Susan Collins
Chairs Senate Appropriations and awaits results in a too-close-to-call race for a sixth term, having closed her pitch on seniority, $1.5 billion brought to Maine, and independence from the White House.
Susan Collins is waiting on Maine. Polls closed Tuesday night with her race against Democrat Troy Jackson too close to call, and ranked-choice counting could delay the result. She waved off final polls showing Jackson up six: "Six years ago, all the polls were wrong, literally all of them."
Her closing case is clout. She says she is the first Maine senator in nearly a century to chair the Appropriations Committee, has delivered $1.5 billion to the state, and would rank fifth in Senate seniority if returned, ready to bring appropriations bills to the floor when the Senate reconvenes. She also claims wins lobbying the White House to remove tariffs on agricultural products and road salt. With Angus King she pressed the White House on heating oil; the Energy Department then released up to 315,000 barrels from the Northeast reserve, the stockpile's first use to lower prices, with Maine oil above $6 a gallon.
With Trump at 60 percent disapproval, her other closing argument is independence: "I don't work for any president. I work for you." She says she has worked with five presidents and that the country is "crying out for compromise and less chaos." Jackson's answer: she is there "100% of the time" when Trump needs her.
The final weeks turned raw. She drew labor backlash for an ad mocking Jackson's logging background, demanded a super PAC pull an ad mocking his cousin, and called this the first of her races with "nonstop lies" and "character assassination." She calls a convicted fraudster's contracts-for-cash claim "completely false." She says letting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act reach the floor let her author the $50 billion rural health fund, notes nine votes against the Iran war since April, and argues ICE should be reformed, not abolished.
On their plate
Polls closed Nov 3 with the contest unsettled, and ranked-choice counting could delay results in a race that drew more than $250 million. Final NYT/Siena polls put Jackson up six points; Collins waved them off, noting every poll was wrong six years ago. Vandals painted 'blood on her hands' outside her Bideford office as the Justice Department sent election monitors to three Maine cities.
Collins, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, says she is the first Maine senator in nearly a century to hold the gavel and would rank fifth in Senate seniority if returned. She points to $1.5 billion brought to a highly taxed state and has pledged to bring appropriations bills to the floor immediately once the Senate returns, citing relationships that make her effective.
With Trump at 60 percent disapproval nationally and final polls showing her trailing, Collins built her closing case on distance from her party's president: 'I don't work for any president. I work for you.' She says she has worked with five presidents and decides votes on what is best for Maine; Jackson's answer is that she is there for Trump '100% of the time' when he needs her.
The US-Canada trade war stood at the center of the race on election night: Collins claimed success lobbying the White House to remove tariffs on agricultural products and road salt, wins Jackson dismissed as too little against broader damage. She and Angus King also pressed the White House on heating oil, and the Energy Department released up to 315,000 barrels from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, the stockpile's first use to lower prices, with Maine heating oil above $6 a gallon amid the Iran war.
Collins drew a labor backlash for an ad mocking Jackson's logging background, with the Maine AFL-CIO saying she 'thinks working-class Mainers are beneath her,' and demanded a super PAC pull a spot mocking his second cousin. She called WinSenate ads linking her to Jeffrey Epstein 'character assassination' and denied as completely false a convicted fraudster's claim that her office traded naval contracts for campaign cash. She defends her handling of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which critics say cuts $100 billion a year from nutrition, education and health programs, by pointing to the $50 billion rural health fund she says she authored inside it.
Key relationships
Her Democratic opponent in the Senate race, still too close to call after polls closed Nov 3; four televised debates and the closing weeks turned personal, with Collins accusing Jackson of lying about an FBI inquiry into her adviser and Jackson telling her she is 'a little out of touch.'
Collins faulted Schumer, Jackson and their allies for the campaign's ugliest ads, calling this the first of her races with 'nonstop lies' and 'character assassination' and citing WinSenate spots linking her to Jeffrey Epstein.
Fellow Maine senator who joined her in pressing the White House over home heating oil; the Energy Department then released up to 315,000 barrels from the Northeast reserve, its first use to lower prices, and Collins said she was pleased the administration acted on their request.
