Gov. Janet Mills made a campaign stop Thursday morning at Maine Beer Company in Freeport, where brewery co-founder Dan Kleban, a former candidate for U.S. Senate, endorsed her bid for the seat. The two shared a beer to mark the endorsement, underscoring Mills’ push to unify the Democratic base behind her.
But the event quickly moved away from beer and campaign smiles when reporters began pressing the governor on recent controversies. Asked by The Maine Wire about the 250 absentee ballots found in an Amazon box in Newburgh — and why she laughed off a question earlier in the week — Mills gave a sharp response. “Oh, The Maine Wire,” she sneered, before adding that it’s an “open investigation” and declined to comment further.
The governor also addressed questions about CNN reports that Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner had made disparaging remarks about police and identified himself as a communist. Platner is reported to have called all police bastards, racists and stupid. Mills said she had not seen the report but added, “I strongly disagree with his comments.”
[RELATED: Maine U.S. Senate Hopeful Platner Once Called Cops Bastards But Now Claims “It’s Not Who I Am”]
Turning to national politics, Mills criticized the ongoing government shutdown, calling it a “failure of governance” and placing the blame squarely on the Republican-led Senate and the White House. She used the moment to highlight her personal and professional experience, referencing her years as a district attorney and her role as stepmother to five children.
When asked how she would balance her role as governor with an active campaign for U.S. Senate, Mills brushed it off, saying, “When you want something done, call a busy person.”
Mills also condemned proposed cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs, saying that access to health care will be a central issue in her campaign. She framed herself as the strongest candidate to face Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in the general election, vowing to serve only one term if elected and casting the next few years as “critical for defending democratic institutions.”
Taking a look in the hypothetical rear-view mirror, Mills said that she would never have voted to confirm Robert Kennedy, Linda McMahon or Brett Kavanaugh. As expected, Mills again invoked her high-profile clashes with the president, emphasizing her record of standing up to him — though she offered few details on what she would specifically deliver for Mainers if elected to the Senate.
