DEVELOPING: Democrat Governor Rumored To Launch Senate Bid

Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, will reportedly launch a Senate bid for the seat held by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).

Mills is term-limited and tentatively expected to announce her Senate candidacy on Tuesday.

The potential showdown would be a closely-watched Senate race in the blue-leaning battleground state.

Maine’s two-term Democratic Governor Janet Mills will run for the US Senate seat held by veteran Republican Senator Susan Collins next year, according to Associated Press sources. https://t.co/RiicyvAaUX

— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) October 10, 2025

More from the Associated Press:

Mills was the top choice of national Democrats who have long tried to unseat Collins, who has held the seat since 1997. She was urged to run by party leaders including New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader. And though she only met once with Schumer to discuss the race early this year, her decision is viewed as a recruiting win for Democrats, who also have well-known figures with statewide experience running for seats held by Republicans in North Carolina and Ohio.

Democrats see the Maine seat as especially important, considering it is the only one on the 2026 Senate election calendar where Republicans are defending an incumbent in a state carried last year by Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Still, a Democratic majority in the 100-member Senate remains a difficult proposition.

The party would need to gain a net of four seats, while most of the states with Senate elections next year are places where Republican Donald Trump beat Harris. Maine is an exception, while in North Carolina — where Trump narrowly won — Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper is viewed as a contender, and Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown is running in Ohio, where Trump won comfortably.

“Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills is calling Democratic senators to say she’s going to announce her Senate campaign next week, per multiple senators,” Punchbowl News co-founder John Bresnahan said.

“Schumer & other Senate Democrats see Mills as their best chance to defeat veteran GOP Sen. Susan Collins,” he added.

New: Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills is calling Democratic senators to say she’s going to announce her Senate campaign next week, per multiple senators.

Schumer & other Senate Democrats see Mills as their best chance to defeat veteran GOP Sen. Susan Collins.@allymutnick…

— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) October 10, 2025

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Axios noted:

Mills’ entrance into the race is also likely to set off a divisive primary contest with progressive Graham Platner, an oyster farmer who has won the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

The internal campaign message reads, “Maine Governor Janet Mills will be announcing her campaign for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, October 14.”

Axios scooped Tuesday that Mills was preparing to jump into the Senate race as soon as next week.

A debate over generational change has been roiling the Democratic Party since its loss in the 2024 presidential election, and a primary contest between Mills, 77, Platner, 41, and other relatively young Democrats is likely to deepen divides over age as well as ideology.

Platner raised more than $3 million in the latest quarter, Axios first reported.