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Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills appeared to announce the launch of her campaign for the Senate on X on Friday, but then quickly deleted the post.
In a since-deleted announcement video, the 77-year-old Maine governor asked, “Folks, do you want Democrats to take back the Senate? Well, I’m Gov. Janet Mills, and I’m running to flip Maine’s Senate seat blue.”
In the video, Mills took aim at incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican, saying she has “sold out Maine and bowed down to special interests and to Donald Trump, but that ends now.”
The video directed supporters to donate to an ActBlue page that has also since been deleted.
On the donation page, Mills touted her bona fides, saying, “I’ve spent my career standing up for Maine families as prosecutor, Attorney General, and Governor. I’ve taken on Big Pharma, expanded health care access, and took Donald Trump to court – and won.”
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Democratic Gov. Janet Mills delivers her State of the State address, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
After the posts were deleted, reactions started to flood in online.
“In a now deleted tweet at 4:30pm on a Friday before a holiday weekend, Janet Mills confirms she is in fact running for Senate … Some poor digital staffer is about to get fired!” posted National Republican Senatorial Committee staffer Joanna Rodriguez.
A progressive political commentator named Jack Cocchiarella commented, “If you thought democratic politics was missing geriatric candidates with no charisma, wait until you meet 77 year old Janet Mills Chuck Schumer’s pick for Senate. She posted this launch video today then deleted it after two hours.”
Mills’ announcement has been long anticipated. She is seen as the favored candidate by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The top Democrat in the Senate urged Mills to run and sees her as the best candidate to defeat Collins, the only Republican senator up for re-election next year in a state the Democrats carried in the presidential election. A Collins defeat would be essential for the Democrats to have any chance of winning back the Senate majority.
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Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, pushed back against Majority Forward, a Democratic PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for ads that suggest she has spent her career in Washington trading stocks to enrich herself. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
But before she reaches the general election, Mills first has to navigate a likely competitive and divisive primary among a crowded field of contenders that includes a much younger rising star on the left who’s backed by longtime progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Mills, a former elected county district attorney and former state lawmaker, made history serving as Maine’s first female attorney general.
She later won election in 2018 as Maine’s first female governor, and in 2022 comfortably defeated former Republican Gov. Paul LePage by double digits to win re-election.
While she will be considered the frontrunner for the Democratic Senate nomination, thanks in part to her vast name recognition in blue-leaning Maine, she could face a serious challenge from 41-year-old Graham Platner, a U.S. Marine and Army veteran and oyster farmer who launched his campaign in August.
Platner, who hauled in over $3 million in fundraising during the first six weeks after declaring his candidacy, is backed by Sanders, the two-time Democratic presidential nomination runner-up, who recently stopped in Maine to headline a campaign rally.
In a warning to Mills, Sanders said on social media last week that “Graham Platner is a great working class candidate for Senate in Maine who will defeat Susan Collins.”
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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has thrown his support behind Graham Platner, a U.S. Marine and Army veteran and oyster farmer, who launched a Democratic run for the Senate in August. (Joe Maher)
“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,” Sanders added.
Other candidates vying for the Democratic Senate nomination include Dan Kleban, a co-founder of the Maine Beer Co., and former congressional staffer Jordan Wood, who raked in roughly $3 million during the July-September third quarter of fundraising.
Phil Rench, a former senior engineer for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is running as an independent candidate.
Collins first won election to the Senate in 1996 and won comfortable double-digit re-elections in 2002, 2008, and 2014.
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President Donald Trump and Maine Gov. Janet Mills clashed at the White House over executive order compliance earlier this year. (Pool via AP; Win McNamee/Getty Images)
She currently chairs the influential Senate Appropriations Committee.
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In her 2020 re-election, Collins faced off against Democratic State House Speaker Sara Gideon, in a hotly contested race that became the most expensive in Maine history. While polls indicated Collins trailing her Democratic challenger, she ended up winning the election by more than eight points.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
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