Maine Governor Janet Mills drops US Senate bid to unseat Republican Susan Collins

WASHINGTON, April 30 (Reuters) - Maine Governor Janet Mills, a fierce critic of President ‌Donald Trump, dropped her bid to ‌unseat Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins on Thursday, clarifying ​a matchup that will be critical to Democrats' campaign to capture a Senate majority in November's midterm elections.

"While I have the drive and ‌passion, commitment and ⁠experience, and above all else - the fight - to continue on, I ⁠very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns require: the financial resources," ​Mills, a ​77-year-old popular two-term ​governor, said in ‌a statement.

Her withdrawal leaves Graham Platner, a progressive outsider who raised $3.25 million in the first six weeks of his campaign, as the leading Democratic candidate to challenge Collins, 72, a ‌formidable incumbent who chairs ​the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Maine's Senate ​race is ​one of seven contests expected to ‌play a pivotal role ​in November's ​midterm elections. Winning it would be critical for Democrats if they are to ​take back ‌a majority in the chamber, which Republicans ​currently control 53-47.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; ​editing by Scott Malone)