PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday dropped her bid for the U.S. Senate just weeks before the Democratic primary in a race that reflected an internal party debate over how to win one of this year’s most competitive Senate seats.
“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,” Mills said in a statement. “That is why today I have made the incredibly difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the United States Senate.”
Mills, a two-term governor and longtime Maine politician, was seen as one of Democrats’ top 2026 recruits when she entered the Senate race last year. She had the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and prominent left-leaning advocacy groups hoping to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins and help the party win control of the closely divided Senate.
But Mills struggled to outshine first-time candidate Graham Platner, her opponent in the June 9 Democratic primary. Platner has maintained strong popularity despite facing controversy over past comments he made online and a tattoo he had that is widely recognized as a Nazi symbol.
The contest between Platner and Mills was part of a broader debate within the Democratic Party over how best to defeat Republicans and win back some power in President Donald Trump’s Washington, where the GOP controls the White House and both chambers of Congress.
Platner is backed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, and Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.
Mills said she was the best candidate to stand up to Trump, noting she told the president she would see him in court, a reference to Maine officials’ lawsuit against the Trump administration over federal funding and a dispute over transgender athletes in sports.
Age also became an issue in the race, as some Democrats want younger candidates to lead the party going forward. Mills is 78, while Plater is 41. Collins is 73.
Many political observers initially anticipated that it would be Platner, not Mills, who would be forced to bow out of the race.
Platner has been dogged by questions about the skull-and-crossbones tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol that he said he got on his chest during a night of drinking while on military leave in Croatia. He has said the tattoo has been covered to no longer reflect that image. Additionally, there have been lingering questions about inflammatory comments he made in old online postings, which he has since disavowed.
Yet, Platner’s populist message and willingness to talk about his past mistakes has helped propel his favorability.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/
