Susan Collins just got hit with some really bad news
Whenever Donald Trump does something negative that could hurt Susan Collins’ chances of keeping her Senate seat in 2020, she routinely says that she’s “concerned” by Trump’s antics. Then she always finds a way to let him off the hook for his antics. This vicious cycle has been going on for some time. Now it turns out Collins really does have a reason to be concerned – about her own career.
Susan Collins now has an upstart Democratic challenger named Sara Gideon, who has long been popular and respected in Maine. But it’s been months since we’ve seen a major poll conducted in that race, so it’s never been entirely clear how it was shaping up. That changed today when the Wall Street Journal published a new poll which has Gideon up by one point over Collins, by a 43% to 42% margin.
All the usual caveats about polls apply here. Polls can be flat out wrong. Polls can change. And you always want to look at the polling averages if you can, as opposed to just one poll. But in this instance the one new poll is all we have to work with, and it paints a highly competitive race. At this stage in a Senate election cycle, the incumbent should be ahead based on built-in name recognition alone. So if this poll is even close to being accurate, and Collins is already behind (or statistically tied), it’s a really bad sign for her prospects. And because this poll shows Gideon ahead, she can now campaign on the viability of her candidacy, which should boost her fundraising and her media opportunities.
Now that one major polling outlet has conducted a poll in the Maine Senate race, we can likely expect other major polling outlets to start doing the same. So we should begin forming a more reliable polling average in the race soon. But today’s numbers are undeniably worrisome for Susan Collins. She’s already given up her credibility, her reputation, and her soul while trying to cover for Donald Trump. Now there’s a very real chance it’ll also cost her the only thing she has left – her seat.
