Susan Collins is the last Republican member of Congress from New England. And a combination of controversial votes and increasingly nationalized politics has her locked in the fight of her political career.
The pressure campaign directed at Collins by liberal groups before the Kavanaugh vote was intense. She has been a supporter of abortion rights since she first ran for the Senate in 1996.
"When Sen. Collins cast one of the deciding votes to give a man credibly accused of sexual assault a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, she sent an unmistakable message. She doesn't have the courage to stand up to Donald Trump," Richards said during a meeting with activists this summer when the $4 million was transferred to Gideon's campaign — a move that Collins has described as a bribe.
LePage, a Republican, claims he's telling disenchanted conservative hard-liners that they have to support Collins because she could be key to Republicans holding the U.S. Senate. His defense of Collins might seem transactional, and it's definitely a sharp turn from four years ago. Her vote on the ACA appeal made her a temporary hero of the left and the recipient of glowing portraits by liberal columnists, spurring talk that she might return to Maine and run for governor although she ultimately decided not to.
Many of those ads link Collins with the president she didn't vote for in 2016, casting her as an avatar for Republicans' supine response to Trump's divisive conduct.
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