While Democrats almost always put Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Susan Collins on their list of targets, the truth is that the closest race she’s had was her first Senate run in 1996 when she prevailed by five points. Democrats argue that this cycle will be different. They say that Collins’ vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court has left her very vulnerable and has decimated her image as a moderate consensus builder.
In truth, Collins has not said whether she is running for a fifth term, but she’s doing an awfully good impression of an incumbent who is running. She has put together a campaign earlier than usual and has been raising money much more aggressively than she has in past races. She took in just over $2 million in the second quarter, and had $5.4 million in the bank as of June 30.
Democrats have a primary, but the frontrunner is Sara Gideon, the Speaker of the state House. Gideon gets high marks for working with new Democratic Gov. Janet Mills to shepherd a number
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