Maine Governor Ponders Senate Bid Against Collins

Democrat Maine Gov. Janet Mills is reportedly interviewing people to staff a possible Senate campaign challenge against five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins in 2026.

Mills, 77, is expected to make a final decision about attempting to unseat Collins by November. She has had a long career in Maine politics, including serving as governor since 2019. Before that, Mills was state attorney general during the 2010s. She also served in the Maine House of Representatives and as a district attorney.

Mills, who beat her Republican opponent handily in the 2022 gubernatorial election, cannot run for another term as governor. Collins, 72, has served in the Senate since 1997, and currently chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Since Mills and Collins are both in their 70s, some Maine Democrats are calling for Mills to let a younger challenger take on Collins. 

“I mean, she’s a brilliant woman. I like her. I’m not being derogatory. But she served Maine. She served. She’s a very intelligent woman. She was attorney general. It’s just time for us to get out of the way, let younger kids, you know, get in the trenches and take their turn,” Tim Bailey, 67, a resident of Yarmouth, told HuffPost last week. 

Announced Democrat candidates currently include Army veteran Tucker Favreau and Graham Platner, a Marine veteran endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

In February, Mills was publicly confronted by President Donald Trump over her support for trans-identifying males in women’s and girls sports. At a meeting at the White House, Mills told the president that she would legally challenge his efforts, including an executive order, to deny federal funding to schools that do not prohibit males from competing in female sports. 

“Do not be misled: This is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a president can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law,” Mills said.

Mills’ father was a U.S. attorney for the District of Maine, and her brother served as a member of the Maine state Senate and the Maine House of Representatives as a Republican. 

Collins also comes from a prominent family in Maine politics. Her father served for several years in the state’s legislature and her mother was mayor of Caribou, which boasts of being “the most northeastern city in the U.S.” and is just 15 miles from the Canadian border.