{"id":2498596,"date":"2025-10-14T05:21:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T09:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/janet-mills-looming-maine-senate-run-causes-party-clash\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T05:24:53","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T09:24:53","slug":"janet-mills-looming-maine-senate-run-causes-party-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/janet-mills-looming-maine-senate-run-causes-party-clash\/","title":{"rendered":"Janet Mills\u2019 looming Maine Senate run causes party clash"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjanet-mills-looming-maine-senate-run-causes-party-clash%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2498596&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Maine Governor Janet Mills is expected to announce her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Susan Collins, setting up a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/americans-are-heading-to-the-polls-across-the-country-here-are-some-of-the-biggest-races\/\" title=\"Americans Are Heading To The Polls Across The Country. Here Are Some Of The Biggest ...s\">high-profile race<\/a> between two well-known politicians. At 77, Mills would become the oldest freshman senator if elected, highlighting a broader trend in the Democratic party of relying on older, established candidates for critical Senate races. This has sparked debate within the party, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jerry-nadlers-house-retirement-opens-floodgates-for-eager-democratic-successors-in-new-york\/\" title=\"Jerry Nadler\u2019s House retirement opens floodgates for e...r Democratic successors in New York\">younger progressives push<\/a> for generational change and view longtime politicians like Mills as part of an out-of-touch establishment.<\/p>\n<p>Mills faces a crowded Democratic primary with mostly younger contenders, but national party leaders view her as the strongest challenger to Collins. Republicans aim to use the age and ideological differences among the Democratic candidates as a campaign issue, questioning Mills&#8217; record as governor and framing her as a symbol of establishment failure. The race reflects ongoing tensions within the Democratic Party over leadership, age, and the future direction of the party, with some Democrats expressing concern over the aging profile of many elected officials.Despite these challenges, there is speculation that Democrats may unify behind Mills to try to defeat Collins and regain Senate control.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Janet Mills&rsquo; looming Maine Senate run sets up generational clash among Democrats<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2369259\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/janet-mills\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Janet Mills<\/a> (D-ME) is widely expected to officially announce her candidacy Tuesday for the Maine Senate seat held by Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/susan-collins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Susan Collins<\/a> (R-ME), teeing up a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >perennial high-stakes battleground race<\/a> against two longtime politicians with broad name recognition.<\/p>\n<p>The likely campaign by Mills, 77, exposes a trend this cycle of Senate Democrats&rsquo; establishment wing relying on an older string of candidates to carry the party&rsquo;s long-shot quest of retaking the upper chamber.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3849006\/john-bel-edwards-louisiana-senate\/\">Ex-Louisiana Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards says he won&#8217;t run for Senate<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3848661\/witkoff-fundraiser-kentucky-senate-nate-morris\/\">Witkoff family to host fundraiser for Nate Morris, Ramaswamy to speak<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3848551\/new-jersey-county-ballot-design-unlawful\/\">New Jersey county ordered to fix &#8216;unlawful ballot design&#8217; that favored Democrats<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Mills would be 79 if she takes office, making her the oldest freshman senator in U.S. history. She joins Democrats such as former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who are also seeking to knock off Republican senators in their respective states. If elected and sworn in, Cooper will be 69, and Brown will be 74.<\/p>\n<p>With the Senate&rsquo;s average age <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2025\/01\/16\/age-and-generation-in-the-119th-congress-somewhat-younger-with-fewer-boomers-and-more-gen-xers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nearly 65<\/a>, the Senate hopefuls aren&rsquo;t much older than many of their would-be colleagues. But the trio, if they secure their party&rsquo;s nominations, would buck a growing trend among Democrats of calls for generational change among its aging members.<\/p>\n<p>If she&rsquo;s reelected to a sixth consecutive six-year term, Collins would be 74 when sworn in. Mills <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3846563\/maine-governor-janet-mills-announces-run-for-senate-but-took-down-campaign-post\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">preemptively announced her campaign<\/a> last week before deleting a posted launch video and donation link.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure it&rsquo;s the age that matters. I think what matters is they&rsquo;ve been around so long,&rdquo; Democratic strategist Brad Bannon said of the party&rsquo;s candidates. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s more that they&rsquo;re perceived by young progressives as part of a political establishment they don&rsquo;t like very much. That is a problem Mills is going to have to cope with.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Mills will join an already crowded primary field of mostly younger political newcomers, but she&rsquo;s viewed by national Democrats and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as the strongest competition to Collins. Others in the race include 48-year-old brewery owner Dan Kleban, 35-year-old former congressional chief of staff Jordan Wood, and 41-year-old military veteran and oyster farmer Graham Platner, backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).<\/p>\n<p>The campaign arm of Senate Republicans is seeking to make age and the generational and ideological split among the Democratic primary contenders an issue in the race.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Maine Democrats are locked in a bruising fight between Chuck Schumer&rsquo;s out-of-touch<br \/>establishment and Bernie Sanders&rsquo; far-left radicals,&rdquo;&nbsp;said Joanna Rodriguez, the communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. &ldquo;Janet Mills wants to be the oldest freshman senator in American history after a record of failure that turned Maine into one of the weakest economies in New England. No matter which Democrat emerges, we&rsquo;re confident Mainers will continue to trust independent problem solver Susan Collins to keep delivering for them.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The NRSC unveiled a new anti-Mills <a href=\"https:\/\/www.meetjanetmills.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">opposition website<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=I0zHp_SVyeQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">digital ad<\/a>, which was generated, in part, using AI software.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;As governor, Janet Mills failed Maine. Now, she wants a promotion,&rdquo; the ad states, citing her stances on state taxes, transgender athletes, immigration, and the economy. &ldquo;Luckily for Maine, the answer is simple. No thanks, Janet.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Susan Wild, a former Pennsylvania Democratic congresswoman who was narrowly unseated last year by Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), lamented that Mills was too old to run.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Janet Mills is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/molly-ringwald-explains-why-she-turned-down-lead-role-in-pretty-woman\/\" title=\"Molly Ringwald Explains Why She Turned Down Lead Role In \u2018Pretty Woman\u2019\">ten years older<\/a> than I am, and now I&rsquo;m wondering why I decided not to run for Congress again next year because I didn&rsquo;t want to be part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meghan-mccain-im-over-dr-fauci\/\" title=\"Meghan McCain: \u2018I\u2019m Over Dr. Fauci\u2019\">aging problem<\/a> in Congress,&rdquo; Wild posted. &ldquo;And, if she wins, her term would be SIX years, making her 84 at the end of her first term.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Maine Gov. Janet Mills speaks to the media in this July 19, 2023, file photo, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo\/Robert F. Bukaty, file)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the House, where the average age is younger at 57.5, older Democrats face increasing pressure to step aside for younger generations but have so far rebuffed such calls. Three House Democrats, all in their 70s, have died while in office since March.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), 88, is seeking a 19th consecutive term as a nonvoting delegate. She&rsquo;s being challenged by other Democrats, including former Democratic National Committee official Kinney Zalesne and D.C. Council members Brooke Pinto and Robert White Jr.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), 49, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RoKhanna\/status\/1973935012501463157\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has called on<\/a> Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the 86-year-old who stepped down in 2022 as the House Democratic leader, to &ldquo;step aside&rdquo; over his ties to the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And you wonder why the majority of Democrats are fed up with our leaders &amp; are done with the status quo,&rdquo; Khanna recently posted. &ldquo;Step [aside], make way for new leaders.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The age debate boiled over earlier this year at DNC headquarters after national party leaders <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3473971\/david-hogg-vindicated-four-years-dnc-mamdani\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ousted former Vice Chairman David Hogg<\/a> for stirring controversy by pledging to financially bolster primary challengers to older Democratic incumbents.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3846563\/maine-governor-janet-mills-announces-run-for-senate-but-took-down-campaign-post\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MAINE GOVERNOR JANET MILLS ANNOUNCES RUN FOR SENATE, BUT TOOK DOWN CAMPAIGN POST<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But Bannon, the Democratic strategist, also sees a potential scenario in Maine reminiscent of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, where anti-establishment progressives still rallied behind Joe Biden in a unified effort to defeat President Donald Trump in the general election.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think even insurgent Democrats are so intent on beating, and getting rid of, Collins and eking out a Democratic Senate majority just to slow Trump down that they&rsquo;re going to be willing to overlook their concerns about establishment figures,&rdquo; Bannon predicted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Janet Mills&#8217; Senate bid sparks generational clash in Maine Democrats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3108,"featured_media":2498597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25098678766550.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[34059,54091,54092,43633,44994],"class_list":["post-2498596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-election-2024","tag-janet-mills","tag-maine-senate","tag-party-conflict","tag-political-clash"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25098678766550.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2498596"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2498600,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498596\/revisions\/2498600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2498597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2498596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2498596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2498596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}