Maine Gov. Janet Mills is taking concrete steps toward a 2026 U.S. Senate campaign, two people with direct knowledge of her plans told The Associated Press, adding another prominent Democrat to the field seeking key Republican-held seats next year.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Mills has not yet made a formal announcement, said the two-term governor has made calls to prospective campaign managers. Mills, who is term-limited next year, told reporters in Maine last week she was “seriously considering” a Senate run and has said she would announce a decision by mid-November.
If Mills enters the race, she would likely face five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins in what could become one of the marquee Senate contests in 2026. Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats to reclaim the majority in the midterms, a difficult task given that many contests will be held in states carried by former President Donald Trump in 2024.
Mills brings a record of winning statewide elections in a state where Democrats have generally performed well in recent presidential cycles; Vice President Kamala Harris defeated Trump in Maine by about seven percentage points in 2024. Mills won reelection as governor in 2022 by roughly 13 percentage points over Republican former Gov. Paul LePage.
Her potential candidacy would follow a string of high-profile Democratic statewide officeholders jumping into 2026 contests. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper entered his state's open Senate race after Republican Sen. Thom Tillis announced he would not seek reelection, and former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown said in August he would run again in Ohio after losing his reelection bid last year. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has been active in recruiting and urging Democrats to contest key races; he discussed a possible run with Mills earlier this year, according to people familiar with the conversation.
Mills would still face a Democratic primary that includes oyster farmer Graham Platner, Maine Beer Company co-founder Dan Kleban and Jordan Wood, a former chief of staff to Rep. Katie Porter of California. The party will also weigh whether Mills can build a general election coalition against Collins, who has long portrayed herself as an independent-minded centrist and has proven a durable statewide presence since first winning the seat in 1996.
Collins has won multiple re-election bids by large margins in the past, though she faced a tighter contest in 2020 when she defeated Democrat Sara Gideon. Critics in recent years have accused Collins of enabling former President Trump on key votes, including confirmations of Supreme Court justices whose 2022 decisions ended the federal constitutional right to abortion.
Mills drew national attention earlier this year when she sparred with Trump during a governors' meeting at the White House. Trump publicly pressed her to enact a policy barring transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports and warned of withholding federal funds; Mills responded, “We’ll see you in court,” and Trump retorted, “Enjoy your life after governor because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”
Maine presents a mixed electoral map for Democrats. While the statewide vote has leaned Democratic in recent presidential contests, Trump carried the state's rural, northern 2nd Congressional District in 2016, 2020 and 2024. Maine awards two electoral votes by congressional district and two to the statewide winner, an arrangement that can produce divided outcomes.
Any Mills campaign would be part of a broader Democratic strategy to contest open and Republican-held Senate seats in 2026. Party operatives view statewide-elected Democrats who have proven ability to win in competitive or swing jurisdictions as valuable candidates, but the path to a Senate majority remains challenging, especially in states Trump won by sizable margins.
Mills' decision, expected by mid-November, would set the stage for a high-profile contest in a state where independent voters and split-ticket voting have long shaped outcomes. Associated Press reporting contributed to this article.