WASHINGTON - Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills announced that she will be running for U.S. Senate in a bid to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who has served as the senator of the Pine Tree state since 1996.
Mills is joining what is expected to be a crowded Democratic primary for the Senate race. Other candidates include Marine and U.S. Army veteran Graham Platner, who was endorsed by progressive firebrand Sen. Bernie Sanders, Maine Beer Company co-founder Dan Kleban and former congressional aide Jordan Wood.
Collins, Maine's senior senator, has garnered a reputation as a rare Republican senator willing to, occasionally, buck Trump. The 72-year-old voted against the final passage of Trump’s sweeping tax and spending legislation and opposed the $9 billion cut to public broadcasting and foreign aid funding that the president backed.
In an Oct. 14 video announcing her candidacy, Mills, 77, argued, however, that Collins has forgotten her principles and “let bullies like Trump have their way.”
“I won't sit idly by while Maine people are suffering. Politicians like Susan Collins bend a knee as if this were normal. My life's work has prepared me for this fight, and I'm ready to win,” Mills said. “This election will be a simple choice. Is Maine gonna bow down or stand up?”
