By ALANNA DURKIN

Associated Press

AUGUSTA — The Democrat aiming to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November said Friday that she’s planning a 350-mile trek across Maine where she hopes to listen to voters’ concerns and learn about thriving local businesses.

Shenna Bellows’ three-and-a-half-week journey by foot from Houlton to Kittery will begin next month. On the trip, which she’s calling a “Walk with Maine for Jobs and the Economy,” she plans to visit 63 communities and is inviting residents to walk a few miles with her.

“We will be walking with Mainers to promote a different vision for our economy and the future of our country and our state,” Bellows said on Friday at Lamey-Wellehan shoe store in Augusta, where she was joined by a group of supporters.

Bellows is following in the footsteps of William Cohen, who walked 600 miles across the 2nd Congressional District when he ran for the seat in the 1972, before becoming Secretary of Defense.

The former executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine from Hancock vows that she would be a voice for the working class in the Senate, but has acknowledged that she faces a tough battle in her effort to challenge popular incumbent Collins, now in her third term.

Collins has raised more than $5 million for her re-election effort, compared to just over $1 million for Bellows. Collins, a moderate Republican who’s known as a dealmaker in the Senate, was recently endorsed by her colleague independent Sen. Angus King, who causes with Democrats.

Bellows said on Friday too many politicians fail to connect with the public. She said she hopes the trek across Maine will allow her to take those experiences with her to Washington if she’s elected in November.

“We change things,” she said. “We can stand up for true grassroots participation in our politics and that’s what the walk represents.”