The first woman to be elected governor of Maine is set to try and accomplish what no candidate in her state has managed in more than 30 years: to defeat Republican Susan Collins.

But to even have the chance to do so, Democrat Janet Mills will first have to make it through what is already primed to be a contentious Senate primary between establishment voices and progressives at a crucial time in her party.

Mills announced on Tuesday she will run in Maine's 2026 Senate contest, offering Democrats one route to try to unseat the longtime GOP incumbent Collins and thin out the Republican Senate majority in Washington.

"I won't sit idly by while Maine people suffer and politicians like Susan Collins bend the knee as if this were normal," Mills said in an announcement video posted early Tuesda

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