Two minor quibbles... Hannah Pingree is Chellie Pingree's daughter and it's Shenna Bellows, not Sheena.
The thing we Maine Dems have all noticed is that while Susan Collins DOES occasionally vote against her party, it is always when her nay vote will not make a difference in the result--thus the GOP gets it way and Susie gets to claim and retain her "moderate" status.
Susie makes her personal political ads about all the pork and bacon she brings to (mostly corporate) Maine honey sweet and lets her PACs (*cough, Pine Tree Results, cough*) run the dirt and sling the mud.
It is very strange that she is so tough to beat because she hasn't held a town hall or any sort of public forum in Maine for decades and we seldom see her here unless she is campaigning for reelection
Thanks for the piece. Blueberries are indeed a real thing here. Hope you enjoyed your stay. Having lived in Maine for the last 35 years I can feel Mainers’ readiness to go with Jackson, a known quantity himself. He has excellent name recognition in Maine, although he is not universally loved, even by Democrats. I also think that the recent ice shootings in Biddeford. will further drag her down given her abysmal response. I was just in Biddeford the other day, and people are still totally outraged, sad and ready to take it out on Susan Collins. the motivation is palpable. Finally one small correction, Hannah Pingree is Chelsie Pingree’s daughter not her sister.
Years ago, I invented an award in honor of Sen. Collins. I called it the Senator Susan Collins he's learned his lesson award" after her voting (and speeches) on Orange Blob's first impeachment. Of course she keeps running - she occupies a seat in the most exclusive and expensive nursing home in the world.
Great piece, glad you could visit us at the best time of year! One thing not noted here but important in Maine is how totally in the tank Maine media is for Collins, and has been for years. Collins Watch on social media and Andy O'Brien are great follows for documenting this bias in real time. I know liberals and conservatives complain everywhere about media biases, but it is real and well-documented over many years. The staff and ownershiip of the two biggest Maine papers (Portland Press Herald and Bangor Daily News) are infested with former Collins staffers and big money backers, and it shows. Luckily traditional media is less and less influential these days, because it has definitely hurt Collins's opponents in previous runs.
Is Susan Collins's "crossover appeal" likely to survive Trump II? I wonder. The Republican Party was well on the way to becoming a white people's party when Collins was elected the first time, and indeed Maine is more than 90% white. However, as a native and longtime resident of Massachusetts, I also know that what Dana Milbank called "the 25-year crack-up of the Republican Party" didn't seriously affect New England till fairly recently. MA had a sane Republican governor in Charlie Baker from 2015 to 2023, and Scott Brown (R) was elected in a 2010 special election to succeed Ted Kennedy, but he was defeated by Elizabeth Warren in the 2012 general election.
The fatal ICE shooting earlier this month of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, isn't likely to help Collins's prospects. Durán Guerrero was working in the U.S. legally and was not ICE's intended target.
Great review of a not-so-great Senator whose support of T…p 95% of the time should be sufficient warning to Maine voters that they can play a part in defeating a Senator, the loss of whose vote will be a true shot at the bow of the T…p administration. Plainly she’s two-faced. The one-time position of “only two terms” shows that her lying is not the way Mainers want to be represented. I wish I could send my vote to Maine, but sadly that can’t happen. I can, however, support the person who will run against her. Her “record” of flip-flopping should be sufficient reason to vote for anyone but her.
I have never been to Maine. Not yet anyway. It is a big Bucket list item along with Vermont and Connecticut and New Hampshire. It has always sounded like a wonderful place and Stephen King has been my favorite for 50 years. (even though he hangs out in Florida now. Why??)
But as an Arizona voter very frustrated by bad Senators (our former horrible Senator Kyrsten Sinema, the very similar and awful Joe Manchin and the really bizarre and terrible John Fetterman), I have this to say to Susan Collins. Please go home and stay home. No one can believe a word you say.
First time Susan Collins has been over 70, with McConnell and aging Trump being so visible, and the crossover votes having seen Biden get old. At the end of her next term (should she win) she would be 79, and yeah, that is old.
First time she has overtly supported Trump time and again in not just his legislation but also his appointments enabling this current disaster of an administration (much worse than the first.
First time Trump has been THIS 'disliked'.
First time since Roe-v-Wade got overturned with the help of Trump's TWO SCOTUS appointments she approved and the help of McConnells refusal to consider Garland. Until Roe-v-Wade being killed, all the SCOTUS stuff was just fun and games. After all, they all declared boldly that precedent was precious and not to be messed with, then they did, time after time... people that SHE confirmed.
Hence, she is now confirmed to be useless, old and incompetent, and perhaps outright lying about being 'concerned'.
There is always a block of voters that vote for a divided government. Her recent terms have benefited from that.
My favorite thing about candidate Susan Collins is that she promised to serve only two terms, and now she wants a sixth term, saying it would be her last. (She would be 80 yrs old in 2035, when her term would end.)
Two minor quibbles... Hannah Pingree is Chellie Pingree's daughter and it's Shenna Bellows, not Sheena.
The thing we Maine Dems have all noticed is that while Susan Collins DOES occasionally vote against her party, it is always when her nay vote will not make a difference in the result--thus the GOP gets it way and Susie gets to claim and retain her "moderate" status.
Susie makes her personal political ads about all the pork and bacon she brings to (mostly corporate) Maine honey sweet and lets her PACs (*cough, Pine Tree Results, cough*) run the dirt and sling the mud.
It is very strange that she is so tough to beat because she hasn't held a town hall or any sort of public forum in Maine for decades and we seldom see her here unless she is campaigning for reelection
Thx. Will fix
Thanks for the piece. Blueberries are indeed a real thing here. Hope you enjoyed your stay. Having lived in Maine for the last 35 years I can feel Mainers’ readiness to go with Jackson, a known quantity himself. He has excellent name recognition in Maine, although he is not universally loved, even by Democrats. I also think that the recent ice shootings in Biddeford. will further drag her down given her abysmal response. I was just in Biddeford the other day, and people are still totally outraged, sad and ready to take it out on Susan Collins. the motivation is palpable. Finally one small correction, Hannah Pingree is Chelsie Pingree’s daughter not her sister.
I’m still here and still loving it! Thx
Years ago, I invented an award in honor of Sen. Collins. I called it the Senator Susan Collins he's learned his lesson award" after her voting (and speeches) on Orange Blob's first impeachment. Of course she keeps running - she occupies a seat in the most exclusive and expensive nursing home in the world.
Great piece, glad you could visit us at the best time of year! One thing not noted here but important in Maine is how totally in the tank Maine media is for Collins, and has been for years. Collins Watch on social media and Andy O'Brien are great follows for documenting this bias in real time. I know liberals and conservatives complain everywhere about media biases, but it is real and well-documented over many years. The staff and ownershiip of the two biggest Maine papers (Portland Press Herald and Bangor Daily News) are infested with former Collins staffers and big money backers, and it shows. Luckily traditional media is less and less influential these days, because it has definitely hurt Collins's opponents in previous runs.
Is Susan Collins's "crossover appeal" likely to survive Trump II? I wonder. The Republican Party was well on the way to becoming a white people's party when Collins was elected the first time, and indeed Maine is more than 90% white. However, as a native and longtime resident of Massachusetts, I also know that what Dana Milbank called "the 25-year crack-up of the Republican Party" didn't seriously affect New England till fairly recently. MA had a sane Republican governor in Charlie Baker from 2015 to 2023, and Scott Brown (R) was elected in a 2010 special election to succeed Ted Kennedy, but he was defeated by Elizabeth Warren in the 2012 general election.
The fatal ICE shooting earlier this month of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, isn't likely to help Collins's prospects. Durán Guerrero was working in the U.S. legally and was not ICE's intended target.
Great review of a not-so-great Senator whose support of T…p 95% of the time should be sufficient warning to Maine voters that they can play a part in defeating a Senator, the loss of whose vote will be a true shot at the bow of the T…p administration. Plainly she’s two-faced. The one-time position of “only two terms” shows that her lying is not the way Mainers want to be represented. I wish I could send my vote to Maine, but sadly that can’t happen. I can, however, support the person who will run against her. Her “record” of flip-flopping should be sufficient reason to vote for anyone but her.
Fascinating (and personal) analysis, thanks for this!
I have never been to Maine. Not yet anyway. It is a big Bucket list item along with Vermont and Connecticut and New Hampshire. It has always sounded like a wonderful place and Stephen King has been my favorite for 50 years. (even though he hangs out in Florida now. Why??)
But as an Arizona voter very frustrated by bad Senators (our former horrible Senator Kyrsten Sinema, the very similar and awful Joe Manchin and the really bizarre and terrible John Fetterman), I have this to say to Susan Collins. Please go home and stay home. No one can believe a word you say.
Personal notes:
First time Susan Collins has been over 70, with McConnell and aging Trump being so visible, and the crossover votes having seen Biden get old. At the end of her next term (should she win) she would be 79, and yeah, that is old.
First time she has overtly supported Trump time and again in not just his legislation but also his appointments enabling this current disaster of an administration (much worse than the first.
First time Trump has been THIS 'disliked'.
First time since Roe-v-Wade got overturned with the help of Trump's TWO SCOTUS appointments she approved and the help of McConnells refusal to consider Garland. Until Roe-v-Wade being killed, all the SCOTUS stuff was just fun and games. After all, they all declared boldly that precedent was precious and not to be messed with, then they did, time after time... people that SHE confirmed.
Hence, she is now confirmed to be useless, old and incompetent, and perhaps outright lying about being 'concerned'.
There is always a block of voters that vote for a divided government. Her recent terms have benefited from that.
Seems she is a doddering old fool. I am surprised Collins is only 73.
Really? Aged 73? She looks and comports herself as is she was 93. 😳
My favorite thing about candidate Susan Collins is that she promised to serve only two terms, and now she wants a sixth term, saying it would be her last. (She would be 80 yrs old in 2035, when her term would end.)
How can she be believed?