As expected, Gov. Janet Mills' entrance into the race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins has shaken up the crowded Democratic primary and drawn the national parties even deeper into the contest.
Mills is the tenth Democrat to announce plans to seek her party's nomination to challenge Collins next year. But despite her late entrance, the two-term governor and former attorney general immediately became a top contender in next June's party primary given her name recognition and track record of winning two statewide elections.
One primary contender, beer brewer Dan Kleban of Freeport, dropped out the race and endorsed Mills several hours after her formal announcement.
"I got into this race for the same reason I started Maine Beer Company: to do what's right," Kleban said in a video message on social media. "While our message was right, the timing simply isn't. Governor Mills is the right leader for this moment and is in the best position to win."
At the same time, supporters of some of her primary opponents seized on her age, 77, and support from DC party leaders leaders as evidence that she's not the best candidate at a time when many frustrated Democrats are demanding new faces to take on President Trump and his GOP allies.
The two Democrats with the most robust campaign operations, to date, signaled they planned to stay in the race.
Graham Platner, an oysterman and Marine Corps veteran from Sullivan who has drawn large crowds with his anti-establishment message, said his campaign is not slowing down. And he accused national Democratic leaders, such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, of putting a thumb on the election scales by recruiting and then helping to raise money for Mills.
"Chuck Schumer should be focused on fighting Donald Trump and protecting healthcare for millions of Americans, not meddling in a Maine primary," Platner said in a post on X. "DC's choice has lost to Susan Collins five times in a row. We can't afford a sixth."
Jordan Wood, a Bristol resident who formerly worked in politics in Washington, D.C., welcomed Mills to the race but also alluded to her age and decades in public office when he wrote that it was "time for the next generation to represent Maine."
“Primaries are a vital part of the democratic process — they give Mainers the power to decide who will be the future leaders of our party and state," Wood said in a statement while noting that he's already held more than 30 events across the state. “To defeat Susan Collins, we need a Democratic candidate all Mainers can trust to serve and represent them, not special interests or party bosses. That means showing up in all 16 counties, answering questions, debating issues, and proving to voters who is best positioned to win the general election and deliver for Maine families."
Platner has reportedly raised more than $4 million for his campaign, despite entering the race in August with no statewide name recognition. His campaign has received significant national attention, boosted in part by an early endorsement from progressive and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Wood's campaign has said it has raised more than $3 million since he joined the race in April.
Those are significant sums for a candidate at this stage of a primary race in Maine. But Mills will have deep-pocketed national allies.
Within hours of joining the race, the Mills campaign set up a joint fundraising committee with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — the party's Senate campaign arm — in further proof that the governor is the preferred nominee of Senate leaders in DC. Mills also picked up an endorsement from Emily's List, which is the nation's largest abortion rights organization focused on electing Democratic women.
Her entrance also caused several closely watched election forecasting sites to shift their ratings for the Maine race. Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics changed the race from "leans Republican" to a toss-up on Tuesday.
"Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ entrance into the Senate race on Tuesday marks a significant escalation in political firepower aimed at longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins, the only Republican senator representing a state carried by then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024," wrote Cook Political Report's Amy Walter. "For the first time since she was elected in 1996, Collins could face off against a sitting statewide officeholder who, like her, has a proven track record of outperforming the presidential ticket of her party."
Further complicating the situation for Mills (and any other Democratic candidate), the June primary will be a ranked-choice election if at least three of the 10 candidates are still on the ballot. The ranked-choice system would come into play if none of the candidates capture more than 50% support on the first vote tally on Election Day.
Republican campaign officials, meanwhile, launched their attacks on Mills even before her much-anticipated campaign announcement was official early Tuesday.
"Maine Democrats are locked in a bruising fight between Chuck Schumer’s out-of-touch
establishment and Bernie Sanders’ far-left radicals," Joanna Rodriguez wotj tje National Republican Senatorial Committee said in a statement. "Janet Mills wants to be the oldest freshman Senator in American history after a record of failure that turned Maine into one of the weakest economies in New England. No matter which Democrat emerges, we're confident Mainers will continue to trust independent problem solver Susan Collins to keep delivering for them."
Collins has yet to officially launch her reelection campaign, although she has a campaign operation in place. Asked for comment on Mills' announcement, Collins campaign spokesman Shawn Roderick replied simply: "“We will be prepared to have a vigorous campaign against whoever wins this very chaotic Democratic primary,”
