Collins and Jackson enter Maine's ranked-choice Senate vote

Jackson had roughly 100 days to campaign after winning the nomination

Maine held a Senate election Tuesday between Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, 73, and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson, 58, with control of the chamber for the rest of President Donald Trump’s presidency at stake. The Associated Press described Collins as “a moderate who is no stranger to difficult reelection campaigns.” Collins is the sole remaining Republican lawmaker in Congress from New England. Jackson, a former Maine Senate president, is the Democratic nominee after a nomination process that briefly left the party without a candidate.

The final outcome could take a few days or longer to determine. Maine is one of two states with ranked-choice voting, and Collins and Jackson are the only listed candidates on the ballot. Write-in candidates could keep either from reaching 50% of the vote, in which case a ranked count would take place.

Democrats saw the race as a top opportunity to flip a Republican-held seat. Maine has supported Democratic presidential candidates since 1992. The Associated Press described Collins’s reelection bid as occurring “at a moment when Trump is deeply unpopular.” National party leaders in Washington initially backed Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who lost the primary to Platner. AP described the nomination process as “a chaotic primary season that left the Democrats in disarray and briefly without a candidate.”

Graham Platner won the Democratic nomination amid controversies that included the revelation of a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol. Platner dropped out in July after facing an allegation of sexual assault, which he denied. An emergency convention then selected Jackson as the replacement nominee, leaving him roughly 100 days to travel the state and build support. AP described Collins as “one of the Senate’s most influential members.”

Jackson initially ran for the Democratic nomination for governor and lost before winning the Senate nominating convention in July. The July nomination gave him a rushed start. A fifth-generation logger from rural far northern Maine, he held events at churches, union halls and bars, focusing on workers’ rights and the high costs of housing and healthcare. Jackson also had long-standing support among progressive Mainers, having worked as independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign leader in Maine. At times, his campaign rhetoric resembled Sanders’, who joined Jackson for rallies in October.

“In the end, if you work hard, you should be able to build a decent life,” Jackson said at a campaign event near Portland in September. “But that’s not the reality right now.”

Collins was first elected 30 years ago, in 1996, and the Associated Press described her as “one of the most well-known figures in Maine politics.” She grew up in the northern Maine city of Caribou, where her family owns a sixth-generation lumber business. She worked for former Republican Sen. William Cohen for many years, beginning when Cohen served in the U.S. House, and later succeeded him in the Senate.

Collins has long touted her independence from Trump and her party, and she has shown a willingness to buck both. During a debate, she said she is “not exactly his favorite senator.” She has said she did not vote for Trump in 2016, and she voted to convict the president after his 2021 impeachment over his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. When Vice President JD Vance made trips to Maine, Collins did not appear with him. Vance told a crowd at a May rally that he sometimes gets frustrated with the senator and wishes she were more partisan.

Jackson and other Democrats portrayed Collins as beholden to Trump and criticized her for caving to his wishes. Jackson focused on her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump nominee who eventually helped overturn constitutional protections for abortion. “Would you trust her to pick the next Supreme Court justice?” Jackson asked during an October debate. Collins, who supports abortion rights, has said she did not regret her vote.

Collins stressed her ability to deliver for Maine and cited her longevity in the Senate, along with her status as a key player in powerful committee work and budget negotiations. She said those aspects of her service remain critically important for Mainers. “It has been 92 years since a Maine senator was chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the most powerful committee in the Senate,” Collins told reporters. “When I took over last year, I realized I had a once-in-a-century opportunity to help the state of Maine and pursue national priorities as well.”

Jackson said Collins had not done enough to stop Trump, noting that she voted to advance Trump’s signature tax cut and budget legislation out of committee before casting a “no” vote on final passage. “Sen. Collins is like an arsonist who helps set the fire and then she wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put it out,” he said.

Collins’s campaign criticized Jackson for telling her to “shut up” during a debate.

Democrats have long viewed Collins as a top target. She won handily in 2020, when Democrats won the presidential race and both U.S. House seats in Maine. Collins and Jackson were the only listed candidates on Tuesday’s ballot, leaving write-in votes as the factor that could send the contest to a ranked count.