Maine’s political landscape is heating up as Governor Janet Mills, a seasoned political figure, and Graham Platner, a progressive newcomer, go head-to-head in a Democratic primary that’s quickly becoming a national spectacle. With the 2026 U.S. Senate race looming, the battle to unseat Senator Susan Collins has evolved into a referendum on the soul and future direction of the Democratic Party itself.
On October 14, 2025, Governor Janet Mills, age 77, officially declared her candidacy for the U.S. Senate. Mills, who has served two terms as Maine’s governor and is term-limited in 2026, enters a crowded Democratic field. The roster includes not only Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer and military veteran, but also Jordan Wood, David Costello, Natasha Alcala, David Evans, Tucker Favreau, Andrea LaFlamme, and Daira Smith-Rodriguez. Yet, it’s Mills and Platner who have captured the most attention, representing starkly different visions for their party and the state.
According to USA TODAY, Mills’ announcement immediately shifted the political calculus. The Cook Political Report, a non-partisan election analyst, changed its rating of the Maine Senate race from “lean Republican” to “toss-up” after Mills entered the fray. This shift reflects not just Mills’ popularity and experience, but also the uncertainty swirling around Senator Collins’ re-election prospects. An April 2025 University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll found that a staggering 71% of Mainers, including majorities from all parties, believe Collins does not deserve another term.
But the real drama lies within the Democratic primary itself. Mills, a member of a prominent Maine family and a politician with a track record of standing up to former President Donald Trump, is widely viewed as a centrist. She’s known for her pragmatism and has gained national attention for her stances on issues like transgender rights, often clashing with Trump. “I’m the only one in this campaign who’s actually stood up to Donald Trump, and I’ll do it again,” Mills asserted on social media. “Susan Collins has bowed down to Trump. So I'm running for Senate to replace her—and I’m the only one who can beat her.”
Yet, Mills’ age has become a flashpoint. At 77, she would be the oldest-ever freshman senator if elected. The Democratic Party, still reeling from debates about the age and fitness of its leaders—especially after President Joe Biden’s departure from the 2024 race—finds itself at a crossroads. “Age is kind of a proxy for some other things. I think certainly, Governor Mills is very vigorous, whether people like her or not, I don't think anybody's been questioning her mental fitness,” Jim Melcher, a political science professor at the University of Maine at Farmington, told USA TODAY. “Age I think matters so much because it’s partly a proxy for change. That it's not just about how old Janet Mills is, it's how long she's been around, that she, I think, to some people, represents where the party was before, and that they want something else.”
Enter Graham Platner. At just 41, Platner is pitching himself as the face of “something different.” He’s no career politician—his background is in oyster farming and military service, having deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. He’s also gained the endorsement of Senator Bernie Sanders, a progressive heavyweight, and has raised an eye-popping $4 million since launching his campaign in August 2025. Platner’s campaign has quickly moved from outsider status to the center of the national conversation, especially among progressives.
Platner’s appeal is not without controversy. As reported by CNN, he recently disavowed a series of since-deleted Reddit posts from 2020 and 2021 in which he called police officers “bastards,” described himself as a “communist” and a “socialist,” and used ableist language. “That was very much me f---ing around the internet,” Platner told CNN’s KFile, distancing himself from his past online behavior. He added, “I don’t want people to see me for who I was in my worst internet comment — or even frankly who I was in my best internet comment … I don’t think any of that is indicative of who I am today, really.”
Platner’s posts reflected deep frustration with both law enforcement and his own military service. In one particularly pointed comment, he wrote, “Bastards. Cops are bastards,” in response to a news story about police misconduct. In another, reflecting on his time in America’s “imperial wars,” he said, “My time in America’s imperial wars definitely radicalized me further, and I’m significantly more left today than I was back then. It is difficult to see all that horror, as well as all the grift and corruption, and not find the entire thing utterly bankrupt.” Platner has since clarified to CNN that he has “an immense amount of friends who are police officers. They’re not all bastards because they’re literally buddies of mine.”
His candid remarks about race and American society have also drawn scrutiny. In one Reddit post, he wrote, “Living in white rural America, I’m afraid to tell you they actually are,” in response to a discussion about racism and intelligence among white Americans. Platner told CNN he was “very angry” at the time and that his comments were not representative of his current views, adding, “I’m also a white guy, and I don’t think I’m a racist.”
Despite the backlash, Platner’s campaign continues to gain steam, buoyed by his economic populist message and the Sanders endorsement. “This is a generational race. It’s about old ideas vs new ideas,” Platner posted on October 15. “About whether Democrats win by fighting for serious structural change — or lose to Susan Collins yet again by doing more of the same.”
Political analysts see the Mills-Platner contest as a microcosm of the broader debate raging within the Democratic Party. Is it time for steady, experienced hands or for bold, progressive change? Melcher observes, “I think there’s kind of, is, this is kind of a soul searching for Democrats. What do we want as a party? I think it’s also, to some extent, the referendum on the party.”
Meanwhile, Senator Susan Collins remains a formidable opponent. First elected in 1997, Collins has built her reputation as a moderate Republican willing to buck her party, though that perception has been tested during the Trump era. Some Republicans accuse her of not supporting Trump enough, while many Democrats argue she’s aligned herself too closely with him. Her resilience was on display in 2020 when she defeated a well-funded Democratic challenger, but the political winds may be shifting. The Cook Political Report’s “toss-up” rating and the UNH poll suggesting widespread discontent with Collins’ tenure point to a potentially volatile race ahead.
The stakes are high, and the outcome could reverberate far beyond Maine. For Democrats, the choice between Mills and Platner isn’t just about who can defeat Collins—it’s about what kind of party they want to be in the years to come. As the primary unfolds, Mainers and national observers alike will be watching closely to see which vision captures the imagination—and the votes—of a state at a political crossroads.
