Maine Gov. Janet Mills announces her 2026 Senate campaign to challenge Republican Senator Susan Collins in a race Democrats see as crucial for regaining the majority.
Democrats in Washington landed another high-profile recruit in the 2026 battle for the Senate majority, as two-term Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday announced her candidacy in the race to take on longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
The long-anticipated campaign launch by the battle-tested 77-year-old Democratic governor is seen as a victory for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The top Democrat in the Senate urged Mills to run and sees her as the best candidate to defeat Collins, the only Republican senator up for re-election next year in a state the Democrats carried in the presidential election. A Collins defeat would be essential for the Democrats to have any chance of winning back the Senate majority.
But before she reaches the general election, Mills first has to navigate a likely competitive and potentially divisive primary among a crowded field of contenders that includes a much younger rising star on the left who’s backed by longtime progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
«I’ve never backed down from a bully and I never will», the governor said in a statement as she launched her campaign. «Donald Trump is ripping away health care from millions, driving up costs, and giving corporate CEOs massive tax cuts. And Susan Collins is helping him.»
Mills, a former elected county district attorney and former state lawmaker, made history serving as Maine’s first female attorney general.
