Janet Mills has no plans to run for US Senate

By Christopher Burns, Bangor Daily News Staff

Gov. Janet Mills isn’t planning to run for the U.S. Senate next year.

She revealed that during an interview with the Maine Trust for Local News when Mills was asked about future political ambitions.

Mills insisted she remains committed to her role as governor through the end of next year. She is term-limited out of the Blaine House in 2026.

“At this moment, I don’t plan to run for another office,” Mills told reporters, while acknowledging plans change. But Mills said she hasn’t started a political action committee.

That comes as a poll from the University of New Hampshire, released Thursday, found Mills has the highest favorability among potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for the 2026 U.S. Senate race.

In the poll, 40 percent of respondents indicated they would like Mills to run for the U.S. Senate, compared with 36 percent support for U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of the 1st District and 29 percent for U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of the 2nd District.

So far, just one candidate has committed to running for the Democratic nomination, 35-year-old Jordan Wood, who announced this week. Other possible contenders include Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis, Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, and former state Sen. Cathy Breen, D-Falmouth.

Whether Mills would run has been a big question mark looming over the evolving Democratic field.

Collins, a Republican, announced in November she would seek a sixth term in the U.S. Senate.

Collins is the last Republican standing in New England’s congressional delegation, and she could face stiff headwinds in 2026.

In that University of New Hampshire poll, 71 percent of respondents thought she didn’t deserve another term in the U.S. Senate, including 84 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of Republicans. Sixty-seven percent of independents didn’t think voters should return Collins to Washington.

Just 21 percent wanted her to keep serving in the U.S. Senate, while 8 percent were uncertain.

Collins’ popularity has suffered during Donald Trump’s two nonconsecutive terms as president. Earlier this month, a Morning Consult poll found 51 percent of Mainers disapproved of her.

But Collins was in a similar situation back in 2020, with polls favoring her Democratic opponent, Sara Giden of Freeport. The Republican from Caribou defied the polls en route to a historic fifth term in the U.S. Senate