Gov. Janet Mills will speak at a Democratic banquet that will also be attended by Graham Platner on Friday, a day after Mills left the U.S. Senate primary and declined to embrace Platner in the race against five-term Republican Susan Collins.
The governor has two speaking slots at the Maine Democratic Party convention, party spokesperson Kristi Johnston said. She will give a speech at the Friday banquet at Holiday Inn by the Bay headlined by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. She will also speak at a Saturday morning breakfast event.
Both events are closed to press and limited to ticketed attendees. Platner’s campaign said he will attend the banquet as well.
Her remarks will be closely watched after she bowed out of the race Thursday. Notably, she did not commit to supporting Platner, a political newcomer from Sullivan who outhustled and outflanked the two-term governor from the left to effectively lock down the party’s nomination. A longshot candidate, 2024 U.S. Senate nominee David Costello, is still in the primary.
Walz was among the many national figures who embraced Platner following Mills’ exit from the race. Virtually all of the party’s gubernatorial and congressional candidates coalesced behind him, as did the political operation of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, a Mills endorser whom Platner has said he would not support as leader.
Platner will speak at the convention on Saturday alongside the party’s other 2026 candidates, including those running to replace the term-limited governor. Johnston said Mills gave up her candidate speaking slot but chose to keep appearances at other events. A Mills campaign spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
At an Augusta event following Mills’ decision to drop out on Thursday, Platner hailed Mills’ years of service to Maine and said he had reached out to her. They had not spoken by Friday afternoon, Platner’s campaign said. On Thursday, the Mills campaign issued a statement declining to join the Platner groundswell.
“As Maine’s governor, she will continue to support Democratic candidates across Maine, and she will continue to hear and watch how Graham Platner works to earn the support of Maine voters, just as she will keep a close eye on Maine’s congressional and gubernatorial primaries as well,” spokesperson Tommy Garcia said.
