Democrat Troy Jackson defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine on Tuesday, ending the veteran Republican's decades-long tenure in Washington and
handing Democrats a Senate seat they've fought for cycle after cycle.
Jackson's victory unseated the only Republican senator seeking re-election in a state carried by former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, delivering Democrats a critical pickup as they expand their control of the upper chamber.
Collins called Jackson to concede shortly after midnight Eastern Time. As of 12:30 a.m., Jackson led by seven points with 70% of the vote counted.
"It has been the honor of my life to serve the people of Maine in the United States Senate. I'm proud of all I have been able to accomplish for our state and for our country in the past 30 years," Collins said. "I called Troy Jackson tonight to congratulate him and to assure him that my staff and I will work to ensure a smooth transition."
Collins, who first won her Senate seat in 1996, had built a political career around her reputation as a moderate Republican capable of winning support from voters across partisan lines. But her fifth re-election bid became a referendum on her relationship with President Donald Trump and the national Republican Party, as Democrats argued that her record of occasional breaks with the GOP was no longer enough to satisfy Maine voters.
Jackson, a former president of the Maine State Senate and a longtime labor-backed politician, campaigned on economic concerns and his working-class ties. A logger from Allagash in northern Maine, he portrayed Collins as a longtime Washington insider whose promises of bipartisanship had done too little to address constituents' issues.
"For nearly 30 years, Susan Collins has told Maine that she's 'concerned,'" Jackson said before he was made the official Democratic Senate candidate for Maine. "But concern does not lower the cost of groceries and gas. Maine does not need six more years of concern."
The race was one of the most consequential Senate contests of the midterms. Republicans entered the night with a 53-47 majority, and Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to take control of the chamber. Collins' defeat gives Democrats a crucial pickup as they seek to constrain the Trump administration during its final two years.
The outcome also marks a remarkable turnaround for a Democratic campaign that was thrown into turmoil after its original nominee, Graham Platner, withdrew from the race in July. Platner had won the Democratic primary but faced a series of escalating controversies, including a Nazi tattoo he later covered up, resurfaced online comments about veterans, and sexually explicit messages to multiple women. The final straw came when he faced sexual assault allegations he denied.
Platner's departure forced Democratic officials to select Jackson as the party's replacement in a race national Democrats viewed as essential to their Senate ambitions.
Despite the turbulence, Jackson remained competitive in the closing weeks of the campaign. A CNN/SSRS poll conducted October 20-26 found Jackson leading Collins, 49% to 45%, among 783 likely voters. A Marist University poll conducted October 22-25 put Jackson ahead 49% to 47%, while a Beacon Research/Shaw and Company Research survey conducted October 16-20 showed the candidates tied at 49%.
The campaign unfolded against a broader political backdrop of dissatisfaction with the administration and concern about household finances. In Marist's October survey, 58% of likely voters disapproved of Trump's job performance, while 46% said personal finances had worsened over the previous year.
Jackson's victory gives Democrats a new senator whose politics are rooted in socialist-tinted labor organizations and "economic populism" rather than the centrist approach Collins made central to her career. He has aligned himself with far-left figures, including Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who endorsed both Jackson's senate campaign and his failed gubernatorial campaign earlier this year.
For Democrats, Jackson's win presents a clear path towards reshaping the balance of power in the Senate, which is still up for grabs at time of publication.
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