AUGUSTA — A Biddeford Democrat who says she wants to “audit the Pentagon and fund the people” is the latest entrant into the race to unseat U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.
Daira Smith-Rodriguez has worked as a civilian contractor for the Air Force, where she audited projects to save “billions of taxpayer dollars.”
The daughter of a brigadier general, she said in a recent statement that she feels called to serve.
“I answered that call as a civilian leader in the U.S. Air Force, where I have spent nearly 15 years saving billions of taxpayer dollars and protecting our service members from corporations trying to take advantage of our country,” she said in the statement.
Smith-Rodriguez is the latest Democrat to announce her intention to run in the June primary, with the winner facing Collins in November 2026.
Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat facing term limits next year, is mulling a run, but has said she won’t announce a decision until November.
Others who have filed with the Federal Election Commission include: Dan Kleban, a brewery owner from Cumberland; Graham Platner, an oyster farmer from Sullivan; Jordan Wood, a former Washington congressional staffer from Bristol and David Costello, a former government official from Brunswick.
In announcing her campaign, Smith-Rodriguez listed several priorities, including addressing the state’s housing crisis, making healthy food easily accessible and affordable, protecting healthcare and passing a federal law to protect the right to an abortion.
“Maine needs a senator with the experience of taking on the wealthiest interests in America,” she said in a campaign video. “Someone who understands the courage it takes to stand up to truly powerful people.”
