Maine Gov. Janet Mills suspended her U.S. Senate campaign Thursday, citing a lack of money and clearing the Democratic field for Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and military veteran who has continued to lead her in polling and fundraising.
The two-term Democrat's exit hands the party's nomination to a 41-year-old political newcomer carrying an unusually heavy load of opposition research into a general election against Sen. Susan Collins, the five-term Republican incumbent Democrats consider their best 2026 pickup opportunity.
The money gap
Mills' campaign reported just over $1 million on hand at the end of March, against $2.7 million for Platner, according to Politico. Her campaign pulled its television advertising earlier in April, an early signal of trouble. "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 Thursday morning.
Mills, the only Democrat to win statewide office in Maine in nearly two decades, was recruited into the race by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Her departure is a setback for Schumer, who had viewed her as the party's surest bet against Collins.
Schumer pivots
Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, swung behind Platner within hours. "After years of allowing Trump’s abuses of power, Senator Collins has never been more vulnerable and we will work with the presumptive Democratic nominee Graham Platner to defeat her," the two senators said in a joint statement.
Platner, who launched his campaign in August as an unknown, has already begun running general-election advertising against Collins and told donors this week he was pivoting past the June primary. At a press conference in Augusta on Thursday, he rolled out a slate of state legislative endorsements and praised Mills' service. "We both got into this race because we knew how critical it is to defeat Susan Collins, and her decision today reflects a commitment to that project," he said. He added a blunter line on PBS NewsHour: "We need to beat Susan Collins."
The scandals
Platner's primary lead survived two rounds of damaging disclosures. Reporters surfaced a trove of old Reddit posts that included offensive comments about women, and a tattoo that resembled a symbol used by a Nazi police unit. Platner had the tattoo covered and has said he was unaware of the association until recently and that the past comments do not represent him.
Pine Tree Results PAC, a super political action committee supporting Collins, has spent millions this week on advertising built around the posts and the tattoo, according to Politico. National Republicans signaled the line of attack will define the fall campaign. "Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats just coronated a phony who is too extreme for Maine," Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement.
What is missing
Collins herself did not respond publicly to Mills' withdrawal on Thursday, and the dossier of wire and Politico coverage that informs this account contains no comment from her office or from independent Maine voices outside the two campaigns. Her defenders' fuller case, beyond the NRSC's framing, had not surfaced by press time.
Maine is one of a handful of states Democrats need to flip to retake the Senate majority this fall. The June primary will formalize Platner's nomination; absent a late entrant, the general election begins now.