Defying Trump ended some Republicans’ careers. It could help Susan Collins win reelection in Maine

PORTLAND, Maine — Sen. Susan Collins is having a sense of déjà vu this election year as the Maine Republican seeks reelection and Democrats are hoping a new face might take her down. Last time it was state lawmaker Sara Gideon. This time it’s battle veteran and oyster farmer Graham Platner.

But Collins has been a tough target for Democrats throughout the years, even for candidates who don't have the baggage of Platner, who has been criticized for his connections with women, provocative internet statements and a past tattoo identified as a Nazi emblem. Collins, who enjoys sky-high name recognition, a record-breaking streak of straight Senate votes and a history of bringing back federal support for her state for years, is seeking a sixth term.

She also is one of the few Republicans who can occasionally bolster her own popularity at home by breaking with President Donald Trump, and she has polished that political dance even as his tighter grip on the party has cost two of her Senate Republican colleagues their reelection.

Senators. John Cornyn of Texas and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana were defeated in their primaries by Trump-backed opponents. But the president did not run against Collins, despite his reservations about her. She’s had years of practice at being good at keeping close — not too close — to the president when it’s politically useful, and pulling away when having an independent streak is good.

“She has shown us over and over again where her state’s electorate is.” She knows where too far is, she knows where she has to be,” said political consultant Matt Mackowiak, who worked on Cornyn’s failed reelection campaign. Cornyn’s opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, was backed by Trump.

Maine is the way to Senate power Democrats need four seats to seize control of the Senate in November and they are hoping Trump’s dropping support ratings and the conflict in Iran — and its effect on oil prices and the economy — could boost their prospects. Maine is one of the prime objectives along with Alaska, Ohio and North Carolina.

Platner seeks to make the case that Collins is not as independent of Trump as her reputation suggests, pointing out repeatedly that she allowed his Supreme Court nominations to go forward, which in 2022 resulted in the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion, and other major issues.

“Susan Collins may have started her career decades ago in Washington with good intentions, but she has become just as spineless and corrupt as the establishment she now serves,” Platner said at a victory party Tuesday.

“Supporters of Platner are crying out for change,” said John Keenan, of Sullivan, Maine.

“I think Maine is tired of the same old system,” he added. “And bringing in youth to the campaign, with new rather than a rubber stamp, is very refreshing.”

Trump has been critical of Collins — but not recently Collins may have to keep watchful of Trump as she prepares to face-off with Platner in November. The president has spent years attacking her for daring to sometimes challenge him on key topics.

But he has been more hesitant to do that lately, especially since Collins didn’t face a serious rival and easily won a Republican primary.

The White House did not comment. But political aides close to Mr. Trump said the president knows how important it is for Republicans to preserve control of Congress after November, which requires making room for Mr. Collins. Trump knows he has to avoid a Republican rout like the 2018 “blue wave” midterms that saw Democrats flip the House and derail most of the last two years of his first-term ambitions.

“Senator Susan Collins is first and foremost a voice for the people of Maine and a devoted public servant,” Republican National Committee spokesman Kristen Cianci said in a statement.

“Senator Collins has worked with five different Presidents during her time in the Senate, and has never agreed with any of them on every issue,” Collins spokesperson Blake Kernan said.

“When she agrees with an effort, she will support it; when she disagrees, she will not hesitate to speak up for what she believes is the right outcome for Maine and for America,” Kernan said in a statement.

Other Republicans have run afoul of Trump That didn’t pan out for some Republican senators.

Cornyn entered the Senate in 2002 and worked his way up to become one of the main voices in his party. Days after Trump endorsed the attorney general, Paxton crushed him in a runoff.

Cassidy, who has been in office since 2015, voted to convict Trump at his impeachment hearing following the U.S. Capitol siege on Jan. 6, 2021. He was primaryed by state Rep. Julia Letlow, who was endorsed by Trump.

It’s expected to be a more competitive campaign in Maine in November – as Trump has avoided singling out Collins recently. That follows her vote last week with Democrats to defeat the almost $1.8 billion fund the president wants to create to aid allies he says were unfairly targeted by law enforcement.

“Well, she’s always down in the polls and she survives,” Trump said when asked about Collins in an interview with the New York Post last week.

In 2020, Collins won the speaker of the Maine House, Gideon, by roughly 9 points, the same year Biden beat Trump by a similar percentage in the state.

“There’s just no path to a MAGA senator from Maine,” Mackowiak added.

“It really does seem like the Trump political operation is soberly analyzing the electoral environment in Maine and really kind of takes her lead as it relates to that state and that race, especially this cycle,” he added.

‘A little bit more pragmatic’ Chuck Ellis, a Westbrook Republican who owns a digital marketing company, said Collins’ unwillingness to fall in line with Trump can be a positive.

"There are some 'hard-line' voters who may disagree," Ellis said, "but in the end a lot of your conservatives, your Republicans, are people who are a bit more pragmatic."

The Trump took to social media to complain about Collins after she opposed the White House’s centerpiece tax reduction and spending plan last year and voted against a proposal to claw back $9 billion in foreign aid and public media funding.

“When in doubt, Republicans do the exact opposite of what Senator Susan Collins does,” he wrote.

Then in January, Trump railed against the “stupidity” of Collins and four other Senate Republicans who joined with Democrats to start a discussion on limiting the president’s use of force in Venezuela.

Later, Trump called her with a profanity-laden phone call.

White House May Back Away Further From Collins Race Last week, Collins, who chairs the important Senate Appropriations Committee, delivered her 10,000th consecutive Senate vote, setting a record.

“She has been able to do and show that ‘I am bringing money and resources from the federal government to Maine to help Maine,'” Ellis said.

The president is not expected to visit Maine until November, though he has been to other states with important Senate contests, such Iowa and Michigan. He may even run a personal campaign for Paxton.

Vice President JD Vance has been to Maine to promote his anti-fraud task group. Collins did not attend Vance’s address last month in Bangor, where the senator confessed he had been out of sync with the Trump administration.

“If she was as partisan as I sometimes wish she was,” Mr. Vance said, “she wouldn’t be a good fit for the people of Maine.”