By VIRGINIA GRACE MCKINNON, The Daily Signal | November 04, 2026
Maine Democrat Troy Jackson defeated Sen. Susan Collins in one of the nation’s most closely watched midterm races, claiming a Senate seat she held for nearly 30 years.
Decision Desk HQ projected Jackson as the winner at 1:10 a.m. EST, with 76% of the vote in and Jackson leading Collins with 53% of the vote to Collins’ 45%. Collins called Jackson just after midnight to concede.
“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 in a statement. “I called Troy Jackson tonight to congratulate him and to assure him that my staff and I will work to ensure a smooth transition,” the statement continued.
Jackson thanked his voters in his victory speech early Wednesday.
“Tonight, you’ve lifted one of your own all the way to the United States Senate,” he said, “now the real work begins, and we have to make it count.”
“Hold me to what I said I’d do,” Jackson told his supporters, followed by shouts of “Free Palestine” from an audience member.
Jackson finished his victory promising to “work every day to give you a government that’s worthy of your trust.”
Collins succumbed to her weeks of bad polling, which, according to The New York Times, showed Jackson ahead by nearly 10 points. Tuesday’s election was not a replay of 2020, when Collins triumphed by 9 points despite weeks of bad polling and former President Donald Trump’s defeat.
Collins was a key leader for Senate Republicans as chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee. She ran on her record of securing over $400 million in federal funding for Maine in fiscal year 2026, including tens of millions invested in projects for hospitals, health centers, and water infrastructure.
Jackson, former president of the Maine Senate, originally ran as a Republican for the Maine House, later switching parties and tying himself to the Democratic Socialists of America during the Democrat primary against former nominee Graham Platner.
Platner, Jackson’s longtime friend, was ousted as the party’s Senate nominee following multiple sexual assault and rape allegations, which he has denied. The Maine Democratic Party tapped Jackson to take Platner’s place only 102 days before the election.
Jackson, no longer endorsed by the DSA, was a face of the new left during his election, often campaigning for free universal health care, a platform echoed by the Democratic Party.
Collins and Jackson debated four separate times ahead of election night, where Jackson spent significant time connecting the GOP senator to Trump. Collins responded that she is regularly at odds with Trump on tariff policy and the Iran war, and referred to herself as “not exactly [Trump’s] favorite senator.”
In 2020, Collins ran about 7 percentage points ahead of Trump statewide; Collins won at 51% while Trump lost the state with 44% of Maine’s presidential vote.
Abortion was also a large part of the 2026 Senate debates, and Jackson repeatedly attempted to remind voters of Collins’ 2018 vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who later voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. Though Jackson is a pro-choice Democrat, he had a previous pro-life record as a state legislator; Collins, meanwhile, is pro-choice.
One of the most recurring themes during the debates was each candidate placing blame on the other for Maine’s high cost of living.
Virginia Grace McKinnon is a journalism fellow for the Daily Signal.
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