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NewsUS NewsPolitics2026 Midterm Elections

Maine Gov. Janet Mills Drops Campaign in Key Senate Race

Mills, a two-term governor, issued a statement Thursday saying she has the experience but not the financial backing to continue her campaign.
Rachel Acenas
By
Rachel Acenas
Published: 4/30/2026, 10:46:41 AM EDT

Maine Gov. Janet Mills has withdrawn from the U.S. Senate race just weeks before the Democratic primary due to a lack of campaign funds.

Mills, a two-term governor, issued a statement Thursday saying she has the experience but not the financial backing to continue her campaign.

“While I have the drive and passion, commitment and experience, and above all else – the fight – to continue on, I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources,” Mills said in a statement. “That is why today I have made the incredibly difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the United States Senate.”

The longtime politician has also served as district attorney and attorney general and was considered one of the top candidates in the Senate race.

The governor has also struggled to compete with popular, first-time candidate Graham Platner, her opponent in the June 9 Democratic primary.

Mills did not endorse Platner in her announcement to drop her campaign, but her decision paves the way for Platner to win the Democratic nomination.

Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer, issued a statement in response to Mills’s decision, crediting Mills with devoting her career to the state. He noted that both of them entered the race to defeat incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

Moving forward, Senate Democrats have vowed to work with Platner to defeat Collins in a key Senate race that has emerged as a top target for the Democratic Party in the 2026 midterm elections.  Kamala Harris won the state over Donald Trump in the 2024 midterm elections.

“Maine, let’s send an oyster farmer to the U.S. Senate—and kick out Susan Collins,” the Democratic Party wrote on X after Mills dropped out of the race.

Collins is one of the longest-serving current senators and was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1997, serving five terms.

In an interview with CNN, Collins credited Mills for devoting her life to public service and said she will continue to work with the governor during the remainder of her time in office.

When pressed whether Platner would be easier to beat in the upcoming midterm elections, Collins declined to comment further on the Senate race and the upcoming midterm elections.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.