Press Releases/Statements
No Kings Rally Remarks – Portland, Maine Good afternoon. This isn’t 1776, but given the Trump Administration’s growing authoritarian attacks on our rights and freedoms, it sure feels like it.
To Win in 2026 Democrats Would Do Well to Unite and Support Real Change Sep 25, 2025 While it’s true that there are differences within the Democratic Party, it’s wrong, as some claim, to describe the Party as part of the same “corporate apparatus” as the Republican Party. The differences between the parties — and the core beliefs of their members — are undeniable.
Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate David Costello Urges No Vote on Question 1 and Yes on Question 2 in November BRUNSWICK (Sept. 25, 2025) -- Democratic U.S. Senate candidate David Costello will vote NO on Referendum Question 1 and YES on Referendum Question 2 in November and urged Maine voters to do the same. The two referendum questions will appear on Maine's Nov. 4 state-wide election ballot.
USAID, A Detrimental and Unwarranted Demise The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) ceased to exist on July 1, 2025, and its reckless and senseless demise will likely haunt American foreign policy and global interests for years to come. Created by President John F. Kennedy, USAID was an agency that for more than 60 years bolstered America’s reputation, influence, and interests abroad by providing needed humanitarian, economic, and political development assistance. Like hundreds of other dedicated Americans, I was proud to work for USAID in the 1990s and early 2000s. My work, in largely dangerous locations, centered on promoting peace, democracy, and economic stability in such conflict-ravaged countries as Cambodia, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo. In Haiti, we worked closely with the U.S. Army to implement more than 2,000 community improvement projects, from the drilling of wells to the construction of schools and clinics. In the Bosnia, I established the first U.S. government office in the then sharply anti-American Republika Srpska and ultimately worked regionally with U.S. and NATO militaries, and European diplomats and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to implement more than 2,300 peace-building projects. Projects that, working with courageous local partners, undermined hateful nationalist propaganda, organizations, and objectives. In all instances, our work stabilized communities and countries, saved countless lives and mitigated the migration of thousands of refugees. And although, as is the case with all government agencies, there was room for improvement at USAID, the agency and the vast majority of its vital programs did not deserve to be dismantled. I’m running for the United States Senate today, in part, to help resurrect the critical work of USAID and other essential agencies and improve the standing and performance of our federal government, both at home in the U.S. and abroad. America has always been a great nation, yet it’s been at best when it’s been fully, intelligently, and benevolently engaged in world affairs. The Trump Administration’s current approach is not promising. And, while it might have been a bit overstated, I agree with the sentiment that Senator John McCain shared when visiting us in Cambodia in 1993. That we, and, by extension USAID, were “doing God’s work.” David Costello Democratic Candidate for the U.S. Senate from Maine in 2026
Big, Beautiful (Disastrous) Bill Comments/Posts Not surprisingly, given that 1 in 4 families in Maine will be harmed, Senator Collins was given a pass by the Trump WH and GOP leadership to vote against the GOP’s debt-exploding and safety-net slashing “Big, Beautiful Bill.” A disastrous bill, that prioritizes massive tax breaks for the wealthy over the wellbeing of countless Americans, and legislation that she had a moral obligation to fight with every tool at her disposal, including her professed senatorial power and seniority. While I’ve suggested that Senator Susan Collins do a lot more than merely express concern, propose tweaks, or cast a hesitant vote against the Trump Administration and GOP Congress’s disastrous “Big, Beautiful Bill.” I suspect she’ll do what’s she’s generally done over the past 28 years in the U.S. Senate – just enough to appear reasonable and somewhat independent - but not enough to make a real difference. If you, like me, believe it’s well past time we made a real difference in Washington, please share this email with others and consider signing on to our campaign at costelloforsenate.com to help in defeating Senator Collins and begin the hard work of fixing our imperfect and terribly broken federal government. Senator Susan Collins must do far more than merely express concern, propose tweaks, or cast a hesitant vote against the Trump Administration and GOP Congress’s disastrous “Big, Beautiful Bill.” This deficit-ballooning, wealth-favoring monstrosity of a budget reconciliation bill is a direct attack on Maine’s working families, the safety net that sustains vulnerable Americans, and the clean economy jobs that our future depends on. Collins has a moral obligation to fight with every tool at her disposal to stop this harmful legislation. Anything less than full-throated opposition would make her complicit in a scheme that prioritizes massive tax breaks for the wealthy over the wellbeing of countless Mainers and Americans. Senator Collins, it is time to stand up, not waver.
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 has extensive experience in senior-level state, local, and federal government administration, including high-level positions at USAID,
OPINION: TRUMP AGENDA NOT REALLY ABOUT WASTE, FRAUD AND ABUSE To say that many of the actions being undertaken by the Trump administration are unprecedented and perilous is an understatement. No presidential administration has ever done so much that is so wrong in such a short span of time that it’s almost impossible to determine where to begin to push back or what to focus on.
WHY I'M RUNNING FOR THE US SENATE September 10, 2024 My first taste of politics was on picket lines as a boy as my father, an Army veteran, and grandparents struck for better wages and benefits at a grocery store in Bangor and a shoe mill in Old Town.
DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE DAVID COSTELLO URGES SUPPORT FOR LONG-OVERDUE REFORMS TO END CONGRESSIONAL DYSFUNCTION AND TACKLE OUR NATION'S MOST PRESSING PROBLEMS BANGOR, Maine – (On Friday, May 31st, at 7 pm. ET) In an address to Maine Democrats, U.S. Senate candidate David Costello urged fellow Democrats to back “long-overdue” legislative and constitutional reforms to better protect personal rights and freedoms and more effectively tackle such pressing problems as climate change, escalating gun violence, economic inequality, unaffordable housing and healthcare, and insufficient retirement security. Costello said “What clearly isn’t working in Washington, is doing more of the same. Fighting over a half-dozen House and Senate seats, when substantive systems reform is what is really needed.” Costello’s speech hit on a lot of points such as: his formative years, his qualifications and experience, and how he would strive to advance sound reforms and policies to end dysfunction in Washington and ensure that all Americans are provided with the security, education, job skills, and other life enriching to thrive.
DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE DAVID COSTELLO ISSUES STATEMENT ON GAZA Brunswick, ME – Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate David Costello issued a statement today in support of efforts to press the Netanyahu government to comply more fully with the Biden Administration’s humanitarian aid, cease-fire, and political settlement requests. Costello stated that “Hamas’s horrific assault on October 7 was wholly unjustified and Israel had every right, and indeed an obligation, to respond forcefully. No terrorist action, nor attacks from allied parties, like Hezbollah and Iran, should ever go unanswered. However, from the beginning, Israel’s military response in Gaza has been excessive and much of it indefensible. Instead of strategically and precisely focusing on the return of hostages and the eradication of Hamas as a military and political entity, Israel’s disproportionate actions have resulted in the wholesale and counterproductive destruction of much of Gaza and the deaths and deprivation of untold thousands of innocent Palestinians. President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and many others are correct to question the motives and detrimental decisions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing allies. Decisions that have not contributed effectively to the release of Israeli and American hostages and have resulted in growing animosity toward Israelis and in making Israel less secure. Criticizing Israel’s recent actions and leadership does not excuse the decades of counterproductive, undemocratic, and often deplorable actions of Palestinian and neighboring Arab leaders but is meant to reinforce the contention that the most constructive if not the only sensible way forward is to establish a durable cease-fire and peace settlement based on a credible two-state, Israel-Palestine solution. To that end, I support, and urge Senators King and Collins to support, efforts to convince the Biden Administration – which has increasingly urged Israel to protect civilians and aid in the provision of critical humanitarian assistance – to pause the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel until the Netanyahu government complies more fully with the Administration’s humanitarian aid, cease-fire, and political settlement requests. Having worked overseas in conflict-torn, authoritarian-ruled countries, I’ve witnessed first-hand the horrors of war and dictatorial rule, and I understand that armed conflict is sometimes necessary to end the harm caused by malevolent actors like Hamas, Al Qaida, ISIS, Balkan nationalists, and Vladimir Putin. Yet, I also appreciate that in almost all instances of armed conflict, innocents are harmed and given this, and the accompanying risk of stoking further extremism and violence, nations must always err on the side of protecting innocent non-combatants.”
IT'S TIME TO FIX WASHINGTON January 17, 2024 We need wholesale change in Congress and constitutional reforms to really create a government representative of and responsive to its citizenry.
MAINE VOICES: TOO HOT TO IGNORE – MUCH MORE ACTION IS NEEDED TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE August 17, 2023 We need to immediately develop and implement an aggressive national, science-based climate plan, including a panel that evaluates and reports on our progress and recommends needed adjustments.
DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE DAVID COSTELLO SAYS AN ALL THE ABOVE APPROACH WOULD LIKELY WORK BEST TO TACKLE GUN VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES June 26, 2023 Like many Mainers, I grew up learning to hunt and shoot and to handle guns safely and responsibly. I took gun safety very seriously then and, given the long-standing rise in gun violence, I take it even more seriously today.When people talk of gun safety today, hunting, target shooting, and gun ownership are seldom, if ever, really at issue. At issue, is the proliferation in the sale and violent misuse of non-hunting guns and magazines and the counterproductive weakening and rejection of laws designed to reduce gun violence. While I would never support denying responsible, law-abiding citizens their right to own a gun, I do support markedly strengthening our nation’s gun safety laws and regulations. Gun violence is on the rise throughout the United States, and appallingly, since 2020, it has surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death for American children. The fact that the U.S. House and Senate have done little over the last 30 years to address gun violence is unconscionable. Everything that can be done - from expanded mental health services, stricter gun crime sentencing, and increased community policing to waiting periods, universal background checks, and assault weapons bans – should be done to reduce gun related deaths, injuries, and crime in the United States. To continue to do less is unacceptable.
DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE DAVID COSTELLO URGES SUPPORT FOR TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY FOR MAINE'S FOUR INDIGENOUS TRIBES June 26, 2023 Brunswick – Democratic Senate Candidate David Costello today released a statement urging support for tribal sovereignty for Maine’s four indigenous tribes. Costello stated, “unlike the Nation’s other 570 federally recognized tribes, Maine’s Penobscot, Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, and Passamaquoddy tribes are unnecessarily and detrimentally excluded from automatically receiving a range of federal health care, economic development, environmental protection, emergency response assistance, and other benefits.” Costello noted that a recent Harvard University study concluded that tribal self-determination and government has contributed to significant economic growth and other benefits for the vast majority of other indigenous tribes in the United States. Additionally, and importantly for many rural towns and villages in Maine, the study also concluded that there were significant spill-over benefits for neighboring non-tribal communities. Costello added that the study found: “Unique to Maine, the federal Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 (MICSA) empowers the state government to block the applicability of federal Indian policy in Maine. As a result, the development of the Wabanaki Nations’ economies and governmental capacities have been stunted. Today, all four of the tribes in Maine—Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot—are stark economic underperformers relative to the other tribes in the Lower 48 states. The subjugation of the Wabanaki Nation’s self-governing capacities is blocking economic development to the detriment of both tribal and non- tribal citizens, alike. For the tribal citizens of Maine held down by MICSA’s restrictions, loosening or removing those restrictions offers them little in the way of downside risks and but much in the way of upside payoffs. Importantly, we find in this study that “nowhere to go but up” also applies to the Maine state government and Maine’s non-tribal citizens. From case after case, the pattern that has emerged under federal policies of tribal self-determination through self-government is one in which tribal economic development spills over positively into neighboring non-tribal communities and improves the abilities of state and local governments to serve their citizens.” Costello concluded, “As the study emphasizes, there is ‘nowhere to go but up’ for Maine and Maine communities and thus there is unlikely to be any substantial downside to granting tribal sovereignty to Maine’s four tribes. Moreover, granting Maine's tribes sovereignty is long overdue and the right thing to do both morally and ethically.”
U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE DAVID COSTELLO'S OP-ED June 13, 2023 To Truly Fix Washington, We Must Substantially Overhaul Our Governing Practices and Institutions For generations, we Americans have labored to establish a more just, secure, and prosperous nation. One in which all are treated fairly and all are provided with the opportunity to excel. And while we have made considerable progress over the years, we have yet to establish the kind of more perfect union envisioned by our most thoughtful founders and descendants. We have fallen short, in large part, because our governing infrastructure is as deficient and outdated as many of our roads, ports, and bridges. Partisan gridlock abounds, and our imperfect democracy is in danger of becoming even more flawed. The latest example being Washington’s current battle over the Nation’s debt limit. To fix Washington, we need to do more than simply change who we elect every two to six years. We need to substantially reform our governing practices and institutions, and we need to eliminate the excessive and corrupting influence that money, wealth, and disinformation have over our politics and government. Specifically, we should, in the near term: · Pass the Freedom to Vote Act. · Ban gerrymandering and eliminate the Senate’s filibuster. · Establish an independent Government Accountability and Performance Commission. · Impose term limits and retirement age requirements on federal judges, including Supreme Court justices. · Increase funding for non-partisan public news broadcasting. · Require social media platforms to adhere to reasonable public interest rules. · Ratify the “For Our Freedom Amendment” to better regulate campaign contributions and spending. And, over the longer term: · Abolish the Electoral College and establish a system of directly electing presidents and include ranked choice voting (RCV) when there are more than two candidates. · Restructure the U.S. Senate so that its allocation of power is more in-line with a state’s population. · Overhaul the U.S. House so that it is comprised of non-gerrymandered, multi-winner districts. · Revise the terms and impose 24-year term limits on U.S. senators and representatives. · Streamline the U.S. Constitution’s amendment process so that it is no longer virtually impossible to update our national charter. Specifically, modify the amendment process to require no more than 60% approval from both houses of Congress and ratifying support from states representing 62% or more of the nation’s population. While pursuing and achieving these reforms will not be easy, the potential benefits of doing so — including better-protected rights and freedoms and more adequately addressed problems like climate change, economic inequality, inadequate health care, shoddy infrastructure, underperforming schools, and insufficient retirement security — make attempting to pursue and achieve them well worth the effort. By David Costello Democratic Candidate for the U.S. Senate www.costelloforsenate.com