Democrat Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger and former state Senate president, has defeated five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, flipping a seat that Republicans had held since 1997. The Associated Press called the race, and Collins conceded, according to Axios and Maine Morning Star.
Maine U.S. Senate Election Results
| Candidates | Detail |
| Troy Jackson (D) | 53.0%, 291,682 votes |
| Susan Collins (R, incumbent) | 46.9%, 258,254 votes |
| Votes counted | 72.3% |
| Seat change | Democratic flip |
Jackson’s win adds to the Democratic Senate majority secured on election night. NBC News reports that Collins was the only Republican senator representing a state that Donald Trump lost, and that she won her 2020 race by 9 points even as Trump lost Maine.
Jackson became Democratic nominee in late July after Graham Platner left the race amid a sexual assault allegation that Platner denied, according to NBC News. Jackson, from Allagash, built his profile as a labor advocate. His career includes a 1998 logger blockade at the Canadian border and several offices, among them state Senate president from 2018 to 2024. He now backs positions such as Medicare for All and abolishing ICE.
Collins distanced herself from Trump on some issues, including his Canada trade war, and voted to convict him in his 2021 impeachment trial. Trump nonetheless endorsed her this cycle. Jackson’s campaign argued she had not used her influence to check Trump’s policies, while Collins pointed to federal funding she secured for Maine.
Collins thanked supporters and cautioned that the count would take time. Later reports confirm the concession.
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