1. United States
2. Maine
3. Letter

Thank you for all the work you have done as Governor, and for your lifetime of work making Maine a better place. I am so proud to have voted for you twice. You have represented Maine well with all your policies and with your tough talk repudiating Trump’s absurd yet successful drive to bully the country into accepting authoritarian policies. I know there is a lot of pressure from the Democratic Party for you to run for the US Senate next year. I’m writing today to respectfully ask you not to do that. I think the only way for Democrats to regain power on the national stage is for a new generation of politicians to step up to the plate and take that power. The most powerful argument against the GOP is showing voters how their policies are crushing working class people, and the best people to make that argument are the people who are trying to build businesses and raise families. We need to engage younger voters, and they may listen to their peers before they rely on their parents’ generation, the people who have been in power while our country shifted to this dystopian nightmare. I’m not asking you to step away from politics altogether. If I were running for office I would treasure your advice and respect your experience. I’m sure many of the emerging candidates would value your expertise. But I feel strongly that it’s time for the Democratic Party to acknowledge that the status quo is not working right now. Please do not run for US Senate.