BURSTSen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) urged Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) to stay out of the 2026 senate race in the Pine Tree State, arguing that it would force a heavy spending lift for candidates in an "unnecessary and divisive primary.”
Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, instead endorsed Graham Platner, a Marine Corps and Army veteran who served in four tours overseas. The Associated Press reported Friday that the governor will enter the race to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
“Graham Platner is a great working class candidate for Senate in Maine who will defeat Susan Collins,” Sanders wrote in a statement on the social platform X.
“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,” he added.
Mills has not formally filed for candidacy, and Sanders thinks it should stay that way so Democrats can defeat Collins’s attempt to clinch a sixth term in the upper chamber.
“I have nothing against Janet Mills, but I think right now, Susan Collins is absolutely beatable,” Sanders told NOTUS. “She can be beaten, and I think it would be a really sad state of affairs to have to spend millions of dollars on a divisive primary. We should be focusing on beating Susan Collins, and Platner can do that."
He noted that Platner “is touching on exactly the right issues” and has the ability to draw a crowd of thousands in the state.
Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) have also voiced initial support for Planter, who has already begun to hammer Collins over the government shutdown and her support for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's Medicaid cuts.
However, the Stronger Maine super PAC is aiming to defend Collins regarding the federal funding lapse with a $250,000 ad buy, Axios reported.
“Susan Collins's stance is indefensible. A quarter million dollars in dark money behind her is indefensible,” Platner wrote in a Wednesday statement on X.
“Reopen the government, reverse the healthcare cuts, ban billionaires buying elections.”
Platner's campaign already has raised $4 million to back his candidacy in the state, as voters await a formal announcement regarding Mills’s decision.