There’s a bonafide primary contest among Democrats in the Maine race for the U.S. Senate.
And one of the leading contestants, Gov. Janet Mills, isn't even an official candidate yet.
Insurgent contender Graham Platner is campaigning as if she is. It’s providing a sharp contrast in methods and rhetoric that could determine which Democrat challenges Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins next year, and also have broader implications for future campaigns.
Mills hasn’t said definitively whether she’ll add her name to the growing list of Democrats vying to take on Collins, but this week she ramped up her public appearances to include a three-stop tour in Kennebec County that looked conspicuously like campaign barnstorming. At each stop, the governor sent the strongest signal yet that she’ll get in the race, criticizing President Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress for an array of policies and suggesting that she might want to do something about it.
“There's some very disturbing things going on, every day more so," she said. "And so, I'm thinking about that every day because, you know, you want to be able to solve problems. And we've got a lot of problems.”
The governor’s blitz of appearances had all the hallmarks of a traditional campaign soft launch, a low-risk rollout that keeps the prospective candidate in the conversation without the pressure and scrutiny of commitment. But that changed when Mills was asked by reporters whether she blames her would-be opponent, Collins, for the problems she sees.
“She’s in a tough position,” Mills responded. “I appreciate everything she is doing.”
That may have been Mills’ candid assessment, or even a reflexive courtesy often extended between a sitting governor and a member of the state’s congressional delegation. (Mills would later hint at this dynamic when she was asked about her response the following day. She would later add that she disagrees with a number of Collins' votes, "but now is not the time to start talking about those.").
Nevertheless, in that moment, it was not an argument to unseat Collins. And it was decidedly not what the legion of Collins detractors and Democratic activists on social media wanted to hear.
It was, however, right in the Platner campaign’s wheelhouse. He responded with a one-sentence statement, “I do not appreciate everything that Susan Collins is doing.”
Collins was reportedly “delighted” by the governor’s remarks, telling Semafor, “The governor and I have always had a good relationship.”
Platner responded again, “Susan Collins and I have never had a good relationship.”
As previously noted here, the political newcomer’s campaign is trying to channel resentment and disillusionment among the Democratic base about the state of the party and its listless response to Trump. It seems to be banking that the Democratic primary electorate wants scrappy candidates who eschew poll-tested messaging and favor blunt talk occasionally sprinkled with profanity.
Exhibit A: When Democrats on the House Oversight Committee this week released a letter to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein with Trump’s signature, Platner called the president and the disgraced financier “sick f---s.”
Equivocation, it seems, is not in the Platner playbook.
Risk aversion isn’t either. This week he suggested a federal government shutdown might be an acceptable outcome in the ongoing congressional funding fight if cutting a deal gives the Trump administration more latitude to pursue its consolidation of power.
“I honestly do not care about some pundit’s opinion on what a government shutdown may or may not look like in an election a year from now. We are beyond that,” he said. “Whatever can be done to slow down this speed run towards authoritarianism is necessary and should be done.”
By contrast, when asked about the funding dispute this week, Mills said that a shutdown should be avoided. Asked whether Democrats should insist on extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits she has called for as part of a deal to keep the government open, she said the credits extension should be handled separately.
“People should vote on that issue up or down. That’s not something that should hold up the budget,” she said.
Mills’ response is arguably indicative of someone currently responsible for overseeing the state bureaucracy and accustomed to the tradeoffs and risks that come with governing. She has said her initial run for governor was partially inspired by a state government shutdown in 2017. And she has already warned the state’s congressional delegation that more than 60,000 Mainers could lose their health insurance without the tax credit extension.
Governing and political experience can be assets in campaigns. Just ask Collins, who has held her seat since first winning it in 1996. Mills has both, which is one reason why national Democrats think she has the best chance to defeat Collins. Another reason: she’s won two statewide races.
But if she runs, Mills will first have to defeat at least one Democrat whose campaign is mainlining anti-establishment grievances, expressing them in pithy, declarative statements and broadcasting it all in voters’ apparent medium of choice, social media — along with no fewer than 22 scheduled town halls across the state.
“A revolt is exactly what this is,” Platner said in a post this week.
A crowded primary, with or without Mills
Given the attention garnered by Platner’s early campaign, some voters might be excused for thinking that he’s the only one running for the Democratic nomination.
In fact, there are seven other Democrats (again, not including Mills) who have filed their candidacy paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. That step seems to be the only one that some of those supposed candidates have taken, however, nine months out from the June 9 primary.
But two candidates who are ramping up their campaigns are Jordan Wood and Dan Kleban.
The newest entrant into the race is Kleban, who started Maine Beer Co. in Freeport with his brother in 2009. Kleban, who lives in Cumberland, had been mentioned as a potential candidate for months. And his official launch made headlines locally and in many national and political news outlets, no doubt helped by his association with a well-known brewery with a wide distribution outside of Maine.
It has only been a week, so it’s still unclear how Kleban’s entrance affects the primary contest. But some have wondered whether he might have drawn even more national press and attention from Dems had Platner not made such a splashy entrance roughly two weeks earlier. Kleban’s announcement also came just two days after Platner shared a stage with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at a huge Labor Day rally in Portland.
Asked about the timing, Kleban said he wasn’t concerned and referred back to his experience starting Maine Beer Co.
“You have to execute on your plan, in your timeline,” Kleban said. “You can’t get distracted by what other people are doing and what they might do. Then you’re just chasing. You have to be confident in yourself ... set a roadmap and just execute. And that’s what we’re doing.”
As with many of the other candidates, this is Kleban’s first run for public office. Repurposing his brewery’s “Do What’s Right” slogan, Kleban has accused Collins of no longer “standing up for Mainers” and of refusing to stand up to Trump “when it really matters.” He emphasizes his experience as a successful small-business owner and father. He also lists his lack of political experience as an asset at a time when voters are tired of what he says is an elite “political class” in D.C. that is “grifting” off regular people.
This week, he was critical of Mills’ diplomatic response to reporters’ questions about Collins, although he struck a different tone than Platner.
“This is simply not the way to beat Susan Collins,” Kleban tweeted on X in response to Mills’ comments. “What’s happening in our country right now is not normal. It’s not OK. And it has to change. Susan Collins is part of the problem.”
Kleban said this week that he was “100% committed” to the race even if Mills jumps in.
“We need to beat Susan Collins at the end of the day and we need a candidate that can do that,” he said. “I think I have the profile and the politics to beat Susan Collins.”
Maine Dems ‘not looking for Chuck Schumer’ to choose
Wood has said he respects and admires Mills but also plans to stick around regardless of what the governor decides.
“I do think that voters are not looking for Chuck Schumer or Washington, D.C., to pick a candidate,” Wood said after one of his recent town halls. “They want to see a democratic process unfold. And they want to have confidence that they are having a primary campaign and evaluating and putting forward a candidate that the people of Maine want.”
Wood, who lives in Bristol, was one of the earliest entrants to the race. Since launching his campaign in April, he has held 10 “Courage Not Concern“ town halls — an unsubtle jab at Collins — plus more informal meet-and-greets at breweries across Maine. He has also hired a robust campaign staff and raised more than $2 million during the first few months.
That’s an impressive haul for a previously unknown candidate. And Wood’s campaign has, at times, seemed to tout that fundraising ability as a way to prove he is a viable candidate to the party insiders and leaders who have yet to embrace him.
A Lewiston native, Wood worked for years in D.C.’s political scene. He helped lead End Citizens United, a left-leaning group working against “big money” in politics and to overturn the controversial Supreme Court decision that blew open the door on campaign spending. He also served as chief of staff to former Democratic Congresswoman Katie Porter of California.
Wood frequently emphasizes the need to take on Trump and to help regain voters’ trust that the Democratic Party represents working people. Those are also core thrusts of Platner’s and Kleban’s campaigns, although their styles and presentations vary wildly.
But Wood said he’s not worried about the buzz surrounding Platner.
“I’ve heard Graham is doing town halls across the state too and that’s great to hear,” he said after a recent town hall in Portland. “We have agreement on a lot of policy issues and have different experience. I have a lot of faith in the people of Maine to make the right choice.”
The other declared Democratic candidates, to date, are Natasha Alcala of Madawaska, David Costello of Brunswick, Tucker Favreau of Brunswick, Andrea Laflamme of Bangor and Daira Rodriguez of Washington, D.C.
In addition to Mills, several other Democrats are also considering running to challenge Collins. They include House Speaker Ryan Fecteau of Biddeford and former state Sen. Cathy Breen of Falmouth.
Maine's Political Pulse was written this week by State House bureau chief Steve Mistler and State House correspondent Kevin Miller and produced by news editor Andrew Catalina. Read past editions or listen to the Political Pulse podcast at mainepublic.org/pulse.
