How Janet Mills was boxed out of the Maine Senate race by Graham Platner’s rise

(CNN) — By the time Maine Gov. Janet Mills launched her Senate campaign in October, Graham Platner was already drawing large crowds and raising impressive amounts of money.

The then-77-year-old governor was running for office at a time when many in her party were agitating for generational change. But Mills supporters – including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer – thought she could prevail with a pitch for electability based on her statewide name recognition, backing from Senate Democratic leadership and a tidal wave of opposition research on Platner.

They were wrong, and on Thursday, Mills ended her campaign weeks before the June 9 primary.

She cited difficulties raising money, but the decision also revealed how Democrats are spurning traditional politicians in the midterms for untested outsiders who are promising to take a more aggressive stance toward President Donald Trump.

Platner struck a gracious tone, applauding Mills’ long record of public service and their shared dedication to defeating Republican Sen. Susan Collins. But some of his supporters were openly ecstatic about his improbable triumph over Mills.

“My feet aren’t even on the ground,” state Rep. Valli Geiger said during a news conference with Platner after Mills’ announcement. “I am so excited about today, not because our governor had to submit to the inevitable and suspend her campaign, but because of what it says about the politics of what is possible.”

Democrats have long faced an uphill battle to retake the Senate majority in November, but Maine has always been at the top of their target list. Collins is seeking a sixth term in a state that her party’s president, Donald Trump, lost three times, including by 7 percentage points in 2024.

But Collins has outlasted national headwinds before, and Mills supporters believed the governor was the kind of hardened political veteran up for the task.

An oyster farmer and military veteran nearly half the age of Mills, Platner provided a sharp contrast in the primary, especially as he railed against the ultra-wealthy, lambasted foreign entanglements and called for new Democratic leadership in Washington. He racked up big-name endorsements early on, including from independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who warned against a Mills candidacy days before her launch.

“We need to focus on winning that seat & not waste millions on an unnecessary & divisive primary,” Sanders wrote on X at the time.

The primary reignited a debate over how much Senate Democratic leaders should be involved in intraparty battles. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who has sparred in the past with Democratic leaders over campaign strategy, did not criticize Schumer on Thursday for backing Mills – but said Democrats can “certainly” learn from Platner.

“We should be learning from candidates who are performing and speaking and resonating with the American people,” Ocasio-Cortez said, adding that Platner’s campaign, with its strong focus on in-person events, reminded her of her 2018 primary upset.

Despite his early momentum, Platner encountered weeks of turbulence after Mills declared her candidacy as multiple outlets reported on offensive comments he made on social media in the past.

In some of the posts, Platner denigrated police and said rural White Americans “actually are” racist and stupid, CNN’s KFile reported last year. Platner has disavowed the posts and others that have surfaced, saying they do not reflect who he is today.

Platner has also faced extensive scrutiny over the discovery of a tattoo on his chest featuring an image resembling a Nazi symbol. He said he regretted getting it and had it covered.

Mills did not immediately commit to supporting Platner. A campaign spokesperson said in a statement that she would not vote for Collins but continue to support Democratic candidates and monitor “how Graham Platner works to earn the support of Maine voters.”

Why Mills didn’t take off

Shortly after announcing her campaign, Mills sought to assuage concerns about her age by pledging to serve only one term if elected. But she struggled to catch up to Platner in fundraising and polling. He raised $4.1 million to her $2.7 million in the first quarter of the year, and a February poll by the University of New Hampshire gave Platner a huge lead, 64% to 26%, over Mills.

She sought to jolt the race in March by releasing a series of negative ads focused on Platner’s social media posts. The first spot featured a group of women reading about comments he made criticizing rape victims, expressing outrage and saying they could not vote for him.

Platner countered with a direct-to-camera commercial where he reiterated the regret he felt over the posts.

“Maine, I’m asking you not to judge me for the worst thing I said on the internet on my worst day 14 years ago,” he said.

As March turned to April, it began to seem the anti-Platner ad blitz was not enough to derail Platner. Many Democrats in Maine and nationally began to view Platner’s advantages over Mills as insurmountable.

Her campaign called off an April 21 fundraiser in Washington, DC, due to scheduling issues in Maine, according to a Mills ally with knowledge of the event. But the ally said it was not clear if she ever intended to reschedule the event before the primary.

“She’s not breaking through and she’s running out of time to course correct,” one national Democratic strategist told CNN earlier this week.

Mills made the decision to suspend her decision on Wednesday night, according to a source familiar with the matter.

In a Thursday morning statement announcing her decision, Mills said that while she had “the fight” to continue her campaign, she lacked the “financial resources” to do so. Platner said he reached out to her afterward to personally thank her for her service; it is unclear if they connected.

Platner spent Thursday traveling the state to roll out endorsements from a group of state lawmakers, an announcement that was planned while Mills was still in the race.

“She had a really good tough New England, badass woman brand and I’m all for that and excited about it. It just never materialized in this race,” said one influential national Democratic fundraiser who decided to back Platner. “There hasn’t felt like very much hustle – nationally at least – especially when you’re up against a guy who is hustling like hell in this race.”

A defeat for Schumer

Mills’ withdrawal from the race marks a rare defeat for Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which have otherwise recruited strong candidates in other states that are key to a majority, such as former Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina and former Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio. Democrats must net four seats in November to take control of the Senate.

Asked Thursday by CNN’s Manu Raju whether he misread the Maine electorate by backing Mills, Schumer did not directly answer the question. “We are going to take back the Senate and win Maine,” he said.

Platner has long been critical of Schumer, calling for his ouster as Senate Democratic leader and arguing he is not acting urgently enough to counter Trump.

Schumer and the DSCC chair, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, signaled support for Platner in a statement about Mills’s decision, saying Collins “has never been more vulnerable and we will work with the presumptive Democratic nominee Graham Platner to defeat her.”

Other national Democratic groups were more enthusiastic. A spokesperson for Senate Majority PAC, which is the top Democratic super PAC in Senate races, said in a statement that Platner “has brought a new energy to the campaign.” And leaders with the Democratic National Committee talked with Platner’s campaign after Mills announced her exit, according to a source familiar with the conversation.

Platner said during the news conference that he had gotten “reach-out” from the DSCC but had not spoken with anyone there yet.

Republicans celebrate

Republicans reacted with glee, eager to highlight the liberal positions that Platner took during the primary as well as his social media posts and now-covered tattoo.

“Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats just coronated a phony who is too extreme for Maine,” Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement.

Collins declined to pile on in a one-sentence statement that only addressed Mills. Collins, who has maintained a cordial relationship with Mills, said she “sure this was a difficult decision for Governor Mills, and I thank her for her decades of services to the people of Maine.”

Speaking with Raju on Capitol Hill, Collins declined to answer questions about Platner, including whether she believes he is easier to beat than Mills.

“I’m not going to get into the November election at this point,” she said, later adding, “I’m not going to get into playing pundit in this race.”

This headline and story have been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Arlette Saenz, Manu Raju, Dana Bash and Alison Main contributed to this report.