By David Morgan
WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced on Tuesday that she will seek a sixth term in November’s midterm elections, setting up a high-stakes battle for her seat in Maine.
Her decision to run defies recent attacks from President Donald Trump, whose opposition to Collins complicates the Republican strategy to keep its fragile Senate majority. She presented her candidacy as a choice between problem solving and counterproductive confrontation.
“At a time when Washington seems broken and trust is low, Maine needs experienced, steady leadership and a senator committed to the hard work it takes to get things done,” Collins said in an op-ed column in the Bangor Daily News.
The 73-year-old centrist, seen as the most vulnerable Senate Republican in this year’s campaign, faces a toss-up bid for re-election in a state that Trump lost by nearly seven points in 2024. Her top Democratic contenders include Maine Governor Janet Mills and progressive Graham Platner, who have both polled strongly against Collins, according to RealClearPolitics.com, which tracks political polls.
Collins’ formal declaration dispelled uncertainty about her plans, after Trump attacked her and four other Senate Republicans over their support for a resolution to bar him from taking further military action in Venezuela without congressional authorization, following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.
Republicans have a 53-47 seat majority in the Senate and are favored to keep control of the chamber in the final two years of Trump’s presidency. But in recent months, Democrats have become more hopeful about their chances of reducing the Republican majority or even taking control of the chamber, with Collins viewed as a leading target for ouster.
Trump maintains a tight hold on the Republican Party and his influence in party primary elections can often make or break a candidate. On his Truth Social website, the president attacked the five Republicans who supported the Venezuela resolution, saying they “should never be elected to office again.” Of the five, only Collins faces re-election this year.
Collins, seen as the only Republican who can win the November general election in Maine, responded to news of the Trump attack by telling reporters that she guessed Trump “would prefer to have Governor Mills or somebody else.”
Trump’s attack on Collins helped raise Democratic hopes of capturing the seat. But there has been no sign of the president backing a primary challenger.
Collins, one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, was able to win re-election in 2020 despite Trump attacks over issues including her opposition to Republican healthcare legislation and his Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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