Respondents Oppose AI Data Centers and ICE Facilities, Think Iran War is Too Costly
06/04/2026
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Detailed poll results available at www.uml.edu/polls. UMass Lowell representatives are available for interviews.
LOWELL, Mass. – Democratic upstart Graham Platner holds a slight lead over Republican incumbent Susan Collins in a general election matchup for Maine’s U.S. Senate seat should he win next week’s primary, according to a UMass Lowell/YouGov poll issued Thursday.
The survey of 650 likely Maine voters shows Platner has the support of 48% of respondents, compared to 43% for Collins, with 6% undecided and 2% supporting another candidate. A gender gap exists among polltakers who back each candidate: 54% of women and 42% of men support Platner, while Collins earns the support of 35% of women and 51% of men.
The survey found 43% of respondents have a favorable view of Platner, while 41% view him unfavorably, 14% have no opinion of him and 2% have never heard of him. Thirty-six percent of respondents view Collins favorably compared to 53% of respondents who view her unfavorably, while 11% have no opinion of her.
The poll carries an adjusted margin of error of +/-4.9 percentage points and was fielded from May 13 through May 26. The ranked-choice Democratic primary election will be held Tuesday, June 9; the general election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 3.
“The Maine U.S. Senate race is shaping up to be the most contentious in the country. There are worrying signs for both major, active candidates. For Collins, a bad economy and historically unpopular president are making the road to reelection extremely bumpy. Although Platner slightly leads in the poll, he’s less well known than Collins, which makes voters more persuadable as new information comes out about him,” said John Cluverius, director of survey research for the Center for Public Opinion at UMass Lowell and an associate professor of political science. Cluverius noted that the poll was conducted days before news outlets reported allegations of sexually explicit text messages involving Platner.
Collins is the only U.S. Senate candidate in 2020 to win in a state that her party’s presidential candidate lost, Cluverius noted. In the November 2020 presidential election, 53.1.% of Maine voters supported Democrat Joe Biden for president, while Collins won reelection with 51% of the general election vote.
Since then, poll respondents in Maine do not appear to have warmed much to President Donald Trump. The survey shows 62% disapprove of Trump’s job performance and his approval rating sits at 39%. That figure is identical to results in a UMass Lowell/YouGov survey in April of 1,000 American adults that showed Trump’s approval rating at 39% nationally. In the current poll, 70% of Maine respondents believe the country is on the wrong track and 30% believe the country is moving in the right direction.
As for opinions about Maine’s leadership, the poll shows 50% of respondents approve of the job Gov. Janet Mills is doing, while 49% disapprove; 44% of respondents hold a favorable view of her and 47% view her unfavorably.
Mills initially challenged Platner for the party’s nomination in the U.S. Senate race, having launched her campaign last October. Although she suspended her effort in April, she reminded voters this week that her name remains on the primary ballot and that she is still a viable candidate in the race.
Respondents want to keep AI and ICE out
A large majority of survey respondents—72%— oppose the construction of an artificial intelligence data center in their community, including 51% who strongly oppose it, contrasted by 28% who support it. Those opposed to AI data centers include 86% of respondents identifying as Democrats, 55% identifying as Republicans and 76% identifying as independents.
"Mainers are stalwart in their opposition to the construction of data centers. For all the hype about artificial intelligence, the poll shows respondents across all divisions in society want AI infrastructure kept out of their communities,” Cluverius said.
Respondents similarly do not want a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in their neighborhood. Poll results show 61% of respondents oppose an ICE facility being built in their community, including 53% who strongly oppose it. Views are sharply divided among party affiliation, with 94% of Democrats and 71% of independents opposed and 79% of Republicans in support of the facilities.
Survey says Iran war makes U.S. less safe and is too costly
Respondents expressed their misgivings about the Iran war, with 58% believing the conflict has made the United States less safe, compared with 21% who said it has made the country more safe and 21% who answered it has kept things about the same. A majority of respondents, 70%, also believe the U.S. is spending too much on the conflict.
Those findings are just part of the skepticism expressed by respondents about the Trump administration’s approach to international relations. Fifty-one percent of respondents said they feel a lot or a great deal of frustration over the Trump administration’s foreign policy, while 35% said they feel a little or no frustration. And, when asked specifically about Israel, 65% of respondents oppose the U.S. providing additional military aid.
"Maine voters are critical of Trump’s foreign policy. Most do not believe the Iran war has made America safer, think the costs are too high, and oppose U.S. military aid to Israel. These attitudes could create significant challenges for Republicans as the midterm elections approach," said UMass Lowell’s Rodrigo Castro Cornejo, the center’s associate director and an assistant professor of political science.
Funded by UMass Lowell, the nonpartisan survey was designed and analyzed by the university’s Center for Public Opinion and fielded by YouGov. Detailed poll results, including topline and full methodology, are available at www.uml.edu/polls.
The Center for Public Opinion presents events and conducts polling on political and social issues to provide opportunities for civic engagement, experiential learning and real-world research. The center is a member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Transparency Initiative.