into their campaign coffers while Collins spends very little as she eyes a sixth term.

Last week, Governor Mills released an ad featuring several supporters reacting to a voice impersonating Plattner reading excerpts from his 2013 Reddit post about women worried about sexual assault.

He responded with an ad buy that's nearly four times as large as Mills' spot.

These are words and statements I abhor from a time in my life when I was struggling deeply after returning from war.

These words are not who I am.

Collins, meanwhile, has spent very little on advertising.

But outside groups supporting her have spent big.

One group has spent more than Mills and Platner combined.

For NPR News, I'm Steve Missler in Augusta, Maine.

You know, you're never going to win long term on anger.

Golden made the announcement in a column published in the Bangor Daily News, in which he lamented the increasing hostility in the nation's politics and threats against him and his family.

He also criticized what he described as the pugilistic voices taking control of the Democratic Party, comparing it to the Tea Party movement.