Governor Janet Mills drops Maine Senate bid weeks before primary clash

Mills cites lack of funds as rival to unseat Susan Collins fuels Democratic rift under Donald Trump

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Janet Mills, the Maine governor, on Thursday dropped her bid for the US Senate just weeks before the Democratic primary in a race that reflected an internal party debate over how to win one of this year’s most competitive Senate seats.

“While I have the drive and passion, commitment and experience, and above all else – the fight – to continue on, I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources,” Mills said in a statement. “That is why today I have made the incredibly difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the United States Senate.”