Chuck Schumer gets his preferred candidate, Janet Mills, in crowded Maine Senate race
Source: Politico
Maine Gov. Janet Mills joined her state’s crowded Democratic Senate primary as the establishment favorite on Tuesday, aiming to flip Republican Sen. Susan Collins’ seat in a pivotal midterm year.
Democrats view the seat as one of their top pickup opportunities — the only in a state Kamala Harris won in 2024 — and Mills is among a few top-tier candidates Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer aggressively recruited to run this cycle. But first the term-limited governor must contend with a competitive primary against breakout candidate Graham Platner, an oyster farmer who announced he has more than $3 million in the bank and already received the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Maine Beer Company owner Dan Kleban is also running for the nomination and his fundraising figures will be made public Wednesday, when federal filings are released.
In her launch video, Mills highlighted her recent fight with President Donald Trump over transgender sports and accused Collins of enabling him. “I won’t sit idly by while Maine people suffer and politicians like Susan Collins bend the knee as if this were normal,” Mills said.....
Mills, who won her seat by wide margins in her last two races, is 77 years old, making her five years Collins’ senior at a time when Americans are grappling with debates about the age of their politicians. If elected, she would be the oldest first-year senator ever. Platner is 41 and unlikely to leave the race for Mills; Kleban, who is 48, has so far dodged questions about what he would do if Mills jumped in.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/14/janet-mills-enters-crowded-maine-senate-race-00597876
Maine Gov. Janet Mills joined her state’s crowded Dem Senate primary as the establishment favorite today, aiming to flip GOP Sen. Susan Collins’ seat in a pivotal midterm year.
— Politico (@politico.com) 2025-10-14T12:16:52.868Z
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I received this fundraising text (below) the other day from this political newbie running as a Democrat while trashing a good portion of the party. It's one thing to come to the table with constructive ideas, but he doesn't seem to have any. In his campaign launch video he confesses "I'm not pretending to have all the answers, but I know I'm asking the right questions."
If you gave Platner a list of what each Democrat was doing to fight fascism, I don't know if he would know the names on the list! It's a disappointing start to his campaign for me. At least Janet Mills has a record of standing up to trump. I don't give a ratsass how old she is really.
I'm not from Maine, but I would support Platner for sure in the general and cross my fingers that he'll be as tough on oligarchs as he says he'll be.
I was going to add on to my comment "And if he wins I hope he doesn't have a stroke rendering him a seeming contradiction of his former self." But I figured I had said enough. 
