ALFRED –– Republican Sen. Susan Collins said on Friday that she looked forward to a “civil” campaign for reelection against Graham Platner, her presumed Democratic challenger.

Following Thursday’s announcement by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills that she was withdrawing her Senate candidacy, the party has coalesced around Platner, a military veteran and oyster farmer.

Mills, at 78, would have been the oldest freshman senator in history. She promised to serve one term if elected. Platner, a relative newcomer to politics, is 41. 

“I’m sure it must have been a hard call on her part,” Collins said of Mills’ decision. “I feel that we should thank her for her decades of public service to the people of Maine.”

Collins continued: “I know now for certain, or pretty much for certain, who my opponent will be. I look forward to what I hope will be a civil discussion of the important issues facing our country and the state of Maine.”

Collins, 73, is looking to secure a sixth term in the U.S. Senate, where she now chairs the powerful appropriations committee. 

Collins and her supporters have made it a point to highlight money she has funneled into Maine for projects ranging from healthcare to infrastructure. She was in Alfred Friday morning to attend the dedication of the new York County Regional Training Center for first responders. Collins secured $3.4 million in federal funding to contribute to the $24 million facility’s construction.

“The people that you serve and protect are deeply grateful for the skill, the courage and the dedication of our first responders,” Collins said. “I applaud the leaders of York County who had the vision to bring this about.”

Meanwhile, Platner’s ascendancy has had national reverberations. 

Local Indivisible chapters, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who's an independent but caucuses with Democrats, and other leaders from the party's progressive wing had already lined up behind Platner prior to Mills dropping out.

Platner on Friday insisted he would continue to speak out against his party's leadership, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who helped recruit Mills to unseat Collins.

“The fact that we’ve been able to do all of this without the help of the establishment, it puts us in such an amazing position,” Platner said on MS NOW's “Morning Joe.” “My criticisms of the party leadership, my criticisms of the party, they have not changed, and I’ve been very vocal about that since the beginning. But we will absolutely take the help that we can get.”

Schumer's team did not make any apologies for backing Mills over Platner.

“Leader Schumer’s North Star is taking back the Senate," Schumer spokesperson Allison Biasotti said. "When no one thought a Senate majority was possible just a year ago, he made it a reality by recruiting great candidates across the country and laying out an agenda for lower costs and better lives for Americans.”

Matt Bennett, co-founder of the center-left group Third Way, said that Platner’s emergence in Maine “without a doubt” will make it harder for Democrats to defeat Collins in November. 

“Our message is if you would like to beat Donald Trump’s Republicans, you better nominate people who can win,” Bennett said.

With reporting by Sean Murphy of Spectrum News and Associated Press Political Writer Steve Peoples.