In a stunning 2026 U.S. midterm election upset that sent ripples through national political circles, Democratic candidate Troy Jackson has ousted four-term Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins, a figure long celebrated as one of the last remaining centrist voices in the Republican caucus. The high-stakes race unfolded against an unusual, last-minute candidate shakeup: Jackson stepped into the Democratic nomination only after original party pick Graham Platner suspended his campaign amid multiple unsubstantiated sexual assault allegations, which Platner has consistently denied. Prior to securing the Senate spot via a special Democratic convention, Jackson had mounted an unsuccessful bid for the party’s Maine gubernatorial primary earlier in the election cycle. A former logger who built his political platform around working-class advocacy, labor rights protections, and targeted critiques of Collins’ mixed record on aligning with former President Donald Trump’s agenda, Jackson ran a scrappy, late-entry campaign that defied most pre-election polling projections. The contest grew particularly fiery during statewide televised debates, where Jackson made national headlines for a blunt, unscripted remark telling the 73-year-old incumbent to “shut up” mid-exchange, a moment that underscored the sharp partisan tensions driving the Maine race. Collins, first elected to the Senate in 1996, held a uniquely vulnerable position as the sole Republican senator representing a state that has reliably backed Democratic presidential candidates in every election cycle dating back to 1992. Over her nearly 30-year tenure, she carefully curated a reputation as a pragmatic swing voter, often positioning herself between partisan extremes: she voted to convict Trump during his 2021 second impeachment trial following the U.S. Capitol riot, opposed the attempted repeal of the Affordable Care Act (widely known as Obamacare), and rejected the president’s signature “One Big Beautiful Bill” legislative package. At the same time, she backed several of Trump’s highest-profile priorities, including the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh and the confirmation of vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr. as U.S. Health Secretary. Jackson’s decisive win in Maine, paired with Democratic upsets in traditionally red strongholds including Texas and South Carolina, has handed the party a commanding expanded majority in the U.S. Senate, alongside full control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The dual chamber takeover means Democrats will hold full legislative control of Congress for the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidential term, a dramatic shift in federal lawmaking power few political analysts predicted ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Republican Susan Collins loses seat to Democrat, ending nearly 30 years in the Senate
