Susan Collins: the defeat of the Senate’s last moderate, swept aside by the Trump era

The issue had also become intertwined with that of civil rights. Collins, who supports the right to abortion, had come under fire from Democratic activists for voting in 2018 in favour of confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. A decision which, in the eyes of her critics, had helped pave the way for the subsequent conservative majority that, in 2022, would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, thereby removing federal constitutional protection for the right to abortion.

The Trump administration’s economic policy has further complicated his position. Maine has deep trade links with Canada, and the tariffs imposed by the President have had a direct impact on an economy that relies heavily on cross-border trade. This made it particularly difficult for Collins to defend both her party and the economic interests of the state she represented at the same time.

The election campaign, one of the most expensive and fiercely contested in the country, also went through a long period of turmoil within the Democratic Party. The party had initially backed the moderate governor, Janet Mills, who, however, withdrew her candidacy after failing to secure sufficient support. The next candidate, Graham Platner, withdrew from the race after being hit by allegations of sexual assault. In July, Troy Jackson, a former state legislator who had previously been defeated in the Democratic primary for governor, entered the fray. Jackson, who is also from the rural county of Aroostook, built his campaign around the need to act as a political bulwark against the Trump administration, portraying Collins as one of its supporters.

The defeat also has an institutional dimension. Collins chaired the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, a position that had enabled her to channel tens of billions of dollars in federal funding to Maine, from fire stations to shipyards. Her seniority in Parliament and her ability to negotiate with both sides had secured the state a level of influence in Washington far greater than its demographic weight would suggest.

There is another statistic that illustrates his relationship with his institutional role: in thirty years, Collins has never missed a roll-call vote in the Senate. During this parliamentary term, he has reached the 10,000-vote mark, a milestone that testifies to a dedication to parliamentary work that has become increasingly rare.

“It has been the honour of my life to serve the people of Maine in the United States Senate,” she said as she conceded defeat. “I am proud of what I have been able to achieve for our state and for our country over the last thirty years.”

Her story thus reflects a broader transformation in American politics. For decades, Collins had demonstrated that there was still room for a form of Republicanism capable of engaging with Democrats, defending independent positions and surviving in a state politically distant from her own party. But in an increasingly polarised America, where the mid-term election has also become a referendum on the presidency, that middle ground has proved increasingly fragile. Collins was not merely defeated by a Democratic opponent: she was overwhelmed by the difficulty of continuing to be a moderate Republican in the Trump era.