Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced Sunday that she is pulling out of the Democratic contest for U.S. Senate, shrinking the field of candidates just days before the party must settle on a nominee to take on Republican Senator Susan Collins this fall.
In a written statement, Bellows said she believes she can do the most good by remaining in her current role as secretary of state, pointing to what she described as President Donald Trump’s escalating threats to democracy. She called on fellow Democrats to come together quickly, saying the party has no time to spare if it hopes to unseat Collins.
Bellows’ decision comes in the wake of a chaotic stretch for Maine Democrats. Their previously chosen nominee, Graham Platner, suspended his campaign on July 8 after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her during a relationship roughly five years ago. Platner has denied the allegation but acknowledged that pressure from both state and national Democratic leaders made it impossible for him to stay in the race.
Platner had locked up the Democratic nomination in June, capturing more than 70 percent of the primary vote. His path to the nomination had been cleared in April when his main opponent, Governor Janet Mills, dropped out of the running.
Maine’s Democratic Party now has until July 27 to select a new nominee through a party convention. The stakes are high nationally as well — Republicans currently hold a 53-47 Senate majority, and flipping Maine’s seat is considered a key piece of Democrats’ strategy to reclaim control of the chamber in the midterm elections.
Collins is widely viewed as the most vulnerable Republican senator heading into 2026, and she is the only Republican incumbent running for re-election in a state that former Vice President Kamala Harris carried in the 2024 presidential race. Harris beat Trump in Maine by approximately seven percentage points that year.
Despite those favorable conditions for Democrats, Collins has proven difficult to beat. She has held her Senate seat since 1997, and Democrats have not won a Senate race in Maine since 1988.
