Republican incumbent Susan Collins lost her Maine Senate seat to Democratic challenger Troy Jackson early Wednesday morning.
Sen. Susan Collins has called Troy Jackson to concede, @ArletteSaenz reports.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) November 4, 2026
The 73-year-old senator was first elected to the office in 1996.
Collins was initially set to face off against Graham Platner, who became the Democratic nominee in June, defeating Gov. Janet Mills in the party's primary. Several polls suggested Platner was poised to unseat the Republican incumbent, but a series of scandals cut short his political aspirations.
Earlier in his campaign, Platner came under fire for a skull-and-crossbones tattoo while serving in the United States Marine Corps. The tattoo resembled a Nazi symbol known as the Totenkopf.
Platner's personal life further came under scrutiny after a former girlfriend, Lyndsey Fifield, accused him of physical abuse. She also claimed Platner knew about the tattoo's resemblance to Nazi insignia longer than he previously disclosed. Platner was subsequently accused of sexual assault by another former girlfriend. (RELATED: Media Malpractice Might Be Underlying Big Story Of Graham Platner Accusations)
After the allegations were made public, several high-profile Democrats pulled their endorsements and called on Platner to drop out of the race. Platner announced he was suspending his campaign just one day after the allegations were made public in July.
Jackson announced his candidacy moments after Platner's announcement and was formally selected as the Democratic nominee at a special Maine Democratic Party convention two weeks later. Jackson was not nominated in a statewide ballot.
Jackson also faced a slew of scandals during his campaign, most notably having children with his second cousin.
Jackson has been with his second cousin, Lana Pelletier, for nearly 40 years, and they have two sons together. The pair share great-grandparents but have never been legally married. (RELATED: Midterm Election Watch Guide: When GOP Will Know If It's Time To Hit Panic Button Or Reach For Champagne)
At the time of this writing, Democrats flipped seven Senate seats, including Maine, Iowa, North Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Kansas, South Carolina.
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