Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) announced the end of her candidacy for the 2026 Maine Senate race, clearing the way for Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee.
In a statement posted on social media, Mills said she lacked the financial resources to continue her campaign.
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“While I have the drive and passion, commitment and experience, and above all else – the fight – to continue on, I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources,” she said. “That is why today I have made the incredibly difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the United States Senate.”
Platner is now all but certain to take the Democratic nomination, setting him up for a showdown against incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
“Janet Mills is a formidable governor who has broken barriers and never hesitates to stand up to bullies to fight for Maine,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairwoman Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said in a joint statement. “We are grateful for her hard-fought and principled campaign, and we respect her decision to continue her service to Maine as Governor.”
Mills was a recruitment success for Schumer, who thought her background as an executive in the state would help secure her status as the front-runner. However, Platner’s populist ground appeal has grown even through unearthed comments about sexual assault victims, and outrage over his Nazi-linked tattoo.
In the most recent polling, Platner held a sizable lead. A March Emerson poll had Platner up 27 points.
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Platner has not yet responded to the news publicly, but Republicans are already pouncing on his new status as front-runner.
“Graham Platner is a silver spoon charlatan who fantasizes about sexual assault, admires Nazi storm troopers, and role-plays as a working class Mainer when he went to a 70k-per-year private boarding school,” the Senate Leadership Fund said in a statement Thursday morning. “Now with Chuck Schumer‘s reluctant support, Platner’s attempt at the Senate will be yet another fantasy that will end when Susan Collins grinds this fraudster into dust.”
