Graham Platner’s most vocal supporters are doubling down. There was a moment earlier this week — after Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced her candidacy for Senate; after a tranche of old Reddit posts triggered debate over Platner’s views on everything from gun rights to racial stereotypes; and, most crucially, after video emerged of him dancing in his underwear and showing off the solid dark Nazi Totenkopf tattoo on his chest — when it looked like the populist, oyster-shucking, anti-genocide veteran’s attempt to take down Republican Sen. Susan Collins would be over before it had really even started.

Then new polling dropped, and it wasn’t. Even after the blowup over his tattoo and history of Reddit posts , Platner is leagues ahead of Mills, who was already a member of the Maine House

See Full Page