Janet Mills injects Trump into her Maine Senate campaign
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Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced Tuesday she is launching her long-expected Senate campaign, giving Democratic leaders a major recruiting victory and kicking off one of the most contentious primary contests of 2026.
Why it matters: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who represents a state won by former Vice President Harris, is the top midterms target for Senate Democrats.
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) encouraged Mills, a battle-tested two-term governor, to jump into the race.
- Progressive Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and first-time candidate endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for Collins' seat, has gained momentum on the left.
Zoom in: In a play to the Democratic base, Mills' campaign announcement video zeroes in on her recent clashes with President Trump.
- Mills' spot highlights the time Trump attacked her during a speech to the National Governors Association, vowing to withhold federal funding from her state if it didn't comply with his executive order barring transgender athletes from women's sports.
- "You'd better do it," Trump said at the February showdown. Mills shot back, "See you in court."
- In her Senate launch video, Mills said, "Well, I did see him in court. And we won," a reference to the fact that a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze funding to Maine.
- Mills also slammed Collins in the spot for voting to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and to advance Trump's "one big, beautiful bill." Collins later voted against the tax-and-spending legislation.
Zoom out: The Democratic primary between Mills, 77, and Platner, 41, could deepen rifts within the Democratic Party over age, ideology, gender and experience.
- Days before Mills entered the race, Sanders urged the governor to not launch a campaign, saying on X that the party should "not waste millions on an unnecessary & divisive primary."
- Mills played up her history of breaking glass ceilings in her launch video, saying, "I heard my father's voice when the bullies in power said a woman couldn't be a prosecutor or an attorney general or a governor."
What they're saying: Several youth organizations on Tuesday announced that they are backing Platner, the latest volley in a debate over generational change that has rocked the Democratic Party since last year.
- "While College Dems deeply appreciate the efforts of Janet Mills to stand up to MAGA's fascism, our party is in deep need of a new generation of leadership," said Sunjay Muralitharan, national president of the College Democrats of America.
- "After our historic loss in the 2024 election, conversations within the Democratic Party have rightly centered on age, the loss of young men, the working class, and the growing disillusionment of young voters," said David Hogg, co-founder of Leaders We Deserve. "Graham Platner represents not the entire solution, but a vital step in the right direction."
Catch up quick: Axios first reported that Mills was planning to launch her Senate campaign on Tuesday.
- Brewery owner Dan Kleban and former End Citizens United vice president Jordan Wood are also running in the Democratic primary.
