"It says a lot about the importance of the 2026 Senate race in Maine that Democrats are wrapped up in a fractious generational and ideological dispute over their nominee. Both in Maine and nationally, Democrats desperately want to take down five-term incumbent Susan Collins. She's the only Republican senator from a state carried by Kamala Harris in 2024. Democrats dream of flipping control of the Senate and denying Donald Trump countless judicial and executive-branch appointments, and Collins is low-hanging fruit."
"There are reasons, however, that Collins has survived in politically marginal-to-hostile territory for three decades. She is a relic of a bygone era in which a lot more voters split tickets and there were numerous politicians who could reasonably be described as moderate Republicans. Earlier in her career, Collins was a mildly heretical Republican in a national party being taken over by the conservative movement."
"Even so, her ability to outrun her party has declined. In 1996, she ran 19 points ahead of Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole; in 2008, she ran 20 points ahead of John McCain. But in 2020, she ran only seven points ahead of Trump. She's been lucky to run for reelection in two midterm cycles (2002 and 2014) that were favorable to her party. Will her luck hold out in a 2026 midterm likely to be characterized by a relatively strong Democratic breeze?"
Democrats are deeply divided over their 2026 nominee as they target five-term Republican Susan Collins, the lone GOP senator from a state won by Kamala Harris. Democrats aim to flip the Senate to block Donald Trump’s judicial and executive appointments, making Collins an attractive target. Collins built a decades-long record of appealing to split-ticket and moderate voters, positioning herself as independent of the MAGA movement without taking many controversial stances. Her vote margins versus Republican presidential nominees have narrowed over time, and two previous favorable midterms aided her reelections. Washington allies have allowed symbolic displays of independence.
Read at Intelligencer
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]