After the bombshell news Thursday morning that Maine Gov. Janet Mills was ending her languishing campaign for U.S. Senate, attention quickly began to turn toward the expected general election matchup between incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins and progressive upstart Graham Platner.
With Mills out of the race, the only other Democrat set to appear on the June ballot is Brunswick’s David Costello, who has been far behind in both opinion polling and fundraising but says he is staying in the race. Bangor’s Andrea LaFlamme is also running as a write-in candidate.
But barring huge surges in support for those two candidates, Platner is in line to be the presumptive nominee. In light of Mills’ announcement, Platner’s campaign confirmed that the oyster farmer and military veteran is backing out of the five planned Democratic primary debates over the next month as he turns his attention to Collins.
Much of the Democratic Party rapidly coalesced around Platner, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who had previously backed Mills. Meanwhile, Maine Democrats kicked off their annual party convention Friday in Portland.
Follow along for live updates of the Senate race Friday and into the weekend.
Asked by CBS News’ Major Garrett whether the Maine governor’s decision to suspend her campaign reflects tension within the Democratic Party, the New Mexico governor gave a roundabout answer and said she thinks “these tensions are more likely to be perceived by folks as serious divisions in both the Republican and the Democratic Party.”
“I hope that folks don’t move away from folks like Gov. Mills, pragmatic, experienced leadership in these hard executive positions,” Lujan Grisham said.
Saturday is the busiest day and will feature candidate speeches, with most of the intrigue now expected to revolve around the crowded gubernatorial and 2nd Congressional District races.
Collins vs. Platner: By the numbers
She’s 73 and has represented Maine in the Senate since 1996. He’s 41 and has never held office.
How do Collins and Platner stack up by the numbers? Staff Writer Daniel Kool explores everything from fundraising data to social media followers. Read his full story here.
Platner also said he and his supporters are “going to very much continue pointing out that (Collins) doesn’t stand up to Donald Trump.”
He echoed some of his past statements on how he would approach his job as senator and if the control of Congress shifts by saying he wants “the Trump administration not to function because everyone in the White House is being hauled under subpoena in front of a Senate committee, day after day after day.”
“Moving forward, I think we need to use all of the power we have around funding and the power of the purse to stop paying for these kinds of stupid wars, stop paying for agencies like (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), stop paying for the things that the Trump administration is doing that are materially hurting our democracy and hurting working people,” Platner said.
Washington Post: Why Mills failed to catch fire
In February 2025, Mills was catapulted into the national spotlight after her tense exchange with President Donald Trump about transgender athletes, with her “See you in court” remark quickly making waves in liberal circles.
But a little over a year later, she failed to gain a strong foothold in the Senate race, leading to the end of her campaign. Voters, allies and experts told the Washington Post that a number of factors are to blame: her age, her late entry into the race and her even-keeled style. Read the full story here.
Platner, supporters take a victory lap
At three preplanned events throughout Thursday, Platner and his supporters celebrated the news that Mills was dropping out, even as they thanked the governor for her lifetime of public service. Then, they turned their eyes to November and defeating Collins.
Read the full story from Staff Writer Drew Johnson here.
How Democrats running for governor say they differ from Janet Mills
On Thursday night, the five Democrats running to become Maine’s next governor appeared in their first televised debate ahead of the June 9 primary. But what did they have to say about Mills?
Read the full story from Staff Writer Rachel Ohm here.
“These aren’t Republican attacks; they came straight from Platner’s own party,” the NRSC wrote in a Friday morning news release.
When the Mills campaign first released the ad in March, Platner’s campaign derided it as “nothing more than a desperate attempt for relevance from the governor.”
In February, Mills predicted that Collins would “make mincemeat” out of Platner over his tranche of deleted Reddit posts, in which he also called rural white Americans “racist and stupid,” declared that cops are “bastards” and suggested that Black people don’t tip.
Platner, Collins both making appearances in Maine on Friday morning
Both Platner and Collins were scheduled to make public appearances at events in southern Maine late Friday morning.
Platner was in Portland for a 10 a.m. news conference to accept the endorsement of the Maine AFL-CIO union, while Collins was set to speak at a 10:30 a.m. event in Alfred for the unveiling of York County’s new first responder training facility.
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