Maine Gov. Janet Mills is keeping her distance as fellow Democrat Graham Platner faces mounting allegations of abusive behavior, even as party insiders hint at a possible path for her to re-enter the Senate race she suspended in April.
Multiple sources close to Mills indicate she has been receiving encouragement from supporters to reactivate her campaign for the Democratic primary set for Tuesday. Her name remains on the ballot after she suspended active campaigning without formally withdrawing, leaving the door theoretically open for a revival. But conversations with more than a dozen Democrats across Maine and national politics reveal no organized effort to resurrect her candidacy heading into the vote.
Former state Sen. Lynn Bromley confirmed she directly urged Mills to jump back into the race, telling NBC News she wanted the governor to know "there's still a cheering section out there." But when asked about Mills' response, Bromley was blunt: "She's out of money, so how much re-engaging can you do?"
Bromley said Mills wants voters to know they still have a choice and don't have to accept Platner as their nominee. She emphasized she was not speaking on behalf of the campaign, only noting that Mills had made clear she remains on the ballot.
A source close to Mills told NBC News that "people across Maine are reaching out to tell her they're voting for her and encouraging her to get fully back into the race." One Democrat involved in Mills' campaign suggested she would only move forward if Platner stepped aside, rather than challenging him directly, describing a loss to Platner "especially now" as an embarrassment to the outgoing governor.
That same operative pointed to a mid-July deadline under state law, not Tuesday's primary, as the real moment of reckoning. Platner would need to step aside by 5 p.m. on July 13 to allow the state party committee to replace him on the ballot. Past that date, he could only be replaced for extraordinary circumstances like catastrophic illness.
Mills' national allies appear less enthusiastic about her comeback. Spokespeople for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee did not respond to requests for comment about whether party leaders have approached Mills to reconsider her candidacy. DSCC Chair Kirsten Gillibrand had initially recruited Mills to challenge longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins, but some Democrats blame the committee's failure to help with fundraising for Mills' struggles against Platner.
Mills initially suspended her campaign after struggling to raise money and gain ground against Platner, a military veteran and oyster farmer running as a staunch progressive who held commanding leads in public polling. She had told the Portland Press Herald on Sunday that she simply suspended active campaigning rather than withdrawing, a distinction that kept her on the ballot.
Around two weeks before that statement, Bromley said, a half-dozen women supporting Mills considered launching a paid social media effort to inform Maine voters that Mills was still an option. The group ultimately decided a paid push was not feasible and never coordinated with the Mills campaign.
The new urgency around Mills stems from explosive allegations against Platner. The New York Times reported Thursday that three of Platner's former girlfriends described his behavior as volatile and unsettling. One woman, Lyndsey Fifield, who dated Platner from around 2013 to 2015, alleged he twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom, and held the door closed so she couldn't escape. Fifield, who has worked for Republican groups, also said Platner knew at the time that a tattoo he has since covered up was a Nazi symbol.
Platner has denied all allegations of physicality and knowledge of the tattoo's meaning, characterizing them as politically motivated statements. The Times story also included interviews with other women who gave largely positive accounts of their relationships with him.
Despite the revelations, party veterans see little movement toward a Mills resurrection. Tony Buxton, former chairman of the Maine Democratic Party and friend of Mills, said he does not know of any organized effort in a political sense to create a campaign around her. He told her after she suspended her campaign that he was with her whatever she decided, but said he had not spoken with her since Platner's troubles surfaced.
Bromley said the Thursday allegations did not spark renewed organizing. "No, it's too late to move the needle, everybody thinks," she said. "So we're all just using our own social media platforms."
Some Democrats were harsher on Mills, arguing she had simply run a weak campaign and was now trying to save face. One operative dismissed the swirl around Mills as an attempt to rehabilitate her image, saying she was "a lackluster campaigner" who "didn't make her case."
Still, party officials are discussing contingency plans in case Platner faces mounting pressure to exit. Names being floated as potential replacements include Mills, brewery owner Dan Kleban who had previously run for Senate, and some candidates competing in Tuesday's gubernatorial primary. One source familiar with the discussions called the scenario "a bit of a mess," but any such plan requires Platner himself to step aside. He has insisted he is staying in the race.
For Platner, the weekend ahead is critical. Senior Democrats are monitoring polling closely to determine whether he can credibly argue he remains the strongest Democrat to challenge Collins. Turnout at campaign events and the pace of his small-dollar fundraising will serve as key metrics.
As for Mills, she has not endorsed Platner. She had suggested in April, before suspending her campaign, that she would support the eventual Democratic nominee, saying "I've always been a Democrat. I've always supported the Democratic candidate."
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Mills got burned once by betting on her own strength, and there's no indication she's ready to gamble again on a race that's suddenly messier than when she left it."
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