Susan Collins announces bid for sixth term in pivotal Maine Senate race
Republican Sen. Susan Collins announced on Tuesday that she will seek reelection to a sixth term in Maine, positioning herself for a contest Democrats hope will help shift control of the U.S. Senate. The announcement places Collins, 73, at the center of a broader Democratic effort to win back the majority, with Democrats targeting four seats they say they need, including races in Maine, North Carolina, Alaska and Ohio.
In a statement released Tuesday, Collins said, “I have always worked across the aisle to solve problems. Maine needs experienced, steady leadership that focuses on getting things done.” Her campaign framing emphasizes her history in Washington as a senator who has both clashed at times with President Donald Trump and largely supported his agenda.
As Collins makes the bid, Democrats have pointed to a politically charged immigration enforcement episode in Maine, saying it has created potential liability for Republican candidates beyond the state. The renewed criticism centers on an operation that resulted in hundreds of arrests, alongside complaints that people were being detained even if they did not have criminal records.
Collins has also highlighted that she took credit for helping stop what Democrats and critics have described as a surge of federal agents in Maine after she spoke directly with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Democrats, however, have accused Collins of not going far enough, including her refusal to call for Noem’s ouster and her support for a bipartisan Homeland Security funding bill.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, one of the top Democratic challengers, said Collins has failed at a moment Mills described as dangerous. Mills said in a statement that “Seniority without a backbone is just tenure, and after decades in Washington, Senator Collins has failed to demonstrate the leadership required in this dangerous moment in history,” echoing earlier criticism aimed at Collins’s vote in favor of funding for the Department of Homeland Security and several other agencies in January.
Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and another Democratic contender, has gained traction with an anti-establishment message focused on economic equality, according to the report. Platner has faced scrutiny during the campaign, including revelations about problematic social media posts and a need to cover up a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, while also arguing that Collins has not stood firm enough on immigration enforcement.
Platner demanded that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, be dismantled. In a post on X on Tuesday, Platner said he did not believe Collins or the Trump administration’s promise to leave Maine.
The race also features financial contrasts among the candidates, with Platner outraising both Mills and Collins during the period covered by federal filings, according to the report. The report said Platner, a first-time candidate, collected nearly $4.6 million, while Mills raised $2.7 million, and that Collins—who had not yet officially launched her campaign during the filing period—had more than $8 million in cash on hand at the end of 2025.
Collins enters the campaign with a record of political decisions that Democrats and Republicans alike view as pivotal to her path to survival. The report said Collins did not vote for Trump in 2016, voted to convict Trump during his 2021 impeachment over his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and later earned praise and backlash based on her broader support for Trump’s agenda, even as she voted against the 2025 tax and spending bill.
The report also said Collins voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s choice to be secretary of Health and Human Services, and that Kennedy has since espoused anti-vaccine policy and ousted public health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Collins has previously survived significant Democratic challenges, including a 2020 race in which Democrat Sara Gideon raised $69 million and outspent Collins, but Collins still won by more than 8 points.
Underlying the campaign is a shifting political landscape in Maine, where the proportion of registered Democrats has increased since Collins’s last reelection effort. The report said that, in 2019, “unenrolled” independent voters outnumbered Democrats, but by 2026 the Democrats are trailing the unaffiliated voters, while Republicans have trailed both groups for years.