Gov. Janet Mills is expected to join Tuesday the 2026 race to take on U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, but the Democratic governor’s campaign posted and then deleted Friday a video of her announcing her bid and asking for donations.
The roughly 20-second clip starts with Mills asking viewers if they “want Democrats to take back the Senate” before she says she is “running to flip Maine’s Senate seat blue.”
“Susan Collins has sold out Maine and bowed down to special interests and to Donald Trump, but that ends now,” Mills says. “So chip in $5 today, and let’s win this together.”
It closes with a shot of a “Janet Mills for Maine” logo featuring three pine trees to the left of the words, and a since-deleted tweet directed viewers to an ActBlue fundraising page. Mills’ office had not responded earlier Friday to requests for comment on the expected announcement next week that was first reported by Axios, which obtained an internal document on Mills’ plans.
National Democrats had been repeatedly lobbying Mills, 77, this year to enter the high-profile race against Collins, 72, that both parties nationally view as crucial for determining who controls the Senate. The governor, who is termed out of the Blaine House in 2026, previously said she would decide on a bid by November. Collins is seeking a historic sixth term.
Mills will enter a competitive Democratic primary field that already features figures such as Sullivan oyster farmer Graham Platner, Maine Beer Company cofounder Dan Kleban and former Capitol Hill operative Jordan Wood.
