Susan Collins Concedes as Troy Jackson Wins Maine Senate Race, Ending Her 30-Year Run

Republican Sen. Susan Collins conceded Maine’s U.S. Senate race to Democrat Troy Jackson early Wednesday, Nov. 4, ending a Senate career that began in 1997. The Associated Press called the contest for Jackson just after 1 a.m. ET with more than two-thirds of precincts reporting, Maine Public reported. Collins conceded before the AP made its call.

The result flips a seat Republicans had held for nearly three decades and adds to the Democratic Senate majority won earlier Tuesday night.

Did Susan Collins win?

No. Collins lost her bid for a sixth term. In a statement after calling Jackson, she said:

“It has been the honor of my life to serve the people of Maine in the United States Senate. I’m proud of all I have been able to accomplish for our state and for our country in the past 30 years.”

She added that she had called Jackson to congratulate him and assure him her staff would work for a smooth transition, according to Maine Public.

Maine Public noted that no sitting Maine senator had lost reelection since 1978, when Republican William Cohen defeated Democratic Sen. William Hathaway. Collins later worked for Cohen and won his seat in 1996 after he retired. NPR reported that Jackson will be the first Democrat to represent Maine in the Senate since 1995.

Who is Troy Jackson?

Jackson, 58, is a fifth-generation logger from rural Aroostook County and a former president of the Maine Senate, AP reported. He went to work as a lumberjack at 19 and entered politics after leading a loggers’ blockade at the Quebec border in the late 1990s, then served nearly 20 years in the Legislature.

He was a late entry. Graham Platner, an oyster farmer who won the Democratic nomination in June, withdrew from the race, and Jackson won a special nominating convention. AP and Maine Public place the change in July; NPR’s account says August. NPR reported that Platner suspended his campaign after an allegation of rape, which he denies. That left Jackson a little more than 100 days to campaign, AP said.

In his victory speech in Portland, Jackson said:

“There was a lot of anger about what’s going on in this country. I felt that anger, too. But there was also so much joy … joy because they know this government is broken and the only ones who are going to fix it is us.”

He also told supporters, “I’m a union member tonight and I’ll be a union member when I walk into that Senate chamber,” Maine Public reported.

Why Collins lost

The reporting points to a few factors:

• Trump’s unpopularity. AP said Jackson took advantage of President Donald Trump’s deep unpopularity. Maine Public cited Trump’s war with Iran, its effect on fuel prices, and polls showing most Maine voters dissatisfied with his second term.
• Tying Collins to Trump. Jackson pointed to her vote for Justice Brett Kavanaugh, her votes for Trump Cabinet picks and a procedural vote advancing Trump’s domestic policy bill. AP noted Collins voted no on that bill’s final passage.
• A progressive, blue-collar pitch. His platform focused on wealth inequality and universal health care, and Sen. Bernie Sanders campaigned with him in October.

Collins had run on her independence and her seniority as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. She has said she didn’t vote for Trump in 2016, and she voted to convict him at his 2021 impeachment trial, AP reported.

Spending in the race

Maine Public reported that Republican groups spent more than $130 million defending the seat and Democratic groups spent $94 million, for a combined total of at least $224 million. It said the race was the costliest per capita in the country, and that the total will likely rise as more filings come in.

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