Republican Senator Susan Collins and her Democratic challenger Troy Jackson are making their final pitches to voters in Maine's U.S. Senate race, a critical battleground that could determine the balance of power in the upper chamber, as a new poll pointed to a tight race in the Pine Tree State. Maine has emerged as one of the most competitive Senate races of the 2026 midterm elections.
Collins is an anomaly in the Senate, as she’s the only Republican representing a state that rejected President Donald Trump in all three of his presidential bids. Although she’s benefited from her personal popularity and bipartisan image in the past, Democrats believe she is more vulnerable than ever this year as Trump’s declining national approval rating weakens Republicans across the country. The competitive nature of the race was reflected in a new Marist University poll released Tuesday, giving Jackson a 2-point lead over Collins, 49 percent to 47 percent, among likely voters.
It was conducted from October 22 to 25 among 1,449 registered voters, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 6.6 percentage points. Newsweek reached out to the Collins and Jackson campaigns for comment via email. With one week until Election Day, both candidates have been traversing the state to make their case to voters.
Collins wrote in a post to X that she was in Springvale, a village in Sanford, a city of nearly 23,000 residents that voted for Trump in 2024 after backing former President Joe Biden in 2020. Moody’s provides reliable service to customers across southern Maine and, as an employee-owned business, it invests in those who work there. Thanks for all you do to keep Mainers moving!” Collins wrote.
Jackson, meanwhile, was set to appear at an event in Freeport, a Democratic-leaning coastal town known as the home of L.L. Bean, alongside gubernatorial candidate Hannah Pingree, Representative Chellie Pingree and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, according to his campaign site. Both candidates have also unveiled new advertisements in the final stretch of the campaign.
Jackson, in a new ad, said that Mainers will “decide the direction of this whole country.” “Is it for the billionaires and Trump, or everyday people like us? We can protect Social Security, get people healthcare, and keep more of what we earn. It won’t be easy, but I’ve learned that if your heart is in the right place, you can make things better,” he said.
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