Keeping an eye on Maine politics since 2006. Tips/thoughts: collinswatch@protonmail.com. https://xitter.twitterapi.xyz/t.co/WwJ3K1qJMM
Joined January 2010
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Susan Collins's chief of staff/campaign manager joins his boss in complaining about Maine voters. tinyurl.com/4nkmcjsm #MEpolitics
NEW: In a bitter post-defeat interview with one of her favorite beltway media errand-runners (Carl Hulse of The New York Times) Susan Collins lashes out, putting the blame for her loss squarely on the voters themselves; says Mainers lost sight of what matters. #MEpolitics
Lots of thoughts and feelings but big thanks to the people of Maine for doing the rest of us a solid.
Anyone who thinks a blue wave made this inevitable doesn't understand Maine politics. #MEpolitics
Susan Collins, a unifying source of pride for Maine and avatar for her home state as recently as 9 yrs ago, has been defeated.
She made a devil's bargain w/ a madman and now, in an epic fall from from grace, has lost not only her good name but also her office. Shakespeare stuff.
Only about 26% of the vote is in but it's becoming increasingly difficult to see how Susan Collins pulls this out. #MEpolitics
Anti-choice woman whose top issue is abortion votes for Susan Collins specifically over that issue: Hard to get more directly at the disingenuousness fueling Collins's political identity than that.
Soon we'll find out if, 30 years in, enough Mainers saw thru the phony branding.
Voted for Susan Collins five times but not this time. #MEpolitics
I’ve been roadtripping through Maine for @WSJ—talked today with a wild blueberry farmer whose packaging costs were pummeled by Canadian tariffs. Then the Iran war raised prices for almost everything else.
He’s a Republican and voted for Susan Collins in each of her past elections. This cycle, he defected to Troy Jackson and said it was time to put a check on Trump.
wsj.com/livecoverage/midterm…
If Susan Collins wins there's a decent chance Trump gets to appoint a 40 year-old anti-choice MAGA acolyte to replace Alito for the next 40 years.
If she loses, he probably doesn't.
Those are some of the stakes. #MEpolitics
NYT reports the Trump administration is planning to roll back the scope of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, potentially to include protections for accessing abortion and fertility treatments:
nytimes.com/2026/11/02/busin…
Maine, you deserve better. Now is your chance to send someone who fights for you to Washington.
@TroyJackson207 is a fifth-generation logger who knows working families' struggles. As Maine’s Senate President, he fought to raise wages, lower the cost of prescription drugs, and provide free lunch to every student in the state.
So get out and vote on November 3! Find out all you need at jacksonformaine.com/vote.
Susan Collins camp seems to be floating the idea that if Collins loses it wasn't her (their) fault.
Here's another example of basically the same message: tinyurl.com/2k4c9xca #MEpolitics
"If Collins loses, it won’t be because she was a flailing incumbent — it will be because enough voters decided that voicing national frustrations was more important than maintaining her effective constituent services." - @carinemhajjar
washingtonpost.com/opinions/…
WaPo: Facing the race of her life, Susan Collins has retreated to a county that cast 1.7% of the votes in 2022. #MEpolitics
Maine anchor @GreggWGME: "Six years ago, even when the polls were showing Susan Collins was losing, there was a swagger within her circle, within her camp. A confidence that they think they could get it across the finish line...That swagger is not there this cycle." #MEpolitics
In 2020, every poll had Susan Collins losing. She won by nine points. This year she trails again, and nearly 6 in 10 Mainers still expect her to win.
@GreggWGME of @WGME tells @LyndsayMKeith what’s different inside the Collins camp this time.
Watch the full story: thenationalpress.com/p/tomor…
Troy Jackson is one of us. He’s a lifelong union member and a proven working-class leader who will never back down from a fight with the billionaire class. He's also someone we know will stand with us in our fight to win on our four core issues: adequate wages, affordable healthcare, retirement security, and time off.
That’s why the UAW is proud to endorse @TroyJackson207 for Maine U.S. Senate.
Drama elsewhere but for weeks now ME-SEN has felt...stable.
October surprise was 9/22 via ProPublica.
Hard to look at Susan Collins the same after that. Maintaining her team did nothing wrong -- in the face of credible evidence of illegality -- only made it worse. #MEpolitics
"Every study shows that I am the most independent senator on either side of the aisle."
Except it's just not true. Susan Collins is lying again. #MEpolitics
Bunch of things stick out about Susan Collins 2026 campaign as compared to the previous 3 we followed.
Maybe most striking is how mercenary and phoned in it has felt. The out-of-state canvassers but also a lack of flair and specificity.
Past efforts at least felt Maine-focused.
Fawning Susan Collins interview by WABI that nonetheless contains a telling moment:
Asked [10:15] about affordability, Collins talks a full 1.5 minutes and cites zero congressional solutions other than "increase in the weatherization program." tinyurl.com/3acabs6x #MEpolitics
Jackson's team hasn't much fought the idea that Susan Collins brings home the $$ -- probably cuz it's been so deeply ingrained in Mainers' minds by local media over the years (working hand-in-glove w/ Collins) and he only had 3 months to make his case.
Anyway it's just not true.
Link to the data here: tinyurl.com/y4rsrw3d
Maine does all right in federal grants per capita -- toward the middle of the pack. But ranking 21st out of 50 isn't what you'd expect based on the (puffed up) version of Susan Collins that comes through in legacy media. #MEpolitics
