Democrat Troy Jackson defeated Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, The Associated Press called early Wednesday, ending her nearly 30-year Senate career and delivering Democrats one of their most sought-after pickups of the 2026 midterms.
Collins called Jackson to concede Tuesday night, according to the Washington Examiner, and her campaign said she and her staff would work to ensure a smooth transition. CNN called the race for Jackson just after 12:15 a.m. ET, per Newsweek, with Jackson leading by about 5 points with 68 percent of the vote in.
"It has been the honor of my life to serve the people of Maine in the United States Senate," Collins said in a statement. "I'm proud of all I have been able to accomplish for our state and for our country in the past 30 years."
Jackson, speaking to supporters early Wednesday, framed the win as a movement victory: "I told you that we had a party to unite, a movement to build, and a senator to defeat. Well, tonight … the people of Maine have elected this logger to the U.S. Senate," he said.
The race was among the most expensive of the cycle. Democratic- and Republican-aligned groups spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars on advertising, according to AdImpact data cited by the Examiner. Jackson led Collins by roughly 5 points with 68 percent counted, per Newsweek, and the final pre-election polls showed him ahead in most major surveys — a New York Times/Siena poll had him up 51 to 45, while a University of New Hampshire survey put him ahead 54 to 45.
Maine was always going to be Democrats' best shot at a Republican seat: Collins was the only GOP senator running in a state Trump lost in 2024, and he carried Maine by about 7 points short of a majority there that year. Collins had built a reputation as a bipartisan dealmaker and used her perch as Senate Appropriations Committee chair to steer federal dollars home, but Democrats spent the campaign painting her as a reliable vote for Trump's agenda anyway — hammering her 2018 vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, a vote Democrats say paved the way for the end of Roe v. Wade.
Jackson's path to the nomination was anything but smooth. He entered the race in late July as a replacement for Graham Platner, the oysterman and former Marine who dropped out after an allegation of sexual assault and rape, which Platner denied. A fifth-generation logger and former state Senate president, Jackson ran on progressive economic populism, leaning on his working-class background and ties to organized labor, and sought to tie Collins to rising oil and gas prices tied to the Iran war and to tariff pain for Maine businesses that trade with Canada.
The result drew immediate reaction online. Next News Network's own account posted after the call: "Sen. Susan Collins has conceded to Democrat Troy Jackson in Maine, and CNN projects Jackson flips the seat. Jackson leads 52.6% to 47.3% with 68% in, per AP data via NBC News. Five terms, one speech." Earlier in the night, the same account noted the lead had flipped again, with Jackson ahead 50.7% to 49.3% at 49% counted.
Collins' defeat ends a streak that had survived multiple national waves, and it lands at a moment when Democrats are pressing to retake the Senate majority. The Examiner reported the win handed Democrats their 53rd Senate seat.
Our Take
Let's be honest about what just happened in Maine. Susan Collins spent thirty years telling voters she was the last reasonable Republican standing, the one who could break with her party when it counted. Maine voters just answered: not anymore.
Conservatives can argue about whether Collins was ever the reliable ally the base wanted — her Kavanaugh vote was the exception that kept her viable, and Democrats punished her for it anyway. That's the trap of the "moderate" brand: you absorb every attack from the Left and get zero credit from the base when the chips are down. Jackson ran as a lumberjack populist and still got boosted by the same national Democratic money machine that spent a quarter of a billion dollars trying to buy this seat.
But don't let the Left spike the football just yet. Maine is a state Trump lost, and Collins was the only Republican senator running in one. Democrats needed a scandal-plagued nominee to drop out and a national environment Republicans have to fight through. One seat is one seat — not a wave. The real question for patriots tonight is simple: if the GOP can't hold a state where it has governed for three decades with a five-term incumbent, what does that say about the party's bench heading into 2028? The answer better come fast.
