Troy Jackson wins Maine Senate race over Susan Collins, in major coup for Democrats

Troy Jackson speaks at the Bangor Cross Insurance Center on July 24, 2026 in Bangor, Maine. Ashley L. Conti for NPR hide caption

Ashley L. Conti for NPR

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Troy Jackson has defeated Republican incumbent Susan Collins for U.S. Senate in Maine, according to a race call by the Associated Press, a crucial victory for Democrats in their push to win back the Senate majority.

The Democratic Party has long tried to oust Collins, and at a moment when President Trump's approval ratings are at historic lows, Democrats saw Maine as one of their best opportunities to flip a Republican seat.

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As the longest-serving Republican woman in the Senate, Collins entered the race with a history of defying national political headwinds, repeatedly winning in a state that has consistently voted for Democrats at the state level. But that streak ended Tuesday night.

The results bring Collins' nearly 30-year tenure in Congress to a close and make Jackson the first Democrat to represent Maine in the Senate since 1995.

Jackson's win bookends a dramatic, albeit short, Senate campaign. A fifth-generation logger, he quickly became a national figure after he replaced Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee in August, after Platner suspended his campaign following an allegation of rape, which he denies.

Jackson sought to capitalize on and maintain the momentum sparked by Platner's antiestablishment, change-focused message. He ran on a progressive populist platform, emphasizing both his working-class background and deep ties to the labor movement.

He also attempted to link Collins to several Trump policies that have fueled economic concerns in the state, particularly the rise in oil and gas prices from the Iran war, as well as the financial strain on Maine businesses due to trade tensions with Canada, which borders the state.

Despite his late entry into the race, national polls showed Jackson and Collins in a virtual tie leading up to the end of voting.

Their race was one of the most expensive in this year's midterms, with Democratic- and Republican-aligned groups spending more than a quarter of a billion dollars on ads, according to data from AdImpact.

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While Collins pitched herself as a needed independent voice in the Senate, Democrats tried to poke holes in that argument. Ads repeatedly called attention to more divisive parts of her record, including her 2018 vote that was crucial in confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, expanding a conservative majority that would go on to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion in 2022.

Collins has said that she does not regret her vote for Kavanaugh and that she is a supporter of abortion protections.

On the campaign trail, she also touted her work as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, a key leadership position that she argued has helped her bring more federal funds to Maine.

In an October interview with Maine Public Radio, Jackson pushed back on that framing.

"She's losing more money than she's bringing in. You know I keep saying, it would be great if she just stopped doing anything. We'd be better off," he said. "We're losing a lot more; our healthcare, Iran war, tariffs. I mean, all these things are costing the state way more money than Susan Collins can ever bring in."

Collins does have a record of voting against Trump administration policies. An analysis by The New York Times found that Collins breaks with her party on votes more than any other Republican in the Senate. But the rate at which she does so has dropped considerably during the president's second term, the analysis found.

In the final Senate debate, held in October, Collins made a pitch for why having a more moderate representative is a strength for voters in Maine, rather than a liability.

"[Jackson] is going to be an automatic vote for the Democratic position no matter what," she said. "We have lost a lot of the centrists, and one of the reasons is we need people who will work across party lines."