PORTLAND — The U.S. Senate race heated up Thursday, with Democratic candidate Graham Platner accusing Republican Sen. Susan Collins of using her position to enrich her household, drawing a sharp rebuke from the Collins campaign.

Platner released a multi-point plan he calls “a corruption crackdown,” which covers issues such as big money in politics, lobbying activities by former members of Congress, and making it more difficult for presidents to cash in on their position while in office.

But Platner, a military veteran and oyster farmer, also introduced the “Collins Rule,” which he said would prevent members of Congress from directing federal contracts to their spouses.

He said a lobbying firm that employs Collins’ husband, Tom Daffron, received over $76 million in federal contracts, with much of it coming from agencies that Collins oversees.

“That is not a coincidence,” Platner said. “That is a senator using her office to enrich her own household in plain sight with absolutely no law stopping it.”

Collins’ campaign manager Steve Abbott called that allegation false.

“He’s lying,” Abbott said. “Susan Collins has not funneled any money to Tom Daffron. That’s against the law. That’s a criminal activity. He’s accusing her of engaging in a criminal activity with no evidence.”

Steve Abbott, campaign manager for Republican Sen. Susan Collins, answers questions from reporters on Thursday in Portland. (Spectrum News/Susan Cover)

Abbott said in addition, government contracts aren’t awarded by individual senators or the Congress as a whole, but by the executive branch. In this case, most of the money awarded to the firm at which Daffron works came from the Obama administration, Abbott said.

In addition to criticizing Collins, Platner laid out several other proposals including:

• Overturning Citizens United, a Supreme Court decision that makes it harder for voters to know who’s paying to support or oppose political candidates. Platner proposes “a less foolhardy Supreme Court” or a Constitutional amendment.
• Imposing a lifetime ban on allowing former members of Congress to lobby Congress.
• Increasing penalties for those who violate a prohibition against using insider knowledge to trade stocks.
• Requiring presidents to divest from business interests or place them in a blind trust upon taking office. Platner also proposes to no longer exempt presidents from conflict-of-interest laws.

“The Oval Office is not a business opportunity, and the American people deserve a government that serves them not itself,” he said. “Every policy in this plan rests on the exact same conviction. That public office is a public trust, not a personal investment account.”