AUGUSTA — Republican Sen. Susan Collins won’t be unopposed on the primary ballot.

The head of a group that opposed same-sex marriage in Maine says he will offer a conservative voice in the GOP primary. Erick Bennett, director of the Maine Equal Rights Center, said he was filing his paperwork Monday.

Bennett accused Collins of supporting legislation that undercut the Second Amendment and criticized her for supporting Common Core Standards, which his group says erodes local control of curriculum.

A Collins spokesman didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.

Democrat Shenna Bellows, the former executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, is also running.

Any challenger will face an uphill battle against Collins, a three-term moderate who has created a national profile as a deal broker between both parties.


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