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Republican Sen. Susan Collins is good alert of the pugnacious way up arsenic she officially kicks disconnected her 2026 re-election run successful blue-leaning Maine.
Collins is the apical people for Senate Democrats arsenic they effort to triumph backmost the chamber's bulk successful November's midterm elections.
"Chuck Schumer has made maine erstwhile again — this is the 3rd clip he's done this — his fig 1 target," Collins said successful an interrogation with Fox News Digital soon aft she announced her re-election bid, arsenic she pointed to the longtime apical Democrat successful the Senate.
Collins took to societal media a mates of hours earlier to declare, "GOOD NEWS! I americium ALL-IN for 2026."
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Democrats person agelong targeted the 73-year-old Collins, who was archetypal elected to the Senate 3 decades ago, but support coming up short.
"I volition beryllium outspent arsenic I was successful 2020, but fortunately, Maine radical are famously independent. They look astatine the idiosyncratic candidates, and they don't conscionable needfully ballot a enactment line," the legislator said.
Collins was 1 of the Senate Republicans who voted to convict aft the House impeached President Donald Trump successful 2021, pursuing the Jan. 6 onslaught connected the U.S. Capitol by supporters of the president aiming to upend legislature certification of the 2020 statesmanlike predetermination results.
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And Collins has earned Trump's ire with Senate votes that spell against the administration's wishes.
Trump has truthful acold not made an endorsement successful the pivotal contest, and has taken shots astatine Collins passim the twelvemonth for breaking ranks with him and Republicans, peculiarly erstwhile she voted successful favour of bipartisan authorities that would person reined successful his warfare authorities successful Venezuela.
Trump declared that Collins and the fistful of different Republicans that voted with Democrats to curb his warfare powers "should ne'er beryllium elected to bureau again."
"Republicans should beryllium ashamed of the Senators that conscionable voted with Democrats successful attempting to instrumentality distant our Powers to combat and support the United States of America," Trump said successful a Truth Social station astatine the time.
When asked if Trump should measurement in, oregon enactment neutral successful the contest, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, "I would defer to Susan Collins connected that."
"I deliberation she knows however to tally successful Maine. She's been incredibly palmy there. She is simply a seasoned campaigner who knows her authorities good and knows what works," Thune said.
"So I would, I guess, defer to her connected immoderate decisions that are made related to her run and what she would similar to spot hap oregon not spot hap successful presumption of endorsements, but we volition beryllium each successful trying to marque definite that she gets re-elected," helium continued.
Her willingness to knock Trump and to interruption with his policies whitethorn beryllium beneficial to Collins, who needs enactment from independents and immoderate Democrats to gain re-election.
"What I deliberation the President's disapproval demonstrates is that I'm autarkic successful the mode I attack issues. I look astatine what the interaction is connected the authorities of Maine and what the interaction is connected the state and Mainers admit that," she told Fox News Digital.
Collins emphasized, "I enactment President Trump erstwhile I deliberation he's right, I don't erstwhile I deliberation he's wrong, and that's the attack I've ever taken with each of the presidents with whom I've worked. I’ve ne'er agreed 100% with immoderate of them. So, this President is much outspoken erstwhile you disagree with him than erstwhile presidents, but I deliberation that I tin afloat warrant however I person voted."
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But the Maine Democratic Party charged successful a connection that "Susan Collins has spent the past 30 years betraying Maine, from stripping Mainers’ affordable wellness care, to casting the decisive ballot to corroborate Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, to voting with Donald Trump 94% of the time."
"She present faces immoderate of the lowest support ratings of her vocation due to the fact that Mainers spot done her governmental games and fake shows of concern. In November, we volition cull her astatine the ballot box," added authorities enactment enforcement manager Devon Murphy-Anderson.
National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Sen. Tim Scott called Collins "a battle-tested person whose fierce independency has led to historical wins for Maine."
But successful a closed-door NRSC briefing past week to Senate Republicans, Scott pointed to the latest Fox News nationalist poll which showed the GOP facing a ballot container deficit, and said it could interaction circumstantial Senate races this year.
GOP sources confirmed to Fox News Digital that Scott said the toughest situation whitethorn beryllium successful Maine.
Collins is apt to look either two-term Democratic Gov. Jane Mills, who has the tacit enactment of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the DSCC, oregon governmental newcomer, veteran, and oyster husbandman Graham Platner, who is backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, successful November. The Democratic primary, which is expected to beryllium competitive, is scheduled for June.
Collins charged that Democrats are moving "to distort my record," with Democratic-aligned extracurricular groups moving ads "that are provably mendacious and that's precise disappointing. The radical of Maine merit better."
Asked whom she'd alternatively look successful the wide election, Collins said, "I permission that up to the Democrats to decide. I cognize that a ton of extracurricular wealth is going to beryllium poured into this race, careless of who the Democratic campaigner is."
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