Trump's call for Collins ouster throws wrench into Maine Senate race

Source: The Hill

01/10/26 6:00 AM ET


President Trump’s call for Sen. Susan Collins (R) to be ousted in November tossed a monkey wrench into the high-stakes Maine Senate race, raising further questions about the GOP’s most vulnerable incumbent and whether she will be able to pull off another high-wire act in the blue-leaning state this year.

Frustrations at the White House boiled over on Thursday after Collins and four other Republicans sided with Democrats on a war powers resolution that would block further military action in Venezuela. While Republicans were miffed at the attack on the handful of members, it’s Collins they are most concerned with as she potentially holds the key to them retaining the majority next year.

“There were a lot of people shaking their heads and a lot of eyerolls,” one Senate Republican said of the reaction in the conference to the attack on Collins. “[You] probably ought not take on the chair of Appropriations, who’s a little bit pissed off about not getting regular order appropriations done. And now you’re s——g on her on this sort of stuff?” “It’s almost reminiscent of, ‘Don’t come to vote for the Georgia senators. It’s not worth your while,’” the senator continued, referring to Trump’s message to voters in the Peach State ahead of the Jan. 2021 special elections that Democrats swept.

Senate GOP leaders have long been protective of Collins, a Maine centrist who has frequently drawn Trump’s ire, given what both sides readily acknowledge: Collins is the lone Republican who can win the seat next year. Without her, the seat is likely lost for good, similar to what Democrats experienced in Montana and West Virginia in recent years.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5682431-susan-collins-maine-senate-race/