Congress
Will Democrats finally get a shot at taking out Susan Collins?
Captain Ahab had Moby Dick. Wile E. Coyote had Road Runner. Senate Democrats have Susan Collins.
Even as ticket-splitting rates have plummeted, Collins has stymied all previous Democratic attempts to oust her from her Maine Senate seat and she remains the only Republican senator left standing in a state that Donald Trump lost in 2024. A rare GOP moderate, she frequently crosses party lines, voting to convict Trump in his 2021 impeachment trial and against confirming his Defense secretary four years later.
That has made her unpopular with some Trump voters, but Collins’ path has always been to make up for her weakness on her right flank by bringing in an impressive number of moderate Democrats and cleaning up with independents. In the midterms, Democrats are hoping she’s become so unpalatable that her coalition collapses.
A Public Policy Polling survey, commissioned by a top Democratic super PAC and shared first with Blue Light News, is giving them reason for optimism. Collins’ approval rating is underwater by 37 points with 24 percent approving of her and 61 percent disapproving, per the survey of 569 registered Maine voters. The crosstabs show she is being pinched on both sides — she’s upside down with Kamala Harris voters 17/71 and with Trump voters at 30/52.
“A big part of Collins’ problem is that when it comes to Trump her approach is just antagonizing everyone,” the pollster wrote in the memo, noting that 81 percent “of Harris voters think she votes with Trump too often” and 73 percent of “of Trump voters think she doesn’t vote with Trump often enough.”
Her overall favorability rating was underwater at 19/65. Similarly among independents it was upside down at 19/66.
The poll, which had a sample size split nearly evenly among Democrats, independents and Republicans and was conducted on March 20-21 on behalf of Senate Majority PAC, a group with close ties to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. It has a margin of error of 4.1 percentage points.
But Collins’ still has one massive advantage: Democrats are likely to have a hard time recruiting a candidate to go against her. There is a wide open governor’s race that looks far more enticing than challenging a formidable incumbent. One prominent Democrat, former state Senate President Troy Jackson, is exploring a run for governor and moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, a former Collins staffer, is highly unlikely to challenge her.
Even with a top-tier challenger, Collins knows how to survive. A Public Policy Polling survey conducted in mid-October of 2019 found her approval rating underwater by 15 points with 35 percent approving to 50 percent disapproving.
In that race, she was vastly outraised by her 2020 opponent, then-Maine state House Speaker Sara Gideon. Collins consistently trailed her in the polls and even some in the GOP doubted her ability to prevail. Ultimately, the incumbent won, 51 to 42 percent in November 2020 — even as Trump lost the state and under Maine’s new ranked-choice voting system.
“Chuck Schumer literally ran out of things to spend money on last time he tried to take down Susan Collins and she still won,” said Nick Puglia, a spokesperson for the Senate GOP campaign arm. “In 2026, Mainers will re-elect Susan Collins again and no amount of partisan polling or openly begging any Democrat to run against her will change that.”
At a time when the MAGA movement has demanded unwavering loyalty to Trump, Collins could be vulnerable to a primary challenger. But she ran unopposed for the Republican nomination in 2020 and could again avoid a serious challenge in 2026. Trump allies are well aware that Collins is the only Republican who could win the seat, though they don’t control every MAGA activist in the state.
The survey does have some good results for Collins. She still has support from 17 percent of Harris voters, a not insignificant level of crossover appeal. Compare that to Trump, who has an approval rating of just 2 percent with Harris voters.
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Todd Blanche picked up an important GOP vote Tuesday for his nomination as attorney general — Sen. John Curtis of Utah — likely leaving him just one vote shy of securing confirmation.
Curtis said in a statement he plans to “support” Blanche and was pleased with the nominee’s “receptivity and understanding” of issues raised, including ending the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” created under a May settlement Blanche brokered between the IRS and President Donald Trump.
The announcement came moments after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on party lines to advance Blanche’s nomination to the full Senate.
Crucial to that vote was Blanche agreeing in writing that the $1.8 billion payout fund was nullified and that another aspect of the settlement — an IRS audit immunity agreement — was scaled back. That gave GOP Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina enough comfort to vote for Blanche.
The remaining undecided Republican senators are Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. All three said Tuesday they are still grappling with their decisions.
“I’m still considering everything,” Collins said. “I watched part of the markup this morning to hear some of the statements, but I don’t have any decision to share with you right now.”
Murkowski declined to say how she would vote, and Cassidy told reporters that he had “nothing about Todd Blanche” to say.
Cornyn said he has already spoken with Collins and Murkowski and that additional conversations are expected.
“Senator Collins, she’s one of the most diligent individuals I know, certainly here in the United States Senate, and we had a good conversation.” Cornyn said. “She’ll have to speak for herself as to her ultimate conclusion. And I’ve also been exchanging messages with Senator Murkowski, and I know we’ll have further conversations about this.”
Jordain Carney and Calen Razor contributed to this report.
Democrats on the Budget Committee were frustrated by Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) first turn with the gavel after the new chair rebutted each of their remarks.
“Welcome to the chairmanship, but I find you are turning this into a debate committee and not a budget committee,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said during the Tuesday hearing on Medicaid.
Johnson, who took over chair after the unexpected passing of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) last month, fact checked Democrats on the committee after their allotted question time, which got on the nerves of his colleagues.
Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said near the end of the hearing that rebuttals by the chair aren’t “customary.”
Johnson, a frequent critic of the Medicaid program, defended his approach, which he said makes the hearings more “informative.” He sparred with Democrats on Tuesday over the impact of Medicaid cuts included in the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as well as Medicaid fraud and spending growth.
“I keep my comments pretty short,” he said. “There are important points to be made, and I will continue to do that. I hope it doesn’t offend my Democratic colleagues, but that will be my contention here.”
Rep. Max Miller, facing allegations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife, said he would ask the House Ethics Committee to investigate the claims in an attempt to clear his name.
“In light of all the renewed interest in my family affairs I am going to file my own paperwork for an ethics investigation into myself to clear my name from these horrific attacks on myself and family,” the Ohio Republican said in an X post. “I have absolutely nothing to hide.”
Miller is facing calls to resign after GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno, the father of Miller’s ex-wife Emily Moreno, said he should not serve in the House and should “seek professional help.”
Miller has denied allegations of domestic abuse from Emily Moreno. He attempted to defend himself Sunday in a livestreamed monologue and by publishing a trove of documents related to the divorce. Those documents included an “intimate image” of their daughter, which Miller’s lawyer Aaron Minc said he uploaded by mistake.
A spokesperson for Emily Moreno did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Miller’s request for a House Ethics investigation. A committee spokesperson also did not immediately respond.
Miller said he would provide the panel with “all necessary documents needed for a detail examination.” It is unlikely the committee, which historically works slowly, would make any assessment ahead of the November midterm election where he is facing a strong Democratic challenger.
“The accusations continue to change, but my facts stay the same,” Miller said. “I am looking forward to my colleagues reading everything for themselves.”
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