The weather in Maine’s Penobscot county – one of the most heavily forested counties in a state dense with trees – was warm and dry. Yet even as the county’s wood had grown to an ideal size to harvest, the machines Molly London typically uses sat idle. London and her husband, Alex, who started a logging business nearly 10 years ago, had been waiting weeks for replacement machine parts that were no longer stocked locally because tariffs had made them too expensive.
By August, she and her husband decided to shut down their business, WW London Woodlot Management Company, exhausted after years of fighting ever-climbing costs. Penobscot styled itself the “lumber capital of the world” in the 19th century, and today, hulking timber lorries still take up half of the road when they charge down Maine’s rural interstates. The aroma from spruce and fir trees can be smelled through a closed car window.
Logging’s health is a crucial bellwether for the overall state of its economy, and things are looking bleak in the midst of a trade war with Canada and record-high diesel prices. Democrats are hoping the frustration will finally unseat Republican Susan Collins, whose loss is crucial in helping the party win a majority in the US Senate. But after the fallout of Graham Platner, who dropped out of the race in July amid sexual assault allegations, the party has been scrambling to make up for lost time.
In his first campaign ad, Troy Jackson – formerly the state’s senate president who lost a bid to be the state’s governor earlier this year – immediately labeled himself as a “fifth-generation logger”. Sara Gideon, a former state representative, had run similar attack ads in 2020, telling voters that Collins is “Not For You Anymore” – an attempt to tie her to Trump and the wealthy elite. Though the state voted for Joe Biden, it re-elected Collins at the same time, though no public polls had showed her with a lead in the race.
This election, Collins continues to highlight that she is a girl from Caribou who hails from a lumber family. Her seniority in the Senate has also given her power: Collins has been a senator for 29 years, making her the fifth longest-serving senator, and is the chair of the Senate’s powerful appropriations committee. The state, with a population of 1.4 million people, leans Democrat, driven by strong liberal support along its coast, and has not voted for a Republican president since George HW Bush in 1988.
Unlike their more liberal counterparts down south, Mainers pride themselves on having a more independent streak. While it’s still unclear how voters in the state will turn out in the midterms – Collins and Jackson are currently neck-and-neck in the polls – some voters have been feeling left behind. But their relationship goes far beyond trade.
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