Maine Republican Susan Collins has promoted her reputation as one of the most independent U.S. senators and she is using the waning days of the election season to sell that message to voters by campaigning with a former Democratic colleague who has endorsed her.<\/p>\n
\n
Collins is trying to fend off a challenge from Democrat Troy Jackson, a onetime state Senate president, and on Wednesday she made appearances with Joe Manchin, a West Virginian who became an independent late in his career before retiring.<\/p>\n
After stopping for breakfast at Simones\u2019 Hot Dog Stand in Lewiston, Collins spoke of how she and Manchin were \u201cpart of every piece of bipartisan legislation that passed and became law\u201d during their time together in office.<\/p>\n
Manchin said to lose Collins would be \u201cto lose the soul of the Senate.\u201d He praised her independent streak, her willingness to buck Republican President Donald Trump and her record of fighting for Maine\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a true blue-blooded Maine person who knows exactly where she came from,\u201d Manchin said.<\/p>\n
They stopped later a New Balance shoe facility in Norway. Jackson, 58, is scheduled to campaign Thursday in Portland with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive congresswoman from New York.<\/p>\n
Collins, 73, is in what may be her toughest reelection fight as she seeks her sixth term.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s only the second time that she\u2019s sought reelection in a midterm with a sitting Republican president, and the national trends are much less favorable to the GOP than they were the last time she did so, in 2002. Trump\u2019s approval has fallen well below where it was when he took office last year, and a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that a strong majority of voters want change in Washington.<\/p>\n
\u2018We need more people like Susan Collins\u2019<\/h4>\n
Collins has been working to persuade voters that she is independent of Trump and willing to break with him. In Manchin, she enlisted a politician who was one of the most moderate voices in the Senate. Manchin said in 2023 that Trump would \u201c destroy democracy in America\u201d if he was elected to a second term.<\/p>\n
Among the few dozen Collins supporters at the Lewiston event was Mike Marcotte.<\/p>\n
\u201cI may not have always been a fan of her complete package of votes, but when I look at the vitriol that\u2019s in the U.S. Senate right now, we need more people like Susan Collins,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Jackson got a late start on campaigning after the party\u2019s initial nominee existed the race, but trails Collins in the money race by less than $3 million after an aggressive quarter in which he raised more than $20 million. Jackson has campaigned relentlessly and his events have drawn hundreds. Collins has largely stuck to smaller appearances.<\/p>\n
Some of Jackson\u2019s backers demonstrated across the street from the hot dog stand. A few held signs bearing the face of Brett Kavanaugh, the U.S. Supreme Court justice whom Collins voted to confirm and whose vote eventually helped overturn the constitutional right to abortion.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone needs to stand up and be a check on Donald Trump and his harmful policies,\u201d said David Sysko.<\/p>\n
Collins\u2019 loyalty to Trump has been a central focus of the race<\/h4>\n
Collins has broken with Trump and Republicans over the years. She voted to convict him at his impeachment trial in 2021. Increasingly during the campaign, she has worked to distance herself from the president as Democrats argue that she is too close to him.<\/p>\n
Collins said in early October that she is \u201cnot exactly his favorite senator,\u201d and that she did not expect Trump to campaign in Maine. He has steered clear of the state with the Nov. 3 election nearing.<\/p>\n
Pinning Collins to Trump is central to the Democrats\u2019 strategy. In one ad, a nurse says the state is in a healthcare crisis \u201cbecause of Susan Collins and Donald Trump,\u201d citing Collins\u2019 vote for Trump\u2019s push for Medicaid cuts. Collins did vote to advance the bill, but ultimately voted against it.<\/p>\n
Trump also was a major focus of four contentious debates between the candidates this month, where Collins sought to distance herself from the president and Jackson repeatedly accused her of doing Trump\u2019s bidding.<\/p>\n
Asked at the final debate to name a time in which she bucked her own party and succeeded, Collins gave the example of rallying support against Trump\u2019s nomination of Pete Hegseth, who was confirmed as defense secretary.<\/p>\n
Democrats seized on the moment and released a statement that said the exchange \u201cunderscores a central question in the Maine Senate race: Does Collins, a Republican in a state that disapproves of President Donald Trump and has grown bluer in recent years, stand up to her party enough to earn the independent streak she has staked her career on?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jackson has characterized Collins as out of touch with the struggles of working-class people in Maine. He has described Collins as a \u201crubber stamp\u201d for the president and criticized her votes on Kavanaugh and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump\u2019s second-term health secretary. Collins has said she does not regret either vote.<\/p>\n
Republicans have cast Jackson as a bully<\/h4>\n
Republican ads against Jackson, a logger from northern Maine, have focused more on accusations of his having a volatile personality and behaving like a bully with female colleagues. Jackson has denied those accusations.<\/p>\n
Collins distanced herself on Wednesday from a Republican super PAC attack ad that she said \u201cshould be taken down.\u201d<\/p>\n
The senator was a top target of Democrats in 2020 when she defeated challenger Sara Gideon by nearly 9 percentage points. Collins is the only Republican senator from New England, a distinction she has had since January 2013.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Republican #Sen #Collins #promotes #true #blueblooded #Maineness #partnering #exDem #Manchin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maine Republican Susan Collins… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[10341,9689,2522,273,10343,10342,10344,7728,5239,6084,299,2825,145,5276],"class_list":["post-7257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-news","tag-blueblooded","tag-collins","tag-democratic-party","tag-donald-trump","tag-exdem","tag-maineness","tag-manchin","tag-partnering","tag-promotes","tag-republican","tag-republican-party","tag-sen","tag-true","tag-u-s-midterm-elections"],"yoast_head":"\n
Republican Sen. Collins promotes her 'true blue-blooded Maine'-ness, partnering with ex-Dem Manchin - Finance News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"zh_CN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Republican Sen. Collins promotes her 'true blue-blooded Maine'-ness, partnering with ex-Dem Manchin - Finance News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Maine Republican Susan Collins…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Finance News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-21T22:46:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2299866034-e1792614936775.jpg?w=2048\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u4f5c\u8005\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"\u9884\u8ba1\u9605\u8bfb\u65f6\u95f4\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 \u5206\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7257#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7257\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e\"},\"headline\":\"Republican Sen. Collins promotes her ‘true blue-blooded Maine’-ness, partnering with ex-Dem Manchin\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-21T22:46:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7257\"},\"wordCount\":972,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7257#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/GettyImages-2299866034-e1792614936775.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"blueblooded\",\"Collins\",\"Democratic Party\",\"Donald Trump\",\"exDem\",\"Maineness\",\"Manchin\",\"partnering\",\"promotes\",\"Republican\",\"Republican Party\",\"Sen\",\"true\",\"U.S. midterm elections\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Finance News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7257#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7257\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7257\",\"name\":\"Republican Sen. Collins promotes her 'true blue-blooded Maine'-ness, partnering with ex-Dem Manchin - Finance News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7257#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7257#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/GettyImages-2299866034-e1792614936775.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-21T22:46:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7257#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7257\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7257#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/GettyImages-2299866034-e1792614936775.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/GettyImages-2299866034-e1792614936775.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7257#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u9996\u9875\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Republican Sen. Collins promotes her ‘true blue-blooded Maine’-ness, partnering with ex-Dem Manchin\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/\",\"name\":\"Finance News\",\"description\":\"Just another Finance News site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Republican Sen. Collins promotes her 'true blue-blooded Maine'-ness, partnering with ex-Dem Manchin - Finance News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257","og_locale":"zh_CN","og_type":"article","og_title":"Republican Sen. Collins promotes her 'true blue-blooded Maine'-ness, partnering with ex-Dem Manchin - Finance News","og_description":"Maine Republican Susan Collins…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257","og_site_name":"Finance News","article_published_time":"2026-10-21T22:46:42+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2299866034-e1792614936775.jpg?w=2048","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"\u4f5c\u8005":"admin","\u9884\u8ba1\u9605\u8bfb\u65f6\u95f4":"5 \u5206"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#\/schema\/person\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e"},"headline":"Republican Sen. Collins promotes her ‘true blue-blooded Maine’-ness, partnering with ex-Dem Manchin","datePublished":"2026-10-21T22:46:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257"},"wordCount":972,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2299866034-e1792614936775.jpg","keywords":["blueblooded","Collins","Democratic Party","Donald Trump","exDem","Maineness","Manchin","partnering","promotes","Republican","Republican Party","Sen","true","U.S. midterm elections"],"articleSection":["Finance News"],"inLanguage":"zh-Hans","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257","name":"Republican Sen. Collins promotes her 'true blue-blooded Maine'-ness, partnering with ex-Dem Manchin - Finance News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2299866034-e1792614936775.jpg","datePublished":"2026-10-21T22:46:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#\/schema\/person\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"zh-Hans","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"zh-Hans","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2299866034-e1792614936775.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2299866034-e1792614936775.jpg","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7257#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u9996\u9875","item":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Republican Sen. Collins promotes her ‘true blue-blooded Maine’-ness, partnering with ex-Dem Manchin"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/","name":"Finance News","description":"Just another Finance News site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"zh-Hans"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#\/schema\/person\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e","name":"admin","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2299866034-e1792614936775.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n