A new analysis of campaign finance data shows that nearly 100 billionaires and their spouses have contributed to Republican Sen. Susan Collins' reelection bid so far, funneling nearly $10 million to the incumbent's campaign committee and PACs supporting her effort to fend off progressive challenger Graham Platner.
Platner's reelection bid has received donations from billionaires George Soros, Pat Stryker, Jon Stryker, Christy Walton, and Jennifer Pritzker.
Those contributions represent "a fraction of 1% of his total haul," The Maine Monitor noted.
The Democratic candidate's campaign said Thursday that "grassroots donors chipping in $200 or less have given Graham Platner $9.6 million.".
In 2017, Collins voted for legislation that delivered massive tax breaks to large corporations and American billionaires, whose collective wealth surged to $8.1 trillion last year.
On top of billionaire funding, Collins' campaign has benefited from massive ad spending by dark-money groups such as One Nation.
The group, which is aligned with Sen. Mitch McConnell, has spent more than $19 million on advertising for Collins so far. »