Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) is ending her bid for United States Senate, leaving populist Graham Platner to take on Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in the extremely competitive general election that could determine which party controls the upper chamber.
Although Platner faced multiple scandals early in his campaign, including scrutiny of a now-covered Nazi symbol tattoo and past Reddit posts, Mills struggled to gain traction in the polls. Mills had the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), whereas Platner is backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Mills said she did not have enough money to continue campaigning.
“When I decided to run for the United States Senate last year, it was because I believed Maine people were getting a bad deal from Washington and because the President of the United States was threatening our democracy and pushing our nation to the brink of disaster. I continue to believe that today,” Mills said in a statement on Thursday morning.
“While I have the drive and passion, commitment and experience, and above all else – the fight – to continue on, I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources. That is why today I have made the incredibly difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the United States Senate,” she added.
Mills gained national notoriety over her dispute with President Donald Trump over transgender-identifying athletes’ ability to play in women’s sports, The Daily Wire reported.
