A brewery owner on Wednesday launched a Democratic bid for Senate in Maine to challenge GOP Sen. Susan Collins in the 2026 election.
Dan Kleban, 48, the co-founder of the Maine Beer Company, said his campaign would focus on cost-of-living issues and how he started the brewery after being laid off during the 2008 recessions, NOTUS reported.
“I think Democrats, in particular, we need to show people that we can move beyond the anger and we can move towards action — and paint a picture, and paint a vision for the future of this country that makes their lives better, that revives and restores the idea of the American dream,” Kleban told NOTUS. “Again, if you’re willing to work hard, you have an idea, you should be able to achieve it.”
Other Democratic candidates include former Capitol Hill staffer Jordan Wood and Graham Platner, a newcomer to campaigns who received the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The candidates are all waiting to see if Maine Gov. Janet Mills enters the race. The two-term governor has said she is “seriously considering” a bid, and would likely receive backing from Democrats in Washington, D.C., if she did.
Kleban has a picture with Mills on his Instagram account, and praised her as a “great governor,” but indicated he would make a decision about his campaign’s future after she announced her plans.
“If she decides to run, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Kleban said. “That’s just premature though.”
Kleban said he considers himself a pragmatic Democrat, citing his small business experience and his interest in making Democrats the party that helps build again, including housing and a rural health care network.
He also said that, as a senator, he would be open to compromise, since his experience as a small business owner taught him that no one person holds all the good ideas.
“We’ve had enough of the performative politics and trying to get clicks by saying the most outrageous things,” Kleban said. “It might sound good, it might generate some press. But at the end of the day, it’s not doing anything to lower people’s grocery bills, obviously. It’s not doing anything to bring down the cost of housing, health care and education.”
He added that Collins’ vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was what angered him the most about her, especially after the court overturned Roe v. Wade.
