{"id":48668,"date":"2026-06-13T13:52:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T20:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=48668"},"modified":"2026-06-13T13:52:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T20:52:50","slug":"this-is-oligarchy-nearly-100-billionaires-are-funding-susan-collins-reelection-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/06\/13\/this-is-oligarchy-nearly-100-billionaires-are-funding-susan-collins-reelection-bid\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018This Is Oligarchy\u2019: Nearly 100 Billionaires Are Funding Susan Collins\u2019 Reelection Bid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Sen.<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) attends a Senate hearing on May 14, 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Bill Clark\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile Susan Collins\u2019 campaign is backed by billionaire donors, our campaign is built on a movement funded by the people, with an average donation of $26,\u201d said Graham Platner\u2019s campaign manager.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jake Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jun 12, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new analysis of campaign finance<\/a> data shows that nearly 100 billionaires and their spouses have contributed to Republican Sen. Susan Collins<\/a>\u2019 reelection bid so far, funneling nearly $10 million to the incumbent\u2019s campaign committee and PACs supporting her effort to fend off progressive challenger Graham Platner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Maine<\/a> Monitor on Thursday published a list<\/a> of billionaires who have donated to Collins and Platner, who has called his Republican opponent a \u201ccorrupt\u201d protector and beneficiary of an oligarchic political system. The outlet noted<\/a> that Collins\u2019 billionaire donation total \u201cstands in stark contrast with the fundraising of her opponent… whose campaign has mostly attracted smaller amounts of funds but from many more people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sen.<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rallying With Sanders, Platner Condemns \u2018Corrupt Politicians and the Corporations That Bought Them\u2019<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Maine<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Super PACs Should Be Outlawed,\u2019 Says Platner, as Pro-Collins Corporate Dark Money Pours Into Maine to Attack Him<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The $9.8 million that Collins\u2019 fundraising network received from billionaires and their spouses between January 2025 and late May 2026 represents \u201ca third of what groups supporting Collins raised from all donors,\u201d according to The Maine Monitor\u2019s analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Platner\u2019s reelection bid has received donations<\/a> from billionaires George Soros, Pat Stryker, Jon Stryker, Christy Walton, and Jennifer Pritzker. Those contributions represent \u201ca fraction of 1% of his total haul,\u201d The Maine Monitor noted. The Democratic candidate\u2019s campaign said Thursday that \u201cgrassroots donors chipping in $200 or less have given Graham Platner $9.6 million.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile Susan Collins\u2019 campaign is backed by billionaire donors, our campaign is built on a movement funded by the people, with an average donation of $26,\u201d Ben Chin, Platner\u2019s campaign manager, said in a statement. \u201cThe establishment can bring it on\u2014they cannot defeat the will of working Mainers, 15,000+ volunteers, and a campaign powered by small-dollar donors from nearly every zip code in Maine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collins\u2019 largest billionaire donor to date came from Ken Griffin, a hedge fund manager who pumped $2.5 million into Pine Tree Results, a Super PAC supporting the five-term Republican incumbent. Collins\u2019 network has also received at least $1 million from Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, New Balance chair James Davis, and hedge fund manager Paul Singer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

X post: https:\/\/x.com\/davidsirota\/status\/2065239209779331387?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2065239209779331387%7Ctwgr%5E165485bcdf3d3797e9bf469597d7f6b015fcc029%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fsusan-collins-billionaire-donors<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Maine Monitor observed that \u201cthe majority of the billionaire donations to Collins this cycle are from billionaires who made their money in alternative investments, including hedge funds and private equity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a> last year. ProPublica reported<\/a> that private equity became Collins\u2019 \u201cmost reliable source of donations\u201d after she withdrew an amendment to the 2017 legislation that would have targeted one of the industry\u2019s beloved tax breaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of billionaire funding, Collins\u2019 campaign has benefited from massive ad spending by dark-money groups such as\u00a0One Nation<\/a>. The group, which is aligned with Sen.\u00a0Mitch McConnell<\/a>, has\u00a0spent more than $19 million<\/a>\u00a0on advertising for Collins so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) attends a Senate hearing on May 14, 2026.  (Bill Clark\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) \u201cWhile Susan Collins\u2019 campaign is backed by billionaire donors, our campaign is built on a movement funded by the people, with an average donation of $26,\u201d said Graham Platner\u2019s campaign manager…. Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1879],"tags":[1676,41,2026],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48668"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48668"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48669,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48668\/revisions\/48669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}