Maine Democratic Governor Janet Mills launched a Senate campaign on Tuesday to challenge incumbent moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins. 

Mills enters a crowded Democratic primary that already features military veteran Graham Platner, who has been endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Jordan Wood, a onetime congressional aide for former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA). Collins’ seat is on the ballot in November 2026, and Democrats are targeting it as one of their few opportunities to gain ground in a Senate map that tilts toward the GOP.

Mills’ campaign announcement focused on her feuds with the Trump administration. 

“We stood up to Trump and stopped him from cutting the school lunch program from Maine kids,” Mills said. “But there are too many politicians in Washington, including Susan Collins, who’ve forgotten their principles and let bullies like Trump have their way, and it’s hurting many people. I’ve never backed down from a bully, and I never will.” 

“Honestly, if this president and this congress were doing things that were even remotely acceptable, I wouldn’t be running for the U.S. Senate,” she said. 

Trump’s Justice Department sued Maine earlier this year for allowing boys to compete in women’s sports, arguing that the state was violating Title IX protections for women’s spaces. The Trump administration has also challenged the state’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife over diversity, equity, and inclusion measures. 

While Mills’ ad played up the ties between Collins and Trump, the Maine Republican voted against the nomination of Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense and opposed Trump’s cuts to foreign aid.

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Republican National Committee Regional Communications Director Delanie Bomar said that Mills’ entrance into the race would only lead to an expensive primary. 

“Janet Mills, Graham Planter, or whatever other leftist emerges from this Democrat primary will be too extreme and socialist for Maine,” Bomar said. “One thing is for certain: Bernie Sanders is right that Democrats will waste millions trying to defeat Senator Susan Collins.”

The Maine Democratic primary could turn into a fight between different factions of the Senate. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reportedly wanted Mills to run, while Sanders, a leftist independent who caucuses with the Democrats, urged her to stay out of the race. 

“Graham Platner is a great working class candidate for Senate in Maine who will defeat Susan Collins,” Sanders wrote on X last week. “It’s disappointing that some Democratic leaders are urging Governor Mills to run. We need to focus on winning that seat & not waste millions on an unnecessary & divisive primary.”