Mills did not mention Platner or the general election race in the announcement suspending her campaign, blaming her exit on a lack of financial resources she’d need to continue. Platner has outspent her $4.8 million to $1.5 million since entering the race, according to ad-tracking group AdImpact.
The governor pledged to spend the remaining eight months of her term fighting “relentlessly for the people of Maine.” “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 are surpassed only by their kindness, generosity, and compassion,” she said in the statement.
Despite a decorated political résumé, Mills’ age became a central fault for her when she entered the race. At 78, she would have been the oldest freshman senator in U.S. history, and she was asking voters for support in a moment when many Democrats say the party needs generational change. The contrast with 41-year-old Platner only sharpened those anxieties.
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