Maine Gov. Janet Mills suspends Senate bid, clearing path for Democrat Graham Platner
Maine Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign for U.S. Senate on Thursday, clearing the way for Graham Platner to win the Democratic nomination.
“While I have the drive and passion, the commitment and experience, and above all – the fight – to keep going, I simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately need today: financial resources,” Ms. Mills said in a statement. “That’s why I made the incredibly difficult decision today to suspend my campaign for U.S. Senate.”
The announcement sets the stage for Mr. Platner to face Republican Senator Susan Collins in the November election, in a race that Democrats will likely need to win to have any hope of flipping the U.S. Senate.
Ms. Mills has struggled to gain traction in the race despite the support of Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and the fact that she has been highly regarded by Democrats during her decades in the public arena.
Mr Platner said Mr Schumer should step down as leader. His campaign for the U.S. Senate is supported by the far-left wing of the party, including Senators Bernard Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
A former sailor and oyster farmer, Mr. Platner has been a political force, tapping the left wing of the party’s populist desires and a broader appetite for a new generation of leaders.
It also continued to gain traction amid lingering questions about a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol.
The Senate majority PAC, aligned with Schumer, said Ms. Collins’ days were numbered and had booked more than $20 million in air time.
“Susan Collins will be defeated in November. Her years of voting against Maine families have left her in the weakest and most vulnerable position of her career,” said the group’s spokeswoman, Lauren French. “In contrast, Graham Platner has brought new energy to the campaign, and we will continue our fight to defeat Collins with him as the presumptive nominee.”
The Republicans, for their part, pounced on the news:
“The presumptive Democratic nominee for Maine Senate is a self-proclaimed communist with an actual Nazi tattoo,” said Joe Gruters, chairman of the Republican National Convention. “Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren and the rest of their leaders are already doing this crazy work.
“Mainers deserve better,” he said.
Maine GOP Chairman Jim Deyermond said Maine voters now face a tough choice this fall.
“Option 1, Susan Collins, who represents all Maine people and cares deeply about our state. Senator Collins is using her position on the Appropriations Committee to secure funding for Maine’s fire stations, bridges, rural hospitals, and more,” he said. “Option 2, racist, Nazi-sympathizing fake blue collar worker Graham Platner, who is more concerned with promoting his dangerous ideologies than serving the hardworking people of Maine. »
