Collins' Moderate Brand Faces a Reckoning in Maine (Connecting the Dots: Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Elaine Chao, John McCain, The Washington Post & The Carnegie/Soros Network)

Collins' Moderate Brand Faces a Reckoning in Maine (Connecting the Dots: Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Elaine Chao, John McCain, The Washington Post & The Carnegie/Soros Network)

Newsmax.com

By Jim Morley    |   Saturday, 08 August 2026 10:33 AM EDT

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/collins-maine-moderate/2026/08/08/id/1265474/

Republican Sen. Susan Collins is confronting signs of an eroding base among the Democratic and independent voters who typically have helped sustain her political career in Maine, according to Washington Post reporting published Saturday.

Collins has long relied on split-ticket voters in the otherwise Democratic-leaning state, but interviews with more than two dozen Maine voters by the outlet found some former supporters increasingly dissatisfied with the senator and her relationship with President Donald Trump.

''I just gave her the benefit of the doubt,'' Democrat Kim Bridgham, who voted for Collins and Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, told the Post.

''I tend to be somewhat moderate, and I used to believe that she was a moderate.''

Bridgham pointed in particular to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement following the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old Colombian immigrant by an ICE agent in Biddeford.

''I’m horrified that some young father who’s just trying to provide for his family just got basically gunned down in the street,'' Bridgham said.

Collins has called for an independent investigation into the shooting and pressed the administration over ICE vehicle stops.

She also highlighted $20 million for ICE body cameras and additional de-escalation training in an appropriations bill, and said ICE officials promised Maine would be first to receive body cameras as the agency equips field agents nationwide.

But Bridgham said Collins’ occasional breaks with Republicans have not been enough.

''When she voted for RFK Jr., I totally lost it,'' she said.

''I feel like she only votes against her party when she knows it doesn’t count.''

Collins provided a notable recent exception when she became the first Republican senator to announce she would oppose Trump’s nomination of Todd Blanche for attorney general. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, subsequently announced her opposition as well.

Blanche was nevertheless confirmed in an extraordinarily narrow 50-49 Senate vote early Saturday morning, with Collins and Murkowski joining Democrats in opposition.

The episode underscores the political balancing act Collins faces in Maine, where her reputation for independence remains central to her campaign even as critics argue her breaks with Trump are too infrequent.

Some longtime supporters remain firmly behind her. Madeleine Thibeault, an 83-year-old Democrat, cited Collins’ ability to direct federal resources to Maine.

''I know she’s been there 30 years, but she’s done things,'' Thibeault said. ''She kept the navy yard open, the fire departments, all kinds of stuff.''

Others who once viewed Collins as a moderate Republican role model say their support has finally collapsed.

Margaret Shaw, a 74-year-old retired teacher who previously backed Collins, described the senator’s 2018 vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh as a turning point.

''That put the crack in the teapot,'' Shaw said.

''I’m watching the country devolve before my eyes, and so I’m far more vocal and I’m thinking about it,'' she added.

''Can’t she speak out? Can’t she be like John McCain?''

Independent Theresa Boisot, who voted for Collins in 2020 and Trump in 2024, also said she has soured on both.

''She’s taking money from other people and she’s not giving it to us poor people,'' Boisot said. ''I just don’t like Trump, and I don’t like Susan Collins, and I think they both need to hit the road.''

Collins is facing Democrat Troy Jackson, the former Maine Senate president, after Democrats turned to him following the implosion of Graham Platner’s campaign.

Jackson is seeking to capitalize on dissatisfaction with Trump and Collins, while the Collins campaign portrays him as outside Maine’s political mainstream.

''Jackson has based his latest campaigns on far-Left policies borrowed from the democratic socialist playbook,'' Collins spokeswoman Blake Kernen told the outlet.

''Centrist voters are going to have a clear choice this fall between a partisan Augusta legislator who has spent his entire career on the ideological fringes and a proven independent leader whose public service is defined by working with members of both parties to deliver for Maine.''

A recent University of New Hampshire poll cited by the Post showed Jackson with 49% support among likely voters and Collins with 46%, with 3% undecided, though polling in Maine has proved unreliable in previous elections.

For some voters, the question is also generational. Independent Beth Hutchinson said she respects Collins’ record but is considering voting for someone else.

''She should be retired. I’m sorry,'' Hutchinson said. ''I am retiring this year. She’s worked longer than I have. Really, lady. It’s time, go home.''

Hutchinson, however, remains wary of Jackson’s politics.

''We’re in the middle, we’re more conservative,'' she said of Maine.

Connecting the Dots:

E.J. Dionne is a columnist for the Washington Post and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Robert Kagan is a columnist for the Washington Post and was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Susan M. Collins is a Republican U.S. Senate senator for R- Maine and was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and the Hudson Institute (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Kenneth M. Duberstein is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), the chairman for the Harvard University Institute of Politics and a trustee emeritus at the Hudson Institute (think tank).

Elaine L. Chao is a senior advisory committee member for the Harvard University Institute of Politics, a fellow at the Hudson Institute (think tank) and married to (Mitch) Addison M. McConnell.

James A. Leach was a director at the Harvard University Institute of Politics and a member Japan-US Friendship Commission.

Lisa Murkowski is a member of the Japan-US Friendship Commission and a Republican U.S. Senate senator for R-Alaska.

Addison M. McConnell is married to Elaine L. Chao and a Republican U.S. Senate senator for R-Kentucky and was a majority leader.

John S. McCain III was a Republican U.S. Senate senator for R-Arizona and an advisory governor for the Partnership for Public Service.

Susan M. Collins  is an advisory governor for the Partnership for Public Service, a Republican U.S. Senate senator for R- Maine and was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and the Urban Institute (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Erskine B. Bowles is a trustee at the Urban Institute (think tank) and an advisory governor for the Partnership for Public Service.

Kenneth M. Duberstein is an advisory governor for the Partnership for Public Service, a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a trustee emeritus at the Hudson Institute (think tank) and was a VP for the Committee for Economic Development.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Hudson Institute (think tank) and the Committee for Economic Development.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Stuart E. Eizenstat was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development and is an advisory governor for the Partnership for Public Service.

Lloyd Howell Jr. was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development and is a director at the Partnership for Public Service.

John E. Sexton was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development and is an advisory governor for the Partnership for Public Service.

Beth A. Brooke-Marciniak is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development and was a director at the Partnership for Public Service.

Susan M. Collins is an advisory governor for the Partnership for Public Service, a Republican U.S. Senate senator for R- Maine and was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Ted Lieu was honored with the Carnegie Corporation of New York's Great Immigrants Award, has represented California's 36th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2023 and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Astrid S. Tuminez was a program officer at the Carnegie Corporation of New York and is the 7th President of the Utah Valley University (Charlie Kirk Shooting).

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

E.J. Dionne is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a columnist for the Washington Post.

Robert Kagan was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and is a columnist for the Washington Post.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).   

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) was a funder for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).

Warren E. Buffett is an adviser for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank) and was a director for the Washington Post Co.

Washington Post Co. was the owner of the Washington Post.

E.J. Dionne is a columnist for the Washington Post and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Susan M. Collins was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), is a Republican U.S. Senate senator for R- Maine and an advisory governor for the Partnership for Public Service.

John S. McCain III was an advisory governor for the Partnership for Public Service and a Republican U.S. Senate senator for R-Arizona.

Resources: Past Research

Shaffer to Newsmax: Murkowski, Collins Looking to Politicize Hegseth Confirmation (Connecting the Dots: Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Mitch McConnell, R.I.N.O.’s, The Japan-US Friendship Commission, The Partnership for Public Service, Obamacare, The Harvard University Institute of Politics & Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past Research on Susan Collins & Lisa Murkowski)

Thursday, January 23, 2025

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2025/01/shaffer-to-newsmax-murkowski-collins.html

Only Made Possible Though Networking (Past Research on the Washington Post)

Monday, June 9, 2014

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2014/06/only-made-possible-though-networking.html

Treasury Flags $5 Billion in Suspected Smuggling Activity (Connecting the Dots: The U.S. Department of the Treasury, The IRS, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia & The Carnegie/Soros Network) (Past Research on the Carnegie Corporation of New York)

Friday, August 14, 2026

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2026/08/treasury-flags-5-billion-in-suspected.html