Troy Jackson speaks at the Bangor Cross Insurance Center on July 24, 2026 in Bangor, Maine.
Ashley L. Conti for NPR
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Ashley L. Conti for NPR
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Troy Jackson defeated Republican incumbent Susan Collins for the U.S. Senate in Maine, according to an Associated Press race call, a crucial victory for Democrats in their effort to regain the Senate majority.
The Democratic Party has long tried to oust Collins, and at a time when President Trump’s approval ratings are at historic lows, Democrats see Maine as one of their best opportunities to flip a Republican seat.
As the longest-serving Republican woman in the Senate, Collins entered the race with a history of defying national political headwinds, winning repeatedly in a state that has consistently voted for Democrats at the state level. But that streak ended Tuesday night.
The results end Collins’ nearly 30-year tenure in Congress and make Jackson the first Democrat to represent Maine in the Senate since 1995.
Jackson’s victory ends a dramatic, if short, Senate campaign. A fifth-generation lumberjack, he quickly became a national figure after replacing Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee in August, after Platner suspended his campaign following a rape allegation, which he denies.
Jackson sought to capitalize on and maintain the momentum generated by Platner’s anti-establishment, change-oriented message. He ran on a progressive populist platform, emphasizing both his working-class background and his deep ties to the labor movement.
He also attempted to tie Collins to several Trump policies that have fueled economic concerns in the state, particularly rising oil and gas prices due to the war in Iran, as well as financial strain on Maine businesses due to trade tensions with Canada, which borders the state.
Despite his late entry into the race, national polls showed Jackson and Collins virtually tied until voting ended.
Their race was one of the most expensive in this year’s midterms, with Democratic- and Republican-aligned groups spending more than a quarter of a billion dollars on advertising, according to AdImpact data.
While Collins launched as a necessary independent voice in the Senate, Democrats attempted to puncture this argument. The ads have repeatedly drawn attention to the most controversial aspects of his record, including his 2018 vote that was crucial to confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, expanding a conservative majority that would eliminate the constitutional right to abortion in 2022.
Collins said she does not regret her vote for Kavanaugh and is a supporter of abortion protections.
On the campaign trail, she also touted her work as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, a key leadership position that she said helped her attract more federal funds to Maine.
In October interview with Maine Public Radio, Jackson pushed back on that framing.
“She’s losing more money than she’s making. You know, I keep saying it would be great if she stopped doing whatever. We’d be better off,” he said. “We’re losing a lot more: our health care, the war in Iran, the tariffs. I mean, all of these things are costing the state way more money than Susan Collins can ever bring in.”
Collins has a history of voting against Trump administration policies. An analysis by The New York Times found that Collins breaks with his party in terms of votes more than any other Republican in the Senate. But the rate at which she does so declined significantly during the president’s second term, the analysis found.
During the final Senate debate, held in October, Collins explained why having a more moderate representative is a strength for Maine voters, rather than a liability.
“(Jackson) will be an automatic vote for the Democratic position no matter what,” she said. “We lost a lot of centrists, and one of the reasons is we need people who will work across party lines.”
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