Democrat Troy Jackson defeated longtime Republican Senator Susan Collins, unseating the five-term incumbent who had represented Maine since 1997 and ending her tenure as the longest-serving active Republican woman in the Senate.
CNN and NBC projected the race for Jackson around midnight. He led Collins 52 percent to 47 percent with 67 percent of the vote counted, according to the Associated Press.
The result marked one of the most significant defeats of Collins’s political career, bringing her nearly three decades in the Senate to an end and eliminating her chance to become Maine’s longest-serving senator.
Collins conceded shortly after the race was called during a brief conversation with Jackson.
‘It has been the honor of my life to serve the people of Maine in the United States Senate,’ Collins said in a statement. ‘I’m proud of all I have been able to accomplish for our state and for our country in the past 30 years.’
Jackson’s victory gave Democrats a crucial Republican-held seat as a blue wave swept across the country. It also strengthened their leverage in the Senate, allowing them to press Trump on federal budgets, priorities and policy decisions.
The win represented another major Democratic breakthrough in an election widely viewed as a referendum on the president and his administration. Democrats secured at least 53 seats in the Senate.
‘We did it. Working people did it,’ Jackson said in his victory speech. ‘I’m so damn proud to be standing here with you all tonight…or this morning, I guess, now.’
Democrat Troy Jackson defeated longtime Republican Senator Susan Collins in the midterms
Five-term Republican Collins suffered one of the biggest defeats of her political career, ending her nearly three-decade tenure in the Senate and dashing her hopes of becoming the longest-serving senator in Maine’s history
Collins conceded the race just after midnight local time, a spokesperson for Troy Jackson told Our News Outlet
Republicans entered the evening with a 53-47 majority, meaning Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to take control because Vice President JD Vance breaks a 50-50 Senate tie.
Democrats swiftly flipped North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine, Kansas, Iowa and Texas in a devastating night for the GOP.
Collins was the only Republican senator on the ballot this year in a state carried by former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, making Maine the first domino in the Democrats’ effort to seize power.
Jackson mounted his campaign on a shortened timeline after former Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner withdrew in July following sexual assault allegations, which he denied.
The senator-elect also faced controversy of his own.
Jackson’s longtime partner and the mother of his two children, Lana Pelletier, is reportedly his second cousin by blood.
The couple, who both come from rural northern Maine, grew up in sparsely populated communities where residents often share family names. They have the same great-grandparents.
That makes them second cousins, a revelation that became a source of bitter campaign attacks.
Maine Senator-elect Democrat Troy Jackson delivers remarks during a midterm election night watch party at the Holiday Inn, Portland
A Republican network of super PACs and nonprofit groups spent approximately $126 million on advertising in an unsuccessful effort to re-elect Collins.
Trump wrote in January that Collins ‘should never be elected to office again’ after she voted to restrict the president’s military powers following his successful operation in Venezuela that month.
The outgoing senator broke with Trump on several major votes during his second term, including opposing Pete Hegseth’s confirmation as defense secretary and voting against final passage of his One Big Beautiful Bill.
Maine voters told Our News Outlet in the week before the election that they planned to support Collins, citing their limited familiarity with Jackson.
The logger and local lawmaker was not even the Democrats’ first choice. He entered the race after primary winner Platner, who received 72 percent of the June vote, withdrew in July over a sexual assault allegation that he has denied.
Delegates at a party convention in Bangor selected Jackson as the replacement on July 25, giving him just 101 days to challenge a senator who had defeated every Democrat put forward against her since 1996.
Jackson ran a truncated campaign after former Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner dropped out of the race in July following sexual assault allegations which he denied
Jackson had lost the Democratic primary for governor to Hannah Pingree only weeks before party officials tapped him as a blue-collar challenger to Collins, whom he criticized as an enabler of Trump.
The contest grew especially heated in its final days after a Republican super PAC released a radio jingle labeling Jackson a ‘freak’ and a ‘creep.’ Collins herself said the advertisement should be removed.
Both campaigns attracted substantial financial support. Jackson raised $26.9 million in barely three months, while Collins collected $22.5 million over the full election cycle, according to federal filings through October 14.
As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Collins emphasized her influence in Washington. A Washington Post-Schar School poll found that voters gave her a 24-point advantage on the question of who would bring federal funding to Maine.
Collins has a history of outperforming polls. She trailed for much of the 2020 campaign before winning that race by more than eight points.
Trump was also a liability in Maine. A Marist poll found that 58 percent of likely voters disapproved of his performance, while 41 percent said their vote was intended as a vote against him.
