Susan Collins race shifts as Janet Mills quits Maine Senate bid
Janet Mills ended her bid for the Democratic nomination to challenge susan collins in November's general election on Thursday morning, saying she did not have the financial resources political campaigns require today. Her withdrawal leaves Graham Platner with an open path to the Democratic nomination in a Maine race viewed as a lynchpin in Democrats' effort to win the chamber from Republicans.
Janet Mills Steps Aside
Mills said in her statement that she still had “the drive and passion, the commitment and experience, and above all else – the fight – to continue on,” but added, “I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources.” She had been the top choice of the Democratic establishment for the seat.
Her exit changes the field for a race that had already drawn national attention inside the party. Chuck Schumer had offered his wholehearted endorsement of Mills a week after she announced her Senate bid in October, calling her “the best candidate to retire Susan Collins” and describing her as “a tested, two-term governor, and the people of Maine have an enormous amount of affection and respect for her.”
Platner’s Open Path
Platner launched his campaign in August with a video touting his working-class roots and later raised $3m in the first seven weeks. He also received endorsements from Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Ruben Gallego.
His standing in the state held even after criticism over social media posts and an old tattoo resembling the “totenkopf” image worn by SS soldiers in Nazi Germany. Before Mills withdrew, he had trailed her in primary-preference surveys for months.
Trump, 2002, and Maine
Mills was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 2002, later served as the state’s attorney general, and won the governorship in 2018 by 7% before being re-elected in 2022 by 13%. In February 2025, she sparred with Donald Trump at a Governors Association meeting at the White House, telling him, “I’ll see you in court,” during their clash over transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Platner now holds the clearer route to the nomination, but the party’s challenge remains the same: finding a candidate who can turn a Maine race into a win against Collins in November. Mills’ departure removes the candidate with the strongest establishment backing and the statewide record party leaders had been built around.
