U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) speaks on behalf of one of U.S. President Donald Trump's judicial nominees during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 30, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
For many years, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was among the most popular Republicans in New England. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996, Collins was reelected by 7 percent in 2002, 23 percent in 2008, and 37 percent in 2014. Conservative-leaning but not far-right, Collins attracted a lot of swing voters, moderates, independents and Democrats.
But her image suffered when she voted to confirm now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 despite warnings that doing so would help to doom Roe v. Wade — which is exactly what happened when the High Court voted to overturn Roe in 2022 and Kavanaugh was among the "yes" votes. Collins was reelected by 8 percent in 2020, which was a lot less than her 37 percent victory six years earlier.
Collins was reminded how much her image had suffered when she was booed during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Maine on Tuesday, August 26.
The New Republic's Malcolm Ferguson, in an article published the following day, reports, "This was Collins' first public, press conference-style event in her home state in nearly a decade. Video shows the room erupting in boos as she approached the front of the room to cut the ribbon for a new Main Street in Seaport, Maine. The boos eventually turned into chants of 'Shame! Shame! Shame!' Collins smiled and cut the ribbon as if her angry constituents weren't even there. The crowd continued to shout her down."
Collins voted "no" on President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill," a piece of legislation that some of the attendees were angry about. But other people in the crowd were still angry about her "yes" vote on Kavanaugh.
One of them shouted, "Your votes destroyed our Supreme Court."
"This all comes as progressive populist Democrat Graham Platner announced his bid to unseat Collins last week in a now viral video," Ferguson explains. "His candidacy serves as a foil to Collins on almost every issue, and Maine residents are starting to notice."
Collins is running for reelection in 2026 and is seeking a sixth term. 2026 will be her second reelection campaign since voting "yes" on Kavanaugh, but only her first since the High Court overturned Roe in its unpopular Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling.
"Collins' chances of winning have been precarious for some time now," Ferguson observes. "Her dedication to a spineless centrist conservatism has frustrated Maine voters, especially in a state won by Kamala Harris in the 2024 general election. That, combined with Collins' icy reception at her own event, and Platner's current surge, should make the longtime senator very worried."