When Maine Governor Janet Mills officially announced her campaign for US Senate last week, she put her support for transgender rights — and legal and political wins over the Trump administration — front and center.

Reports LGBTQ Nation:

In a message posted across social media platforms, Mills discussed how she stood up to the president earlier this year as he tried to force the state to ban trans girls from participating in school sports.

“See you in court,” she said after he threatened to end Maine’s federal education funding to punish the state for not following his orders in February. By May, Maine had settled its lawsuit with the administration over its attempt to freeze $3 million in federal funds allocated by Congress.

“There was no investigation, there was no notice, and there was no lawful process that was followed,” the state’s attorney general said at the time. “Maine had no choice but to bring suit to confront this unlawful action by the USDA.”

“I told him I’d see him in court,” Mills said at the time. “Well, we did see him in court, and we won.”

“It’s the Congress that makes the law, not the president… These bullying tactics, we will not tolerate them… I am confident when we see him in court, we will win time and time again.”

Mills used those lines in her post this past weekend, adding that she won’t “tolerate bullies.”

“This is proof that when we fight, we win,” she wrote.

Mills has also highlighted her support for expanded healthcare access, citing her administration’s expansion of Medicaid when she first took office in 2018. She claims that the Medicaid expansion has enabled 100,000 state residents to gain access to healthcare coverage.

Mills, who is 77, said she will serve only one six-year term in the Senate. If she wins the primary, she will face centrist Republican Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in the general election next year.

“I think the moment demands a lot more than we’re seeing from Susan Collins,” Mills told the AP last week. “It demands a fighter and someone who will stand up and fight for the future of democracy and fight for the interests of Maine people, just as I have done for my entire career.”

Read the complete LGBTQ Nation story here.

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