Susan Collins is in trouble
One of Susan Collins’ classic moves, due to hailing from a relatively moderate state like Maine that leans Democratic, is to express “concern” whenever Donald Trump shows his astounding ignorance of democracy or diplomacy, then go right back to acting like nothing is wrong and usually voting alongside the rest of her fellow Republicans in the Senate. No one who’s been paying attention expects her to do the right thing at this point, but it’s come to a point where Susan Collins really ought to be concerned – not just about Donald Trump, who she should do more about than give a non-endorsement endorsement, but about her own seat.
Earlier this year, she lost the endorsements of key groups that solidified her credentials as a moderate, and now her challenger, Sara Gideon, Maine’s House Speaker, is calling out Collins’ typical routine, and making it clear she isn’t fooling anyone. “You have to stand up to people when they are wrong, and you have to call them out. You have to say who we are and what matters. That’s what we’ve lost during the course of this presidency,” Gideon said recently to voters at a town hall in Camden.
She handily defeated her Republican opponent in 2018 with just over $4,000 – but in this current race, she’s raised over $63 million, as it’s clear that resentment against Collins still hasn’t cooled from her decision to vote Kavanaugh, and no one’s trusting her to do the right thing with Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination either. Polls also have shown Gideon holding a slight but steady lead over Collins and she’s running on a platform supporting healthcare expansion and increasing environmental protections. If you’re looking for a Democratic down ballot race to support – this is an instrumental one for flipping the Senate and worth your consideration. Let’s do all we can to help Democrats win big on November 3.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making