Summary
- Maine Gov. Janet Mills plans to run for U.S. Senate in 2026.
- She will challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
- Mills is a two-term governor, popular with Maine voters.
The insider warned that because of the continuing government shutdown, the announcement date may change.
Mills, a former attorney general and two-time governor, is a top target for Democrats seeking an experienced challenger to the incumbent's five-year term.
However, Mills is entering a crowded field of political newcomers, some of whom have promised to remain in the campaign regardless of Mills's decision to run. The degree to which state voters choose experience over generational change will be put to the test in the Democratic primary.
Oysterman Graham Platner, brewery businessman Dan Kleban, and former US House staffer Jordan Wood, Mills' main rivals, have never held public office but contend they are more knowledgeable than the 72-year-old incumbent Collins about the affordability issues affecting Maine voters.
In addition to having a track record of winning statewide, Mills, 77, would become the oldest freshman senator in US history if she were elected.
Additionally, Mills has demonstrated a willingness to challenge the administration at a time when Democrats are also searching for warriors to oppose President Donald Trump. Mills argued with Trump about federal money for transgender athletes during a meeting between the president and governors earlier this year.
Maine is perhaps where Democrats have the best chance of regaining the Senate or cutting down on Republicans' three-seat lead. In a state that was won by then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, Collins is the only Republican senator running for reelection the following year.
Collins was first elected to the Senate in 1996, and Democrats know he will be hard to defeat. She voted to approve Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, which infuriated Democrats, who saw an opportunity to remove her in 2020. Millions of dollars were invested in a fund to support a potential opponent of Collins.
Even though President Joe Biden won the state by a comparable percentage, Collins was reelected by over nine points.
In North Carolina, where former two-term Governor Roy Cooper will fight for an open seat, Democrats have secured notable newcomers. Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed earlier this year to the position previously occupied by Vice President JD Vance, is facing off against former Senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio.