Maine Gov. Janet Mills enters race to unseat Susan Collins : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5051x3367+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F81%2F3c%2F69d8cddb4d3d974d9c1c1438a40b%2Fap25254600003282.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5051x3367+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F81%2F3c%2F69d8cddb4d3d974d9c1c1438a40b%2Fap25254600003282.jpg" class="img" alt="Democratic Gov. Janet Mills delivers her State of the State address, Jan. 30, 2024, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. Mills has announced a run to unseat Susan Collins in the U.S. Senate." fetchpriority="high"/> Democratic Gov. Janet Mills delivers her State of the State tackle, Jan. 30, 2024, on the State Home in Augusta, Maine. Mills has introduced a run to unseat Susan Collins within the U.S. Senate. Robert F. Bukaty/AP cover caption

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Robert F. Bukaty/AP Maine Gov. Janet Mills introduced Tuesday that she'll enter the race to defeat Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a prime goal in nationwide Democrats' bid to regain the Senate.

Mills was recruited by Democratic Senate leaders after her high-profile confrontation with President Trump in February over transgender athletes, a dispute that triggered a wave of retaliatory strikes by his administration towards the state. The alternate is featured in her launch advert.

"My life's work has ready me for this combat and I am able to win," Mills says within the video. "This election shall be a easy alternative: Is Maine going to bow down or rise up? I do know my reply."

In an interview, Mills stated the interplay was a "jaw-dropping" second that showcased Trump's monarch-like aspirations. She stated it additionally pushed her to think about working for a Senate seat that she beforehand hadn't needed.

"After I was a bit of woman rising up in Farmington, my father at all times stated it's important to stand as much as bullies. You may't allow them to have their means or they're going to by no means cease," she stated. "And I feel that is what is going on on in Congress proper now ... Congress will not be standing as much as him. Susan Collins will not be standing as much as him."

She added, "I do not suppose I might forgive myself if I did not give every part I've received to vary what is going on on in a really dysfunctional authorities in Washington."

To defeat Collins, Mills will first must navigate a probably bruising major. The competition already options greater than half a dozen candidates, together with two, Jordan Wooden and Graham Platner, who're taking a extra progressive tack. Platner can also be channeling Democratic voters' disillusionment with get together leaders and has framed Mills' candidacy for instance of their unwillingness to half methods with the "usual, drained playbook."

Platner's candidacy, endorsed by impartial U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is a part of a nationwide development through which rebel candidates are taking over Democratic incumbents or these favored by nationwide get together leaders. A number of days earlier than Mills' announcement, Sanders stated in a social media submit that "it is disappointing that some Democratic leaders are urging Governor Mills to run. We have to give attention to profitable that seat & not waste tens of millions on an pointless & divisive major."

Mills, who shall be 78 in December, stated she regarded ahead to the first and is raring to distinction her accomplishments as governor towards the opposite candidates. She highlighted her efforts to steer extra of the state finances for native training, increasing Medicaid well being protection for low-income Mainers and offering free meals in public faculties. She additionally famous her lengthy historical past of standing up for abortion rights, increasing entry to the process after the Supreme Court docket's Dobbs determination and making Maine a haven for ladies who reside in states the place it is restricted or outright banned.

"I am the one candidate on this race who has delivered on these issues," she stated.

Mills has confirmed a formidable statewide candidate in her two profitable runs for governor. In 2022, she defeated conservative firebrand and former Gov. Paul LePage to win her second time period, holding her personal in Maine's conservative 2nd Congressional District.

A steep climb for Democrats The U.S. Senate race will current a brand new and daunting problem.

Democrats have not received a U.S. Senate race in Maine since former Sen. George Mitchell received reelection in 1988. Collins has held her seat since 1996. Democrats' ballyhooed and famously costly bid to unseat her in 2020 sputtered to an 8-point defeat in a state that President Joe Biden carried by 9 factors.

Democrats imagine Collins is extra weak now. The Maine Democratic Get together has repeatedly sought to spotlight what they see as her diminished affect as chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee amid the Trump administration's bid to consolidate energy within the govt department.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4000x2666+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb9%2F51%2F43bfe319487faa19ed2f6d42deae%2Fgettyimages-2238009733.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4000x2666+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb9%2F51%2F43bfe319487faa19ed2f6d42deae%2Fgettyimages-2238009733.jpg" class="img" alt="Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, departs the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 30. Democrats say Collins has lost influence as an appropriator and have attacked her votes to confirm Trump’s controversial cabinet picks." loading="lazy"/> Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, departs the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 30. Democrats say Collins has misplaced affect as an appropriator and have attacked her votes to substantiate Trump's controversial cupboard picks. Kent Nishimura/Getty Photos cover caption

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Kent Nishimura/Getty Photos Her potential ascension to the finances panel was repeatedly highlighted by her marketing campaign in 2020 as a approach to sway Maine's fickle — and infrequently decisive — impartial voting bloc.

Mills touched on that critique as nicely, saying Collins' climb to the finances committee was a "huge deal" however that she hasn't used her place to push again towards Trump's bid to wrest extra spending authority from Congress.

Democrats have additionally attacked her votes to substantiate Trump's controversial Cupboard picks and to substantiate judges they are saying are hostile to abortion rights.

Mills can be the oldest freshman elected to the higher chamber in trendy historical past if she's capable of topple Collins, who shall be 73 in December. The governor acknowledged that age shall be "a consideration" for some voters, however she thinks they're going to facet along with her expertise, particularly within the Democratic major.

"I do know I can tackle this one final combat and get it carried out," she stated.

A crowded major subject The governor's entry within the race will probably discourage different Democratic hopefuls from working and it could drive out already declared candidates.

Wooden and Platner have vowed to remain in. Platner, requested just lately about Mills' seemingly imminent candidacy, advised Maine Public that his marketing campaign will not change its method a lot.

"We'll undertake the identical venture, irrespective of who will get in," he stated, including, "It is a marketing campaign to reshape the Democratic Get together."

Platner, an oyster farmer and navy veteran, has stated that his marketing campaign is about constructing a motion and a political infrastructure that may endure after subsequent 12 months's midterms. His marketing campaign already claims 6,000 volunteers and his city corridor appearances have drawn massive crowds. It additionally claims to have raised greater than $4 million in a bit of greater than a month.

Wooden, a former staffer for U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., claims his marketing campaign has raised an identical quantity over an extended interval.

Mills, a former prosecutor, served two stints as Maine's legal professional common. The second got here between 2013 and 2018 whereas Republican LePage was governor. The 2 clashed incessantly as LePage, usually seen as a Trump prototype, pushed the bounds of govt department energy. Mills would later defeat him in her bid to safe a second time period as governor.

"See you in court docket" <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4779x3186+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F63%2F13%2Fb3750c9241e1becaf177bd2351ce%2Fgettyimages-2201119022.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4779x3186+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F63%2F13%2Fb3750c9241e1becaf177bd2351ce%2Fgettyimages-2201119022.jpg" class="img" alt="Mills reacts after challenging President Trump over federal law on the issue of transgender athletes in sports as Trump addressed a meeting of governors at the White House on Feb. 21, 2025." loading="lazy"/> Mills reacts after difficult President Trump over federal regulation on the difficulty of transgender athletes in sports activities as Trump addressed a gathering of governors on the White Home on Feb. 21, 2025. Win McNamee/Getty Photos cover caption

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Win McNamee/Getty Photos Her fights with LePage set the stage for her February confrontation with Trump throughout a Nationwide Governors Affiliation occasion on the White Home. Through the occasion, Trump referred to as on Mills to obey his govt order banning transgender athletes from collaborating on ladies' sports activities groups. Mills advised him she would comply with Maine regulation, which at present permits the observe. When he threatened to drag Maine's federal funding, Mills advised him, "See you in court docket."

The looming major contest in Maine is an element of a bigger sample of rebel Democrats in congressional contests working on a model of financial populism lengthy championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Platner has been significantly crucial of nationwide Democrats, together with their recruitment of Mills.

"Operating candidates which might be picked by D.C., working campaigns which might be pushed by D.C., I feel that is a dropping technique," he stated throughout a latest interview. "I feel, what we're doing — which is de facto attempting to construct a marketing campaign of Mainers, for Mainers — that is the way in which we win the state of Maine."

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