Tipsheet

Mills Jumping in Senate Race Sets Up 'Democratic Proxy Battle' in Maine

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  October 14, 2025 10:00 AM

Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced Tuesday she is running for Senate, looking to unseat GOP Sen. Susan Collins. 

"I've never backed down from a bully and I never will," she said on X announcing her decision. "Donald Trump is ripping away health care from millions, driving up costs, and giving corporate CEOs massive tax cuts. And Susan Collins is helping him. My life’s work has prepared me for this fight—and I'm ready to win." 

While the term-limited governor was urged to jump into the race by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Mills enters a crowded primary that includes oyster farmer and military veteran Graham Platner, who is backed by progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). 

In addition to Platner, the Democratic primary also includes "fashion designer Natasha Alcala; military veteran and former Pentagon policy writer David Evans; former Army veteran Tucker Favreau; Maine Beer Company co-founder Dan Kleban; University of Maine professor Andrea LaFlamme; former contracting officer for the U.S. Air Force Daira Smith-Rodriguez; and Jordan Wood, a former chief of staff to former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.)," according to The Hill, which emphasized how the primary is going to highlight tensions between the Democratic Party’s establishment and its populist factions. 

The state’s Senate primary is expected to be a test of some of the ideological and generational fault lines dividing the Democratic Party as it finds itself locked out of power in Washington, D.C.

If she wins next year, Ms. Mills would be 79 at her swearing in the following January, which would make her the oldest elected freshman senator in American history. It is a distinction the party is unlikely to highlight so soon after President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was pushed off the presidential ticket amid questions about his own age and acuity.

In an interview over the weekend, Ms. Mills acknowledged the legitimacy of voter concerns about age and said it had been one factor she considered as she weighed whether to run. But she said the country’s current situation calls for experience and the “battle-tested” electability she offers as the only Democrat to win a statewide race in Maine in the past 20 years.

“This is an urgent, unprecedented, dangerous moment in the country’s history, and it demands more of every one of us, including me,” she said. “Defeating Susan Collins will be hard — the stakes are high, and we should leave nothing to chance.”

The issue of age could play differently in Maine, which has the oldest population of any state in the nation. Last month, Ms. Mills said in an interview that while she could retire and spend more time with her five grandchildren, “I’m not ready for that. I want to do something more.” (NYT)

In response to her announcement, the National Republican Senatorial Committee highlighted Mills' "record of failure" in the state. 

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"Maine Democrats are locked in a bruising fight between Chuck Schumer’s out-of-touch establishment and Bernie Sanders’ far-left radicals," said NRSC Communications Director Joanna Rodriguez. "Janet Mills wants to be the oldest freshman Senator in American history after a record of failure that turned Maine into one of the weakest economies in New England. No matter which Democrat emerges, we're confident Mainers will continue to trust independent problem solver Susan Collins to keep delivering for them."

"Janet Mills, Graham Planter, or whatever other leftist emerges from this Democrat primary will be too extreme and socialist for Maine," said RNC Regional Communications Director Delanie Bomar in a statement. "One thing is for certain: Bernie Sanders is right that Democrats will waste millions trying to defeat Senator Susan Collins."