Dems, Not Trump, Caused Mills to Drop US Senate Bid

Weak support from Democrats and persistent fundraising struggles drove Maine Gov. Janet Mills to end her U.S. Senate bid Thursday, according to the Washington Post, after a campaign that included high-profile clashes with President Donald Trump.

Mills drew national attention last year for a clash with Trump at a White House event over transgender women in sports, highlighting their political rivalry. But the episode did not translate into support for her campaign, which faltered amid weak backing from Democrats and fundraising struggles.

Mills cited her ability to "stand up" to Trump as a key pillar of her political identity. Trump pledged to end her political career. But the president didn't contribute to her unraveling, The Washington Post reported.

Mills, who was running to replace Sen. Susan Collins, consistently trailed progressive candidate Graham Platner in polling.

That came despite controversies surrounding Platner, a military veteran and oyster farmer, including his use of a slur for people with disabilities and decade-old Reddit comments about Black people not tipping at restaurants and about sexual assault in the military.

Platner has criticized the ultra-wealthy and foreign entanglements and has also called for new Democrat leadership in Washington.

Some primary voters "want a bomb thrower, and Mills is not a bomb thrower," said Heather Cox Richardson, a historian and outspoken Trump critic who is from Maine.

"Governance is slow and it involves a lot of expertise," she said.

"And it's just not terribly flashy. And I think that that's a problem for people who are trying to recover the democracy for ordinary people."

Mike Hurley, the former mayor of Belfast, Maine, agreed, telling the Post that "people who speak respectfully" get ignored while "angry people get action."

Mills said in a statement that she does not "have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources."

"I step back from campaigning with unending love, admiration, and hope for Maine people — a people whose hearts are filled with love and whose integrity and humility is surpassed only by their kindness, generosity, and compassion," she said.

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