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Democrat Troy Jackson has defeated Republican incumbent Susan Collins in Maine, ending her nearly 30 years in the US Senate. The race was marked by controversy, according to BBC World.
Jackson entered the contest after Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee, withdrew following a series of controversies. Platner had faced allegations of sexual assault, which he denied.
Collins was first elected in 1996. She was the only Republican senator representing a state that has consistently voted Democratic in presidential elections since 1992.
During her campaign, Collins sought to emphasise her moderate reputation and distance herself from President Donald Trump. Jackson, a former logger, campaigned on workers’ rights and accused Collins of yielding to pressure from Trump.
The two candidates faced off in state debates. Jackson made national headlines when he told the 73-year-old Collins to “shut up”.
Jackson had previously failed to win the Democratic gubernatorial primary, but secured the Senate nomination at a special convention after Platner withdrew late in the campaign.
Jackson’s victory gives Democrats an even larger majority in the Senate. Wins in several key states, including Texas and South Carolina, also gave the party control of the chamber.
Democrats won control of the US House of Representatives as well, giving them control of both chambers of Congress for the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Collins, a moderate Republican in a state that has historically supported Democrats, often criticised Trump’s policies and was seen as a possible swing vote on controversial legislation.
She voted to convict Trump at his second impeachment trial in 2021, after the US Capitol riots, and opposed his One Big Beautiful Bill, which passed. Collins also voted against repealing the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.
However, she supported Trump in several key votes, including backing Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court and confirming Robert Kennedy Jr, a vaccine sceptic, as health secretary.
