Susan Collins retains moderate Maine voters when independence outweighs national abortion politics

American campaigns and voting, from primaries and general elections to the candidates, money and rules that decide them. Covers federal, state and local contests, the machinery of casting and counting ballots, and the disputes over access that follow almost every cycle.

Law and political conflict over abortion access, contraception, fertility treatment and the medical care surrounding pregnancy in the United States. Returned largely to the states by the Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs ruling, and fought since through ballot measures, legislatures and courts.

Maine's 2026 U.S. Senate election pits Republican Susan Collins against Democratic former state Senate president Troy Jackson on November 3, 2026, for a sixth term. Senate control could hinge on the outcome, while abortion-rights groups have targeted Collins's 2018 vote confirming Justice Brett Kavanaugh.