Maine Senate Election: How Many Will Vote

Maine Sen. Susan Collins says Washington will exempt several Canadian products, including corrugated paper, plastic boxes, and machinery, from tariffs, citing benefits for her state's agricultural sector. The announcement comes ahead of next month's midterms, with Collins facing a close race against Democrat Troy Jackson. President Trump said the U.S. is close to deals with both Canada and Mexico, though Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa is willing to wait for a future administration if needed. Talks collapsed in August, triggering steep tariffs from both sides, and Canada's chief negotiator says there is no set timeline for resuming formal negotiations.

Maine's U.S. Senate race between Sen. Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson is rated among the closest in the country, raising the possibility that neither candidate wins a first-choice majority on election night. If so, the state would conduct its first-ever statewide ranked-choice count in a general election, a process that has taken up to a week to complete in past elections. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows says her office is trying to speed up tabulation but is not promising quick results. Past ranked-choice counts in Maine have drawn legal challenges, and officials expect similar litigation here, echoing a recent Trump-backed effort to block certification in Alaska's ranked-choice Senate race.

Maine's 2026 Senate race is drawing national attention as Republican incumbent Susan Collins seeks a sixth term against Democratic challenger Troy Jackson, in a contest seen as pivotal to control of the chamber. Collins has emphasized independence from President Trump during campaign events, including a recent debate. Former Democratic-turned-independent Senator Joe Manchin, who endorsed Collins and called her "the soul of the Senate," is set to campaign alongside her at an event in central Maine this week. The race is one of several competitive statewide contests in Maine, alongside governor and congressional races, making the state a key battleground for the 2026 midterms.

A new Washington Post-Schar School poll finds Democrat Troy Jackson leading Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) 50 percent to 46 percent, with less than a month until Election Day. The race is among the most closely watched of the midterms, as Collins is the only Senate Republican defending her seat this cycle in a state that backed Kamala Harris in 2024, and the outcome could help determine control of the chamber, where Republicans hold a narrow majority.

The survey, conducted Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, shows Collins struggling with President Trump's unpopularity in Maine, with a majority of voters saying she has been too supportive of him. Jackson, a former Maine Senate president who entered the race after Graham Platner's campaign collapsed amid scandal, leads on affordability, health care, abortion and corruption, while Collins holds a wide edge on securing federal funding and bipartisan dealmaking. Collins has cast Jackson as too liberal for Maine, citing his past support for Medicare for All, while highlighting his earlier opposition to abortion rights.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson "struggles to control his temper," after a 1988 police report resurfaced detailing a misdemeanor assault charge from a fight he was involved in at age 19. The report also indicated Jackson pushed his longtime partner, Lana Pelletier, during the incident.

Jackson acknowledged the fight, saying he took responsibility for it then and now, but denied ever being violent with Pelletier. Pelletier issued her own statement backing Jackson, saying she did not recall the report and describing him as a caring partner and father. Jackson replaced former candidate Graham Platner, who exited the race amid sexual assault allegations, and has separately faced scrutiny over a water-bottle-throwing incident from his time as Maine Senate president. The Maine Senate race is a top 2026 midterm battleground, with recent polling showing Jackson holding a narrow lead over Collins.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaigned in Portland, Maine, for Democrat Troy Jackson, who is challenging Sen. Susan Collins in one of the midterms' most closely watched Senate races. Jackson, a logger from rural northern Maine, entered the race after Graham Platner's campaign collapsed amid sexual assault allegations. Ocasio-Cortez praised Jackson's willingness to campaign alongside a progressive New York lawmaker in a politically different state, and touted policies including Medicare for All and abortion and transgender rights. Jackson addressed concerns from Mainers wary of progressive politics, drawing on his own working-class upbringing. Democrats need to flip Maine and several other GOP-held seats to retake Senate control.

Maine Democrats are demanding that Sen. Susan Collins address a ProPublica report alleging the FBI planned in 2024 to investigate whether she knew about illegal campaign contributions tied to Hawaii defense contractor Navatek. The report says a Collins fundraiser sought a $500,000 donation from Navatek executives in 2019, and CEO Martin Kao funneled $150,000 through a shell company after Collins allegedly committed to securing the company $32 million in Navy contracts. Kao and two other executives were later indicted for illegal campaign donations; Kao is now serving additional prison time after pleading guilty. ProPublica reported the probe stalled after Trump took office in 2021, amid a broader pullback in corruption investigations under his administration, including cuts to the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section and an FBI public-corruption squad.

Collins called the allegations "categorically false" and attacked Kao's credibility given his fraud and money-laundering convictions; the FBI said it already investigated and found nothing implicating her. Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the report "a political hit job." It lands six weeks before Collins seeks a sixth term against Democrat Troy Jackson, who called the allegations "corruption of the highest order," in a pivotal Senate race in a state Trump lost in 2024.

Sen. Bernie Sanders campaigned across Maine this weekend for Democrat Troy Jackson, who is running a dead-heat race against five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins. At stops in Bangor, Lewiston and Biddeford, Sanders and Jackson tied high living costs, gas and heating prices, and health care expenses to Republican control of Congress, while Sanders called President Trump "the most dangerous president in the history of America."

Jackson, a fifth-generation logger and state legislator, pitched himself as a working-class candidate who has struggled with his own mortgage and medical bills, and pointed to his record expanding free school lunches and gun background checks. Both candidates backed Sanders-style proposals including universal health care, taxing billionaires, and funding affordable housing and child care. Collins, 73, has previously outperformed polling but faces headwinds from inflation, an unpopular war in the Middle East and Trump-related voter fatigue, even among traditionally moderate Mainers. Polls currently show the race tied ahead of the November 3 election.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills, 77, has entered the 2026 Senate race as a Democrat, aiming to unseat longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Mills, recruited by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, framed her campaign as a fight against President Trump's agenda, arguing Collins has failed to sufficiently oppose it despite occasional criticism. She pointed to a widely shared exchange with Trump over transgender athletes as evidence of her willingness to confront him directly. Collins, who has not yet announced her own reelection campaign, did not respond to Mills' launch, though a Republican campaign group criticized Mills over her positions on LGBTQ rights and immigration.

Mills first faces a Democratic primary against Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and political newcomer endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders who has drawn large crowds statewide, along with brewery founder Dan Kleban. Maine is considered a top Democratic pickup opportunity, as it's the only state Trump lost in 2024 with a Republican incumbent senator up in 2026, in a Senate currently split 53-47 in Republicans' favor.