June 11, 2025

 

David Costello to seek Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate

 

BRUNSWICK – David Costello, who was the Democratic Party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate from Maine in 2024 has entered the race to challenge Senator Susan Collins in 2026. Costello, 65, has extensive experience in senior-level state, local, and federal government administration, including high-level positions at USAID, where he managed foreign aid work in such conflict torn countries as Cambodia, Haiti, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo. In his lengthy public service career Costello has also worked as a senior aide to the Maine Secretary of State, the mayor of Baltimore, and the governor of Maryland. Additionally, he served as Deputy and Acting Secretary of the Maryland Department of the Environment where he helped to manage more than 1000 employees and a $380 million annual budget. A native of Old Town now residing with his family in Brunswick, Costello says he's running to "end the Trump Administration’s and Republican Congress’s reckless assault on our democracy, environment, and economy." Costello said it's crucial to "repair the damage already done and enact long-overdue reforms to ensure that all those from Maine and around the country, not just the wealthy, are provided with the education, job skills, healthcare, and other life enriching opportunities to thrive.”Costello added that “Senator Collins, aside from expressing concern, has done little to prevent the Trump Administration and her Republican colleagues from undermining our economy, our critical government programs, and our nation’s long-standing defense of democracy against authoritarianism and Russian aggression.” “In 2024," Costello said, "I campaigned to strengthen our democracy and bolster the federal government’s ability to address such pressing challenges as climate change; lack of affordable housing and health care; economic inequality; and insufficient retirement security. These are challenges the Trump Administration and Senator Collins and her Republican colleagues are either ignoring, or worse yet, exacerbating.” Additionally, Costello said that “having grown up in a working-class family in Old Town and having served for more than 30 years in senior-level government and non-government positions, both in the United States and abroad – managing, not simply legislating or talking about complex multi-million-dollar programs and operations – I believe that I have the broadest and most fitting knowledge and experience to defeat Senator Collins in 2026 and best represent Maine in the United States Senate.”