Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday endorsed Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) in the state’s 2026 Senate race against GOP Sen. Susan Collins.
“We think that Janet Mills is the best candidate to retire Susan Collins,” Schumer said Tuesday at a press conference. “She’s a tested two-term governor and the people of Maine have an enormous amount of affection and respect for her.”
Mills, who is termed out as governor, launched her Senate candidacy last week. The 77-year-old joins a crowded Democratic field that also includes veteran and oyster farmer Graham Platner, fashion designer Natasha Alcala, veteran and former Pentagon policy writer David Evans, Army veteran Tucker Favreau, Maine Beer Company co-founder Dan Kleban, University of Maine professor Andrea LaFlamme, former Air Force contracting officer Daira Smith-Rodriguez and Jordan Wood, ex-chief of staff to former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.).
Platner, running a populist, anti-establishment campaign, has garnered heavy support from the Democratic Party’s progressive wing. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is backing the Army veteran, and according to the Federal Election Commission, Platner’s campaign has raised more than $3.2 million as of the end of September.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Platner’s campaign called Schumer’s endorsement of Mills “the establishment backing the establishment” and touted Platner holding over 20 town halls across the states.
“Graham was never going to win this race because he had the DC establishment behind him,” the spokesperson added. “He’s going to win because he has Mainers behind him.”
The Hill has also reached out to the Mills campaign for comment.
The New York Democrat’s remarks put him at odds with Sanders, Platner’s highest-profile supporter. Earlier this month, before Mills entered the race, the Vermont progressive called Platner “a great working-class candidate” and said it was “disappointing” that Democratic leaders, including Schumer, were reportedly urging Mills to run.
“We need to focus on winning that seat & not waste millions on an unnecessary & divisive primary,” Sanders said on the social platform X.
The Hill has reached out to Sanders’s office for comment.
Last week, CNN and The Washington Post unearthed comments Platner made on Reddit over the past decade-plus. Platner, among other remarks, referred to other users as a slur intended to insult those with special needs, called himself a “communist,” said “all” police officers are “bastards” and minimized those facing issues in reporting sexual assault in the military.
Platner has disavowed the comments, saying in a video he posted to X last Friday they stemmed from his troubles with post-traumatic stress disorder. During a Monday appearance on “Pod Save America,” he claimed that the people of Maine will “recognize that this is not at all the person that they have come to know, and come to interact with in reality.”
The race will see the Democratic nominee face off against Collins, who is gunning for a sixth term in the upper chamber.
Updated at 5:50 p.m. EDT
