Gov. Janet Mills’ exit from the U.S. Senate race in Maine handed Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer another public defeat, sharpening doubts about his political instincts and his hold on Senate Democratic leadership.
Her departure also underscored a deeper problem for Mr. Schumer: The candidate he tried to sideline has become the party’s strongest contender. Graham Platner, a 41‑year‑old Marine and Army veteran and oyster farmer who has electrified liberals, has consistently polled as Democrats’ best shot at unseating Republican Sen. Susan M. Collins, the Maine institution who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The dynamic has intensified questions about Mr. Schumer’s political judgment while his leadership is already under scrutiny.
Mr. Schumer, 75, had urged Ms. Mills, 78, to challenge Mr. Platner. By the time she entered the race, Mr. Platner had already become a breakout candidate, drawing crowds with his calls for Mr. Schumer to step aside and his criticism of both parties for backing a system that he says rewards the wealthy while leaving behind working‑class people.
Adam Green, co‑chair of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said Mr. Schumer’s push for Ms. Mills underscored how out of step he is with the party’s base and with Democrats more broadly.
“Chuck Schumer has a long history of dusting off old warhorses who should no longer be running instead of recognizing that we’re living in an outsider moment where people want a fresh shake of the system — economic populist vibes,” Mr. Green told The Washington Times. “That was the fatal flaw with his recruitment of a 78-year-old governor to run against an inspiring economic populist.”
He pointed to past Schumer‑recruited candidates who fell short — former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen and former Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold — and said the pattern is repeating this cycle in places such as Maine, Michigan and Iowa.
“From the party base to many establishment donors, it’s consensus at this point that Chuck Schumer had his day, but he’s way past his prime and should get out of the way,” Mr. Green said.
The Maine race is now shaping up as a national bellwether: a fresh‑faced, far-left populist outsider taking on Ms. Collins, 73, a seasoned Washington operator with deep ties across the state. The irony is hard to miss: If Mr. Schumer wants a real shot at flipping the Senate and becoming majority leader, then he likely needs Mr. Platner to defeat Ms. Collins.
After Ms. Mills suspended her campaign, the Senate Majority PAC, aligned with Mr. Schumer, quickly signaled its support for Mr. Platner.
“Susan Collins will be defeated in November,” spokeswoman Lauren French said. “Her years of voting against Maine families have left her in the weakest and most vulnerable position of her career. In contrast, Graham Platner has brought a new energy to the campaign, and we will continue our fight to defeat Collins with him as the presumptive nominee.”
The group has reserved $24 million in fall TV ads.
Mr. Platner said Thursday that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee had announced its support. Polling shows him with a narrow but consistent lead over Ms. Collins.
Republicans, meanwhile, also criticized Mr. Schumer’s judgment, but for far different reasons.
“Democrats’ presumptive Senate nominee in Maine is a self-proclaimed communist with a literal Nazi tattoo,” said Joe Gruters, chairman of the Republican National Committee. “Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, and the rest of their leadership are already embracing this nut job.”
The internal party pressure on Mr. Schumer has been building for months.
Calls for him to pass the leadership baton and for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez to consider a 2028 primary challenge intensified in the fall after he reversed himself and backed a Republican‑led spending bill to keep the government open.
Mr. Platner seized on that moment, urging Mr. Schumer in November to step aside after the bill advanced without an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act health care subsidies, a lapse that put coverage for millions of Americans at risk.
“This happened because Chuck Schumer failed in his job yet again,” Mr. Platner said in a video posted on social media. “They see all of this as a game. These are just numbers on a sheet of paper, not people’s lives.”
He is not alone in calling for new leadership.
Illinois Lt. Gov. and Democratic Senate nominee Juliana Stratton has said she will not support Mr. Schumer as leader, and Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow has taken the same position in her own Senate run.
Mr. Schumer has recruited several well‑regarded candidates this cycle, including former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and former Rep. Mary Peltola in Alaska. His preferred candidate in the Michigan Senate primary, Rep. Haley Stevens, is struggling against Ms. McMorrow and Abdul El‑Sayed.
A similar dynamic is playing out in Iowa, where Mr. Schumer’s pick, state Rep. Josh Turek, is facing a stiff challenge from state Sen. Zach Wahls, the liberals’ favorite. Mr. Wahls has leaned into that contrast.
“I’m not the pick of Chuck Schumer or the D.C. establishment. Fine by me. I’ve been clear from Day 1 that the status quo isn’t worth protecting,” he has said. “That means electing new leaders and taking on the corruption in both parties.”
Mr. Green said the moment is a warning for Democrats.
“Schumer should in no way interpret Democrats winning in 2026 as a mandate for his continued leadership,” Mr. Green said. “You’ll recall in 2022, Joe Biden misinterpreted Democrats overperforming as a mandate for him to run again, and that was a disaster. There’s almost an exact parallel between Biden and Schumer.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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