Maine 2026: Governor and Senate Party Combination

Maine Gov. Janet Mills, 77, has entered the 2026 Senate race as a Democrat, aiming to unseat longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Mills, recruited by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, framed her campaign as a fight against President Trump's agenda, arguing Collins has failed to sufficiently oppose it despite occasional criticism. She pointed to a widely shared exchange with Trump over transgender athletes as evidence of her willingness to confront him directly. Collins, who has not yet announced her own reelection campaign, did not respond to Mills' launch, though a Republican campaign group criticized Mills over her positions on LGBTQ rights and immigration.

Mills first faces a Democratic primary against Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and political newcomer endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders who has drawn large crowds statewide, along with brewery founder Dan Kleban. Maine is considered a top Democratic pickup opportunity, as it's the only state Trump lost in 2024 with a Republican incumbent senator up in 2026, in a Senate currently split 53-47 in Republicans' favor.

Graham Platner's Maine U.S. Senate campaign, which collapsed in July after a sexual assault allegation he denied, had roughly $1.7 million on hand when it ended. A new FEC filing shows the campaign has since spent over $2.3 million winding down operations. More than $70,000 in small-dollar donations were refunded, while staffers received a combined $350,000 in union-mandated severance, with the largest payout, over $20,000, going to Platner's wife, Amy Gertner. Roughly $350,000 went to consulting firms, partly for post-campaign work. None of the remaining funds went to Senate successor Troy Jackson or other candidates. Platner reportedly has under $100,000 left and has largely avoided public appearances since.

Three Oxford County, Maine sheriff's deputies — including Deputy Justin Brown, Sheriff Christopher Wainwright's challenger in the Nov. 3 election — have filed whistleblower complaints with the Maine Human Rights Commission, alleging illegal retaliation for cooperating in a misconduct probe. That earlier investigation led county commissioners to take the rare step of asking Gov. Janet Mills to remove Wainwright from office; Mills called his conduct unprofessional in 2024 but left the decision to voters.

Deputy Richard Murray and Cpl. Timothy Ontengco joined Brown in the complaints, describing escalating discipline, demotions, suspensions and surveillance after they raised concerns about missing evidence-locker firearms, uncertified school resource officers and selective enforcement. All say county officials failed to act despite repeated requests for an independent investigation. Wainwright called the complaints "a political hit job" by his opponent. This is not the first retaliation claim against him; the county settled a separate sex-discrimination lawsuit in 2024. The complaints could form the basis of a lawsuit and add fresh scrutiny to a closely watched sheriff's race.

Maine's 2026 Senate race is drawing national attention as Republican incumbent Susan Collins seeks a sixth term against Democratic challenger Troy Jackson, in a contest seen as pivotal to control of the chamber. Collins has emphasized independence from President Trump during campaign events, including a recent debate. Former Democratic-turned-independent Senator Joe Manchin, who endorsed Collins and called her "the soul of the Senate," is set to campaign alongside her at an event in central Maine this week. The race is one of several competitive statewide contests in Maine, alongside governor and congressional races, making the state a key battleground for the 2026 midterms.

Maine Democrats are demanding that Sen. Susan Collins address a ProPublica report alleging the FBI planned in 2024 to investigate whether she knew about illegal campaign contributions tied to Hawaii defense contractor Navatek. The report says a Collins fundraiser sought a $500,000 donation from Navatek executives in 2019, and CEO Martin Kao funneled $150,000 through a shell company after Collins allegedly committed to securing the company $32 million in Navy contracts. Kao and two other executives were later indicted for illegal campaign donations; Kao is now serving additional prison time after pleading guilty. ProPublica reported the probe stalled after Trump took office in 2021, amid a broader pullback in corruption investigations under his administration, including cuts to the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section and an FBI public-corruption squad.

Collins called the allegations "categorically false" and attacked Kao's credibility given his fraud and money-laundering convictions; the FBI said it already investigated and found nothing implicating her. Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the report "a political hit job." It lands six weeks before Collins seeks a sixth term against Democrat Troy Jackson, who called the allegations "corruption of the highest order," in a pivotal Senate race in a state Trump lost in 2024.

A New York Times/Siena University poll released Sept. 24 shows Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, leading Democratic challenger Troy Jackson 49% to 46%, the best result for Collins in any public poll since Jackson entered the race in July. A separate UMass Lowell/YouGov poll taken earlier in September had Jackson ahead by five points, underscoring how close and unsettled the race remains.

Collins is the only Republican senator up for reelection in a state Trump largely lost in 2024, making the seat a top Democratic target. She has historically outperformed polling, having won comfortably in 2020 despite trailing throughout that campaign. The Times poll was conducted largely before a Sept. 22 ProPublica report alleging a pay-to-play scheme tied to her 2020 campaign, which Collins denies, calling it a "partisan hit job." Jackson, a former Maine Senate president, entered the race after primary winner Graham Platner dropped out amid misconduct allegations. Voters see Collins favorably despite her largely pro-Trump voting record in 2025, while a majority in Maine disapprove of Trump's job performance.

A new Washington Post-Schar School poll finds Democrat Troy Jackson leading Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) 50 percent to 46 percent, with less than a month until Election Day. The race is among the most closely watched of the midterms, as Collins is the only Senate Republican defending her seat this cycle in a state that backed Kamala Harris in 2024, and the outcome could help determine control of the chamber, where Republicans hold a narrow majority.

The survey, conducted Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, shows Collins struggling with President Trump's unpopularity in Maine, with a majority of voters saying she has been too supportive of him. Jackson, a former Maine Senate president who entered the race after Graham Platner's campaign collapsed amid scandal, leads on affordability, health care, abortion and corruption, while Collins holds a wide edge on securing federal funding and bipartisan dealmaking. Collins has cast Jackson as too liberal for Maine, citing his past support for Medicare for All, while highlighting his earlier opposition to abortion rights.

Sen. Bernie Sanders campaigned across Maine this weekend for Democrat Troy Jackson, who is running a dead-heat race against five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins. At stops in Bangor, Lewiston and Biddeford, Sanders and Jackson tied high living costs, gas and heating prices, and health care expenses to Republican control of Congress, while Sanders called President Trump "the most dangerous president in the history of America."

Jackson, a fifth-generation logger and state legislator, pitched himself as a working-class candidate who has struggled with his own mortgage and medical bills, and pointed to his record expanding free school lunches and gun background checks. Both candidates backed Sanders-style proposals including universal health care, taxing billionaires, and funding affordable housing and child care. Collins, 73, has previously outperformed polling but faces headwinds from inflation, an unpopular war in the Middle East and Trump-related voter fatigue, even among traditionally moderate Mainers. Polls currently show the race tied ahead of the November 3 election.

Maine Democrat Troy Jackson says he does not regret telling Sen. Susan Collins to "shut up" during their final debate, after a protester opposing data centers interrupted the event and Collins suggested the demonstrator was one of Jackson's supporters. Jackson denied any connection to the protester, identified as Bowdoin College student Henry Elgie; the Sunrise Movement claimed him as one of its own volunteers. Collins called Jackson's retort "telling," citing past criticism of his temper toward female colleagues. Jackson has acknowledged past outbursts but won't apologize. Days later, Democrats remain divided over whether his cautious, establishment-aided campaign can match Collins in the closely watched Nov. 3 race.

Maine's U.S. Senate race between Sen. Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson is rated among the closest in the country, raising the possibility that neither candidate wins a first-choice majority on election night. If so, the state would conduct its first-ever statewide ranked-choice count in a general election, a process that has taken up to a week to complete in past elections. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows says her office is trying to speed up tabulation but is not promising quick results. Past ranked-choice counts in Maine have drawn legal challenges, and officials expect similar litigation here, echoing a recent Trump-backed effort to block certification in Alaska's ranked-choice Senate race.