Janet Mills

Janet Mills
Born	Janet Trafton Mills 30 12, 1947
Birthplace	Farmington, Maine, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician, lawyer
Known for	First female Governor of Maine, first female Maine Attorney General
Education	University of Maine School of Law (JD)
Website	[http://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/ Official site]

Janet Trafton Mills (born December 30, 1947) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the 75th governor of Maine since January 2, 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Mills became the first woman to hold the office of governor in Maine's history when she was inaugurated after defeating Republican Shawn Moody and independent Terry Hayes in the 2018 general election. Before becoming governor, Mills had already established a record of firsts in Maine politics, having served as the first female Attorney General of Maine across four nonconsecutive two-year terms — from 2009 to 2011 and from 2013 to 2019. Mills previously represented the towns of Farmington and Industry in the Maine House of Representatives and served as the District Attorney of Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford Counties from 1980 to 1995. She was reelected governor in 2022. In October 2025, Mills launched a campaign for the United States Senate in the 2026 election, seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge five-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins.

Early Life

Janet Trafton Mills was born on December 30, 1947, in Farmington, a small town in Franklin County, Maine. She was born into a politically active family; her father, S. Peter Mills Jr., was involved in public affairs in the state, and her brother, Peter Mills, also pursued a career in Maine politics. Growing up in rural western Maine, Mills developed an early familiarity with the civic traditions of New England, rooted in the community-oriented life of a small town.

Mills's upbringing in Farmington would shape her later political career, as she maintained deep connections to the area throughout her life. She would eventually return to represent the Farmington area in the state legislature, reflecting the strong ties she maintained to her hometown and the surrounding communities of Franklin County.

Education

Mills attended Colby College before transferring to the University of Massachusetts Boston, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. She then pursued legal studies at the University of Maine School of Law, where she obtained her Juris Doctor degree. Her legal education at the University of Maine provided the foundation for her subsequent career in public law and prosecution, which would span several decades in the state.

Career

District Attorney

Mills began her career in public service in law enforcement and prosecution. In 1980, she was appointed District Attorney of Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford Counties by Governor Joseph E. Brennan. She succeeded Thomas E. Delahanty II in the position. Mills served as district attorney for nearly fifteen years, holding the office until January 1995. During this period, she was responsible for overseeing criminal prosecutions across three counties in western Maine, gaining extensive legal experience that would inform her later roles in state government. She was succeeded by Norman Croteau.

Maine House of Representatives

Following her tenure as district attorney, Mills entered the state legislature. On December 4, 2002, she began serving in the Maine House of Representatives, initially representing the 78th district from 2002 to 2004 and subsequently the 89th district from 2004 to 2009. She succeeded Walter Gooley in the seat and represented the towns of Farmington and Industry, the area where she had grown up.

During her time in the legislature, Mills served multiple terms and was involved in legislative activities consistent with her legal background and her experience in criminal prosecution. Her tenure in the House spanned more than six years, providing her with legislative experience and relationships within state government that would prove instrumental in her subsequent election as attorney general. She was succeeded in the House by Lance Harvell when she departed to assume the attorney general's office in January 2009.

Attorney General of Maine

First Term (2009–2011)

On January 6, 2009, Janet Mills was elected Attorney General of Maine by the Maine Legislature, becoming the first woman to hold the position in the state's history. She succeeded Steven Rowe and served under Governor John Baldacci. In Maine, the attorney general is not directly elected by the public but is instead chosen by a joint vote of the state legislature, a process that distinguishes the state from most others in the nation.

Mills's first term lasted from January 6, 2009, to January 6, 2011. After the 2010 elections brought a change in the political composition of the legislature, Mills was succeeded as attorney general by William Schneider.

Interregnum (2011–2013)

After leaving the attorney general's office in 2011, Mills joined the law firm of Preti Flaherty in private practice. During this period, she maintained her involvement in Democratic politics. The Maine Democratic Party continued to call upon her experience and stature within the state's legal and political communities.

Second Through Fourth Terms (2013–2019)

Mills was re-elected attorney general by the legislature on January 7, 2013, succeeding William Schneider to begin what would become a continuous stretch of service in the position through January 2019. She served under Governor Paul LePage during this period, a tenure that was marked by significant conflict between the attorney general's office and the governor's office.

The relationship between Mills and LePage became a defining aspect of her tenure. In a notable dispute, Mills refused to represent certain legal positions advanced by the LePage administration, asserting her independent constitutional duty to uphold state law. The matter escalated to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, which was asked to weigh in on questions about the attorney general's authority to decline to represent the governor's legal positions. In 2017, LePage filed a lawsuit against Mills over her refusal to represent his administration's legal positions, further intensifying the public conflict between the two offices.

Mills continued to serve as attorney general through the end of her fourth term, which concluded on January 2, 2019, when she resigned to assume the governorship. She was succeeded as attorney general by Aaron Frey.

Governor of Maine

2018 Campaign

In July 2017, Mills announced her candidacy for governor of Maine in the 2018 election. The race drew significant attention, as incumbent Governor Paul LePage was term-limited and unable to seek reelection.

Mills won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination on June 20, 2018, after a ranked-choice count in what was one of the first major applications of Maine's ranked-choice voting system in a statewide primary.

In the general election, Mills faced Republican nominee Shawn Moody, a businessman, and independent candidate Terry Hayes, who was serving as Maine's state treasurer. The campaign attracted substantial outside spending; a Democratic super PAC invested nearly $500,000 in support of Mills's candidacy in September 2018 alone. The campaign was part of a broader, high-spending election cycle in Maine; the state's second congressional district race set a spending record of $31 million that same cycle.

Mills's candidacy was framed in part as a historic opportunity to break a gender barrier in Maine politics, as she sought to become the state's first female governor. She won the general election, defeating Moody and Hayes, and on January 2, 2019, she was inaugurated as Maine's 75th governor, succeeding Paul LePage.

First Term (2019–2023)

Upon taking office, Mills became the first woman to serve as governor in Maine's history, adding to her earlier distinction as the state's first female attorney general. She was the first governor in eight years to attend the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day event in Portland, signaling a shift in tone from the LePage administration.

Reelection and Second Term (2023–present)

Mills was reelected governor in 2022, securing a second four-year term in office. She has continued to serve in the role into 2026.

In February 2026, Mills was among the nation's governors invited to a meeting at the White House with President Donald Trump. In a notable episode, Mills initially indicated she would not attend the annual governors' meeting after the White House refused to invite two Democratic governors. However, she reversed her decision at the last moment and ultimately attended the breakfast meeting with the president.

Mills has also continued to exercise executive authority in routine governance matters; in February 2026, she directed the closure of state offices ahead of a major nor'easter expected to bring heavy snow and strong winds across Maine.

2026 U.S. Senate Campaign

On October 14, 2025, Mills launched her campaign for the United States Senate in the 2026 election cycle, seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge five-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins. The race has attracted national attention, as Collins is one of the few remaining Republican senators from a state that has trended Democratic in presidential elections.

During the early stages of the campaign, Mills has engaged in a series of campaign house parties and fundraising events. In January 2026, she held a campaign event in Portland where she discussed health care policy and the Affordable Care Act, criticizing Collins's record on the issue.

In February 2026, Mills attended a campaign meet-and-greet event in Washington, D.C., with Democratic lobbyists, drawing scrutiny from media outlets covering the intersection of her gubernatorial duties and campaign activities. Mills faces competition for the Democratic nomination from Graham Platner, whose campaign has attracted attention for its rapid rise in the primary contest. The Democratic primary is scheduled for June 9, 2026, and will be conducted using ranked-choice voting.

Personal Life

Mills has maintained strong connections to her hometown of Farmington, Maine, throughout her career. She comes from a family with deep roots in Maine politics; her father, S. Peter Mills Jr., was a public figure in the state, and her brother, Peter Mills, served in the Maine State Senate and ran for governor as a Republican.

Mills's husband, Stanley Kuklinski, died in 2014 from the effects of a stroke. His death occurred while Mills was serving as attorney general.

Recognition

Mills's election as Maine's first female attorney general in 2009 was recognized as a historic milestone in the state's political history. Her subsequent election as the state's first female governor in 2018 further cemented her status as a figure of historical significance in Maine politics, breaking a gender barrier in a state that had been governed exclusively by men since its admission to the Union in 1820.

Her attendance at the Portland Martin Luther King Jr. Day event in 2019, the first by a Maine governor in eight years, was noted by local media as a symbolic gesture of engagement with communities that had felt overlooked during the LePage administration.