Democrat Troy Jackson defeated five-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins in Maine’s 2026 Senate race, ending her nearly 30 years in the Senate and delivering Democrats a major pickup in a broader blue wave.

Jackson entered the contest just 101 days before Election Day after original Democratic nominee Graham Platner withdrew amid sexual misconduct allegations, including allegations of sexual assault and rape that Platner denied; Maine Democrats chose Jackson at a special convention.

A former logger and state legislator, Jackson campaigned on his working-class and union background, emphasizing workers’ rights and pledging to stand up for people’s healthcare, livelihoods and freedoms.

The close, rancorous race focused in part on affordability, as Maine residents faced soaring fuel costs, record-high heating oil prices and tariffs affecting key state industries.

Some voters who had previously backed Collins cited broader concerns about the country’s direction, including affordability, the war in Iran, bullying and disregard for the rule of law; Trump did not visit Maine to campaign for Collins, but his influence remained central to the contest.

Abortion rights also became a prominent issue: Jackson, who had once opposed abortion rights, won support from pro-choice campaigners by highlighting Collins’s 2018 vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, who later voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Collins argued that Jackson was ideologically inconsistent and lacked the experience to represent Maine in the Senate, while presenting her independence and record of securing federal funding as reasons to keep her in office.

A debate exchange over Collins’s role in exempting Canadian road salt from tariffs fueled a Democratic campaign slogan, after Jackson said, “You can’t eat road salt,” casting doubt on whether her achievements benefited ordinary Mainers.

Collins had at times opposed Trump, including by voting to convict him in his 2021 impeachment trial, opposing his One Big Beautiful Bill and helping block repeal of the Affordable Care Act, but she also supported consequential choices such as Kavanaugh’s nomination and Robert Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation as health secretary.

Jackson’s supporters framed his victory as a challenge to an elite Senate and a sign that voters wanted working-class representation and change from elected officials they felt had failed them.

Democratic victories in Maine, Texas and South Carolina gave the party a larger Senate majority, while it also won the House, putting Democrats in control of Congress for the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency.