Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was flailing for as much distance as possible as President Donald Trump moves to impose draconian new tariffs on Canada, according to a Politico report on Tuesday.
Collins, a top target for Democrats in a battleground Senate race, represents a state that directly borders the Canadian Maritime provinces.
“I have voted repeatedly against the Canadian tariffs,” said Collins in a statement to Politico. “Maine and Canada’s economies are very intertwined. A lot of our blueberries, our potatoes, our lobster, our lumber are harvested in Maine, processed in Canada and then come back. I don’t want to see the tariffs on the books.”
Bobby Charles, the GOP's nominee for governor, concurred with Collins.
“As Governor, Bobby will always prioritize Maine, even if that means taking a position contrary to the national elites of his party,” Vincent Harris, a senior strategist for Charles, told Politico in a statement.
If elected, Charles said he will travel to Washington to argue against Trump's tariffs.
Trump's new scheme, enacted under a controversial and hardly-ever-used 1930 tariff law, would put 50 percent import taxes on a range of Canadian products.
All of this comes amid a massive shakeup of the Maine Senate race, with Democrats pressuring their nominee Graham Platner to withdraw over credible allegations of sexual assault, and coalescing instead around state lawmaker Troy Jackson.