Mills Skips Penobscot Nation Forum, Leaving Stage to Her Two Rivals
The governor cited a scheduling conflict as primary rivals Platner and Costello address tribal sovereignty issues she has long resisted.
Gov. Janet Mills will not take part in an April 16 forum for Democratic U.S. Senate candidates hosted by the Penobscot Nation in Old Town, the Bangor Daily News reported.
Mills spokesperson Tommy Garcia pointed to a scheduling conflict with a speaking engagement elsewhere in Maine. The campaign wrote to the Wabanaki Alliance offering to meet at another time and to send recorded remarks or a surrogate to the forum. It also noted Mills agreed in February to three televised debates and two forums run by the Maine Democratic Party.
The event gives her primary opponents, Graham Platner and David Costello, a stage for tribal issues. Both support a sovereignty effort the Mills administration has opposed. The primary winner will face Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.
Mills has long been at odds with other Democrats over tribal sovereignty, preferring narrower changes. Under the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act, the state can regulate the tribes much as it does municipalities. Platner and Costello say the arrangement keeps federal benefits and rights from Maine tribes that other federally recognized tribes receive.
Three years ago, Mills vetoed a tribal rights bill that had support from both parties. In March 2026, she offered a different tribal rights bill with compromise amendments, including targeted cuts to income and sales taxes. William Nicholas Sr., chief of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township, called that proposal "a good-faith effort" by the governor's office.
This story was first reported by Bangor Daily News.
