The Rain in Maine Gets Heavier

The candidate briefly seen at the end of this YouTube video and reportedly a Chuck Schumer recruit to take on Sen. Susan Collins and flip the seat blue (see the AP story below), Maine guv Janet Mills would make total sense as a potential winner if you only think like an establishmentarian. A 77-year-old, lifelong politician who recently defied Trump in public with cameras present -- "I'll see you in court!" -- looks like the perfect, experienced (plugged into power already) Democratic prospect:

Great respect for that woman. In a room of cowering male sycophants, she was the one person with cojones. The president of the United States sez to your face, "If you don't do as I say, I'm gonna cut you off in a day of judgment," and you reply "Eff you, you punk," only you can't say the eff word, but it means the same thing when you say, "I'll see you in court!" So I can applaud that tough lady as a potential winner. 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Maine Gov. Janet Mills [77] is taking steps toward running for the U.S. Senate in 2026, sources tell The Associated Press, adding another big-name Democrat to the list of candidates expected to vie for key Republican-held seats next year.

Mills, who is term-limited next year, has made calls to prospective campaign managers, according to two sources with direct knowledge of her efforts. They spoke on condition of anonymity because Mills has not formally announced her candidacy.

Graham Platner 

Democrats would still face a difficult path to regaining the majority in a 2026 midterm election when they need to win a net of four seats, with most of the races on the ballot in states Republican President Donald Trump won comfortably last year.

I don't know, my brethren. Would Janet Mills, at 77 years old, be taking on the heavy lift of a senate campaign if Schumer hadn't promised her major Party help? Her entry will have huge impact on Graham Platner, the Maine oysterman with star quality who's already in the race and already attracting major rebel money. I profiled Platner. He's caused some genuine excitement.

Maybe Janet Mills beats him (and two or three other lesser-knowns) in the primary. And maybe she then beats Susan Collins. I'll applaud. But I'll do more than just applaud when my Party backs determined and clear-eyed workingmen and -women who know intimately the failings of the corporate establishment.