Maine Senate race 2026: Susan Collins vs. Troy Jackson

The basics

Maine votes Nov. 3, using ranked choice voting. If no candidate wins a majority of first choices, the last place candidate is eliminated and those ballots move to their next choice until someone has a majority.

Collins, first elected in 1996, is seeking a sixth term. Graham Platner, a Sullivan harbor master, won the June 9 Democratic primary over Gov. Janet Mills, then withdrew in July after a Maine woman accused him of sexual assault in a Politico report. Platner called the allegation "categorically false" and said leaving the race was not an admission of guilt. State Democrats chose Jackson as their nominee at a convention on July 25.

The candidates

Susan Collins (R) is Maine's longest serving member of Congress and chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. She describes herself as a centrist and has not missed a roll call vote since taking office in 1997, TIME reported. Her campaign points to $1.5 billion in federal spending she directed to Maine since 2021 and says she helped exempt concrete and road salt from tariffs on Canadian imports.

Troy Jackson (D) grew up in Allagash near the Canadian border and began logging at 19. He first ran for the Legislature as a Republican, won as an independent in 2002, became a Democrat in 2004 and later served as state Senate president. Labor unions have been central to his career, The Boston Globe reported.

Where the race stands

Polls show a close race, with Jackson slightly ahead in most. A CNN poll by SSRS (Oct. 20–26, 783 likely voters, ±4.5 points) had Jackson 49%, Collins 45%. Marist (Oct. 22–25) had Jackson 49%, Collins 47%, and Fox News (Oct. 16–20) had a 49–49 tie. STTPN's average of six recent independent polls is Jackson 49.3%, Collins 47.3%, inside the typical margin of error. Collins won in 2020 by about nine points after trailing in most polls.

Cook, Inside Elections and Sabato's Crystal Ball all rate the race a Toss-up. Through Oct. 14, Jackson had raised about $26.9 million and Collins about $25.2 million, according to the FEC.

The issues

Which party controls the Senate

Jackson argues a vote for Collins is a vote to keep a Republican majority that backs President Donald Trump's agenda, and said in the first debate that she votes with her party most of the time, MS NOW reported. Collins says she has shown independence from national Republicans and warns that Maine would lose seniority and federal funding if she is replaced.

Costs

Jackson's ads focus on heating oil and fuel prices, which he ties to the war in Iran, and on Collins's vote for the 2025 law that cut Medicaid. Collins argues her seniority has delivered money and tariff relief for Maine. Jackson answered her road salt argument with "We can't eat road salt."

Abortion and data centers

Jackson supports abortion rights and criticizes Collins's 2018 vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Collins has said she believed Kavanaugh would not endanger abortion access. Jackson has called for a moratorium on new data centers, while Collins has "generally walked a fine line" on them, Newsweek reported.

Controversies

In September, ProPublica reported that the FBI closed a 2025 inquiry into claims by Martin Kao, a Hawaii defense contractor who pleaded guilty to illegal donations, including a $150,000 gift to a PAC supporting Collins. Collins has not been charged or accused of wrongdoing by authorities. Her campaign denies any wrongdoing and says it did not know about Kao's scheme, the Bangor Daily News reported. Jackson has made the report part of his campaign.

A super PAC aligned with Senate Republicans ran an ad attacking Jackson's personal life. Collins distanced herself from it and called for it to be taken down. At the final debate on Oct. 15, after a protester interrupted and Collins said the protester was "obviously one of Troy's supporters," Jackson replied, "Oh, shut up." He later said he does not regret it, the Associated Press reported.