Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills Announces Senate Campaign, Then Quickly Deletes Post

Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills appeared to announce the launch of her Senate campaign on Friday, but then quickly deleted the post.

In a since-deleted announcement video, the 77-year-old Maine governor asked, “Friends, do you want the Democrats to take back the Senate?” Well, I’m Governor Janet Mills, and I’m running to flip Maine’s Senate seat blue.

In the video, Mills took aim at outgoing Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican, saying she had “sold out Maine and bowed to special interests and to Donald Trump, but that ends now.”

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The video invited supporters to donate to an ActBlue page that has also since been removed.

On the donations page, Mills touted his bona fides, saying, “I have spent my career advocating for Maine families as a prosecutor, attorney general and governor. I took on Big Pharma, expanded access to health care, and took Donald Trump to court – and I won.

Democratic Governor Janet Mills delivers her State of the State address January 30, 2024 at the State House in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

After the posts were deleted, reactions began pouring in online.

“In a now-deleted tweet at 4:30 p.m. on a Friday before a holiday weekend, Janet Mills confirms that she is indeed running for Senate… A poor digital worker is about to be fired!” » published National Republican Senatorial Committee member Joanna Rodriguez.

A progressive political commentator named Jack Cocchiarella commented: “If you thought Democratic politics lacked geriatric candidates without charisma, wait until you meet Janet Mills, Chuck Schumer’s pick for the Senate, 77.” She posted this launch video today, then deleted it after two hours.

Mills’ announcement was long overdue. She is considered Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s preferred candidate.

The Senate’s top Democrat has urged Mills to run and considers her the best candidate to defeat Collins, the only Republican senator up for re-election next year in a state Democrats won in the presidential election. A defeat for Collins would be essential for Democrats to have a chance of regaining the majority in the Senate.

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Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, pushed back against Majority Forward, a Democratic PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for ads suggesting she spent her career trading stocks in Washington to enrich herself. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

But before reaching the general election, Mills must first navigate a likely competitive and divisive primary among a large field of contenders that includes a much younger rising star on the left who is backed by longtime progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Mills, a former elected county prosecutor and former state legislator, made history as Maine’s first female attorney general.

She then won election in 2018 as Maine’s first female governor, and in 2022 she comfortably defeated former Republican Governor Paul LePage by double digits for re-election.

Although she will be considered the favorite for the Democratic Senate nomination, thanks in part to her high profile in blue-leaning Maine, she could face a serious challenge from Graham Platner, 41, a U.S. Marine, Army veteran and oyster farmer who launched his campaign in August.

Platner, who raised more than $3 million in funding in the first six weeks after declaring his candidacy, is backed by Sanders, the two-time Democratic runner-up to the presidential nomination, who recently stopped in Maine to lead a campaign rally.

In a warning to Mills, Sanders said on social media last week that “Graham Platner is a great working-class candidate for Maine Senate who will defeat Susan Collins.”

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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., threw his support behind Graham Platner, a U.S. Army veteran and oyster farmer who launched the Democratic Senate campaign in August. (Joe Maher)

“It’s disappointing that some Democratic leaders are urging Governor Mills to run. We need to focus on winning this seat and not waste millions on unnecessary and divisive primaries,” Sanders added.

Other candidates vying for the Democratic Senate nomination include Dan Kleban, co-founder of Maine Beer Co., and former Congressman Jordan Wood, who raised about $3 million during the third fundraising quarter from July to September.

Phil Rench, former lead engineer at Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is running as an independent candidate.

Collins first won election to the Senate in 1996 and won comfortable double-digit re-elections in 2002, 2008 and 2014.

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President Donald Trump and Maine Gov. Janet Mills clashed at the White House over compliance with the executive order earlier this year. (Pool via AP; Win McNamee/Getty Images)

She chairs the influential Senate Appropriations Committee.

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In his 2020 reelection bid, Collins faced Democratic House Speaker Sara Gideon in a hotly contested race that became the most expensive in Maine history. While polls indicated that Collins was trailing her Democratic challenger, she ended up winning the election by more than eight points.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for comment but did not immediately receive a response.