Some Janet Mills backers want her to resume her Maine Senate campaign against Graham Platner

(CNN) — Some prominent supporters of Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ now-suspended run for US Senate suggested Monday she should revive her campaign in a last-ditch effort to stop Graham Platner as his bid becomes engulfed by another controversy.

“I definitely want her to un-suspend her campaign,” said Lynn Bromley, a former state senator who had appeared in an anti-Platner ad for Mills. “There are a lot of us,” she added, who will vote for Mills in the June 9 primary despite Platner emerging as the presumptive nominee.

While Mills suspended her campaign over a month ago, her name remains on the primary ballot in a state with ranked-choice voting. Mills raised eyebrows when she told a Maine newspaper columnist that she is “still on the ballot” on Sunday, a day after news outlets reported that Platner’s wife had flagged to campaign staff at the start of the race that he had sent sexual text messages to other women.

“It has always been my intention to vote for Janet Mills in the Democratic primary,” state Rep. Holly Eaton said in a statement. “I would be pleased to see her unsuspend her campaign and continue her candidacy.”

Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, said she was “deeply hurt” that the details of her husband’s messages to other women had become public, accusing a former campaign official of breaking her trust. But the revelations have raised fresh questions about Platner’s ability to flip a crucial Senate seat for Democrats in November, especially after earlier controversies that tested his appeal with women.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declined to comment Monday on whether he was confident Platner could defeat GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who is seeking her sixth term. “Not now,” he told reporters as he arrived on the Hill.

Schumer recruited Mills to run against Collins, who Democrats see as someone they must defeat to win Senate control this fall. After she dropped out, he signaled he was ready to work with Platner.

One of Platner’s biggest backers in Congress, Sen. Bernie Sanders, stood by Platner’s campaign Monday. The Vermont independent, who caucuses with Democrats, said he was “not at all” rethinking his support.

“I don’t know all of the details, but my understanding is that his wife is supporting him, and maybe rather than worrying about Graham Platner’s marriage, we worry about what’s happening to the working families in this country,” Sanders told CNN.

Platner’s campaign declined to comment.

Platner has been drawing large crowds across Maine and endorsements from prominent progressives like Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Speaking with reporters Monday, Warren refused to say whether she had concerns about Platner but praised his “courage and determination” in taking on Collins.

“I believe that’s what the people of Maine care the most about,” she said.

Platner has also gotten votes of confidence from other high-profile backers who have continued to praise his campaign platform of standing up to billionaires and making life more affordable. California Rep. Ro Khanna, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, is moving forward with a Friday rally with Platner along the Maine coast.

Mills cited dwindling campaign funds when she ended her campaign in late April. Her decision was especially disappointing to female supporters who had helped highlight her record on issues such as abortion rights – as well as Platner’s past comments denigrating rape victims. Platner said last year he was “deeply sorry” for those comments and others he had made online years before running for office.

In suspending her campaign, Mills did not endorse Platner.

Platner praised Mills on the day she suspended her campaign and said he looked “forward to working with her between now and November” to defeat Collins.

Bromley and Eaton were part of Mills’ “Women for Janet” coalition, as was state Rep. Cassie Julia, who wrote in an email Monday that she did not “blame Gov. Mills for not wanting to engage in this campaign environment.

“If unsuspending her campaign helps get the word out that she’s still on the ballot and that a vote for her still counts, I support that decision if it’s the one she chooses to make,” Julia said in a statement.

Melanie Weiss, a Jewish community leader who had endorsed Mills, told CNN that she would be “thrilled to see [Mills] rejoin the field.” She noted she did not plan to vote for Platner regardless.

Mills gave her loyalists new hope Sunday in an interview with Portland Press Herald columnist Steve Collins. It was published Monday.

“People have the impression that I ‘withdrew’ or ‘dropped out,’ but I simply suspended active campaigning,” she said. “I am still on the ballot.”

Several of her former backers cited the interview Monday when asked whether she should re-activate her campaign.

“As the Governor has said, she is still on the ballot,” state Rep. Allison Hepler said in a statement. “Any decision to unsuspend her campaign is her decision alone. That said, I will be ranking her #1 on my primary ballot.”

State Rep. Holly Sargent expressed a similar sentiment in a statement, noting that votes for Mills “still count” in next week’s primary and that Mills remains her No. 1 choice.

It is unclear how much Mills is listening to such appeals. A former campaign spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests for comment Monday.

One of Mills’ former supporters, state Rep. Anne Graham, did not say whether Mills should un-suspend her campaign. But she offered praise for Genevieve McDonald, the former political director for Platner’s campaign who told media outlets about his text messages to other women.

“I believe in truth and honesty,” Graham wrote in an email. “I support Genevieve McDonald for being brave enough to speak up.”

This story has been updated with additional details.

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