2020 United States Senate election in Maine

For related races, see 2020 United States Senate elections.

Not to be confused with 2020 Maine State Senate election.

2020 United States Senate election in Maine

←  2014 November 3, 2020 2026  →

Nominee Susan Collins Sara Gideon Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 417,645 347,223 Percentage 50.98% 42.39%

County results Congressional district results Municipality results Collins:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Gideon:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Tie:

U.S. senator before election Susan Collins Republican Elected U.S. Senator Susan Collins Republican

The 2020 United States Senate election in Maine was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Maine, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. This was Maine's first election for its Class 2 seat to use its ranked choice voting system. Because the first round of the general election saw a majority, the instant runoff tabulation of more than 800,000 ballots was not carried out.

Republican Senator Susan Collins was challenged by Democratic nominee Sara Gideon, the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, as well as independent candidates Lisa Savage and Max Linn. Collins was considered one of the most vulnerable Republican senators due to her decreased polling numbers and perceived harm to her reputation, but she was re-elected by an unexpectedly large 8.6% margin, with 51% of the vote to Gideon's 42.4%. Despite this, her 51% share of the vote was her worst performance since her first election in 1996 and was a 17-point drop from 2014. Maine was the only state to elect a senator of a different party than the winner of its presidential contest in the November 3 election, with Collins outperforming President Donald Trump, who lost the state to Democratic nominee Joe Biden by 9.1%. ^[1]

Background

Republican senator Susan Collins, widely considered one of the two least conservative Republican U.S. senators (the other being Lisa Murkowski), ran for a fifth term. ^[2] Collins had won each election to this seat by a greater victory margin than the one before it. Observers did not anticipate this election to continue that trend. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

Collins was criticized for her decision to vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court despite his anti-abortion stances (Collins describes herself as pro-choice) and allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse against him, though she gave a highly publicized speech on the Senate floor explaining her reasoning. ^{[7] [8]} She also faced criticism for her stance on the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Collins voted in favor of allowing witness testimony in the Senate trial, and was the first Republican to do so, ^[9] and she voted to acquit Trump on both charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. ^{[10] [11] [12] [13]} She said she voted to acquit because "impeachment of a president should be reserved for conduct that poses such a serious threat to our governmental institutions as to warrant the extreme step of immediate removal from office." ^[14] She initially claimed that Trump "learned a pretty big lesson" from the impeachment, ^[15] but later said that she thought he had not learned from it after all. ^[16] She has also been criticized for running for third, fourth, and fifth Senate terms despite vowing to serve no more than two terms during her 1996 campaign, though she has explained this as a product of having learned the value of seniority in the Senate. The emphasis on seniority became a key theme of her campaign. ^{[17] [18]} Collins's campaign emphasized her efficiency as a legislator, her efforts to pass the Paycheck Protection Program and other aid for small businesses, and her growing seniority and influence in the Senate, in particular her potential chairwomanship of the Appropriations Committee.

The Democratic nominee, Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Sara Gideon, supports criminal justice reforms, expansion of the Affordable Care Act, rejoining the Paris Climate Accord, and imposing universal background checks on gun sales to combat gun violence. In 2019, Gideon faced an election ethics complaint for accepting reimbursements for her political donations from her own PAC. Gideon apologized for the violation, reimbursed the federal government a total of $3,250, and closed the PAC. ^[19] Gideon was also criticized for keeping the Maine House of Representatives adjourned for most of the year (neighboring New Hampshire had reconvened its sizably larger legislature by late spring) and for allegedly turning a blind eye to a legislative colleague accused of molesting underage girls until she was forced to acknowledge the scandal. ^{[20] [21]}

Lisa Savage, a longtime antiwar activist and schoolteacher from Solon, initially sought the Maine Green Independent Party nomination, but in late February, she announced her intention to instead qualify for the ballot as an independent due to Maine's restrictive ballot access measures. ^{[22] [23]} In April, Savage turned in more than 5,500 signatures to the Secretary of State's office and thus qualified for the general election ballot.

Max Linn, a financial planner and conservative activist from Bar Harbor, was a Trump supporter and former candidate of the Republican and Reform parties. In July 2020, he qualified for the ballot as an independent. Former Republican state senator Mary Small challenged the signatures on his petition, but the secretary of state found that he had enough and he was placed on the ballot. ^[24] Later that month, he announced his intention to drop out of the race to support Collins. But days later, he decided not to drop out unless Collins agreed to a list of policies, which she did not. ^[25]

Party primaries were initially scheduled to take place on June 9, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the state, Governor Janet Mills rescheduled them for July 14. Mills's executive order also expanded voters' ability to request absentee ballots, which could then be done up to and on election day. ^[26] The primaries were conducted with ranked choice voting. Parties qualified to participate in the 2020 primary election were the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and the Maine Green Independent Party.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Susan Collins, incumbent U.S. senator ^[27]

Eliminated in primary

• Amy Colter, law office manager (write-in candidate) ^[28]

Withdrawn

• Derek Levasseur, police officer ^{[29] [30]}

Declined

• Paul LePage, former governor of Maine ^[31] (endorsed Collins)
• Max Linn, financial planner, Reform nominee for governor of Florida in 2006, Democratic candidate for Florida's 10th congressional district in 2008 and disqualified candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018 ^[32] (qualified for the general election as Independent)
• Bruce Poliquin, former U.S. representative for Maine's 2nd congressional district and former Treasurer of Maine ^{[31] [33]}

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Susan Collins	Derek Levasseur	Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D) [34]	October 11–13, 2019	271 (LV)	± 6%	55%	10%	34%

Hypothetical polling

with Susan Collins and Paul LePage

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Susan Collins	Paul LePage	Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D) [34]	October 11–13, 2019	271 (LV)	± 6%	29%	63%	8%

with Susan Collins and Shawn Moody

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Susan Collins	Shawn Moody	Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D) [34]	October 11–13, 2019	271 (LV)	± 6%	36%	45%	18%

with Susan Collins and generic Republican if Collins supported impeaching Trump

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Susan Collins	Generic Republican	Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D) [34]	October 11–13, 2019	271 (LV)	± 6%	35%	55%	10

with Susan Collins and Derek Levasseur if Collins supported impeaching Trump

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Susan Collins	Derek Levasseur	Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D) [34]	October 11–13, 2019	271 (LV)	± 6%	37%	24%	39%

with Susan Collins and generic Republican

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Susan Collins	Generic Republican	Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D) [34]	October 11–13, 2019	271 (LV)	± 6%	53%	38%	9%

Results

Republican primary results ^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Susan Collins (incumbent)	87,375	98.79%
	Republican	Amy Colter (write-in)	1,073	1.21%
Total votes			88,448	100.0%

Democratic primary

On April 20, 2019, attorney and activist Bre Kidman became the first person to announce their candidacy for the Democratic nomination. If elected, they would have been the first ever U.S. Senator who identifies as non-binary. ^[36] On June 13, 2019, former Maine gubernatorial candidate Betsy Sweet declared her candidacy. ^[37] Eleven days later, Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon announced her candidacy, receiving widespread media coverage. ^{[38] [39] [40] [41]} General Jon Treacy had previously announced his candidacy before withdrawing. Former Google executive and political aide Ross LaJeunesse, who would have been the first openly gay man elected to the Senate, announced his candidacy in November 2019. He received the endorsement of the national political group The Victory Fund in January 2020. LaJeunesse eventually withdrew from the race in March 2020, citing the inability to continue his strategy of campaigning in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and endorsed Gideon. Two debates were held with all three candidates, while one hosted by WCSH was attended only by Sweet and Kidman. ^{[42] [43] [44]}

Candidates

Nominee

• Sara Gideon, Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives ^[38]

Eliminated in primary

• Bre Kidman, attorney, activist, and artist ^[45]
• Betsy Sweet, activist, former director of the Maine Women's Lobby, and candidate for Governor of Maine in 2018 ^[37]

Withdrawn

• Michael Bunker, travel agent ^[46]
• Christine Gates ^[47]
• Ross LaJeunesse, former Head of International Relations at Google, former aide to George J. Mitchell, Ted Kennedy, Steve Westly and Arnold Schwarzenegger (endorsed Gideon) ^[48]
• Cathleen London, physician and member of the Maine Democratic Party State Committee ^{[49] [50] [51]}
• Jon Treacy, retired U.S. Air Force major general ^[52]

Declined

• Shenna Bellows, state senator and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2014 ^[53]
• Seth Berry, state representative (endorsed Gideon) ^[54]
• Emily Cain, executive director of EMILY's List, nominee for Maine's 2nd congressional district in 2014 and 2016, former state senator, and former state representative ^{[31] [55] [56]}
• Adam Cote, candidate for Maine's 1st congressional district in 2008 and candidate for governor of Maine in 2018 ^[31]
• Matthew Dunlap, Maine Secretary of State and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2012 ^{[31] [57] [58]}
• Jared Golden, incumbent U.S. representative for Maine's 2nd congressional district and former state representative ^[59]
• James Howaniec, former mayor of Lewiston ^[57]
• Stephen King, author ^{[31] [60]} (endorsed Gideon) ^[61]
• Daniel Kleban, businessman ^[53]
• Janet Mills, governor of Maine and former attorney general of Maine ^[55]
• Chellie Pingree, incumbent U.S. representative for Maine's 1st congressional district and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2002 ^{[31] [53] [55]}
• Hannah Pingree, former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives (endorsed Gideon) ^[54]
• Susan Rice, former United States National Security Advisor and former United States Ambassador to the United Nations ^[62]
• Cecile Richards, former president of Planned Parenthood ^[63]
• Zak Ringelstein, schoolteacher and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018 (endorsed Sweet) ^[64]
• Rosa Scarcelli, businesswoman and candidate for governor of Maine in 2010 ^{[58] [55]}
• Ethan Strimling, former mayor of Portland and candidate for Maine's 1st congressional district in 2008 ^[55]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Sara Gideon	Betsy Sweet	Other / Undecided
Victory Geek (D) [65]	May 13–18, 2020	– (LV) [b]	–	67%	17%	17% [c]
Colby College/SocialSphere [66]	February 10–13, 2020	383 (LV)	–	60%	8%	33% [d]

Results

Results by county

  Gideon

•   60–70%
•   70–80%

Democratic primary results ^[67]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sara Gideon	116,264	71.47%
	Democratic	Betsy Sweet	37,327	22.94%
	Democratic	Bre Kidman	9,090	5.59%
Total votes			162,681	100.0%

Other candidates

Green Independent Party

Two candidates declared their intentions to run for the Maine Green Independent Party's nomination, but one withdrew and the other left the party to become an independent. Lisa Savage left the party because of Maine's ballot access requirements; Savage needed 2,000 registered party members to sign a nomination petition to appear on the ballot as the Green Party candidate but could only gather them from January 1 until the March 15 deadline. The Green Party had roughly 41,000 members statewide, which was significantly fewer than the Democratic and Republican parties but nonetheless required the same number of signatures. No alternative party candidate for statewide office had been able to meet this requirement since Pat LaMarche did so in 2006 for governor. Instead, Savage sought to appear as an independent candidate, which required 4,000 signatures, but they may be from any registered voter, not just party members, and they could have been gathered until the June deadline. ^[23]

Withdrawn

• David Gibson, solar design specialist (endorsed Savage) ^[68]
• Lisa Savage, school teacher ^[69] (switched to independent) ^[70]

Write-in candidates

• Tiffany Bond, lawyer and candidate for Maine's 2nd congressional district in 2018 ^{[71] [72] [73]}
• Ian Kenton Engelman ^[73]
• Douglas E. Fogg ^{[74] [73]}

Independents

Independent Lisa Savage is a peace activist and retired schoolteacher from Solon, Maine.

Eight Independents declared their candidacy for Senate in 2020, including one affiliated with the Libertarian Party of Maine, which lost ballot access after the 2018 elections. ^[75] Two qualified for positions on the November ballot. ^[72]

Declared

• Max Linn, perennial candidate, financial planner, and disqualified Republican candidate for the 2018 United States Senate election in Maine ^[70]
• Lisa Savage, peace activist and schoolteacher ^[70] (switched from Green Independent candidacy) ^[69]

Withdrawn

• Joshua Arnone, accounting clerk affiliated with the Libertarian Party of Maine ^{[28] [72]}
• Steven Golieb, Millinocket town councilor ^{[76] [72]}
• Leigh Hawes, truck driver ^{[77] [72]}
• Danielle VanHelsing, LGBTQ rights activist ^{[51] [72]}
• Linda Wooten, vocational educator and conservative activist ^{[28] [72]}

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [78]	Tossup	October 29, 2020
Inside Elections [79]	Tilt D (flip)	October 28, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball [80]	Lean D (flip)	November 2, 2020
Daily Kos [81]	Tossup	October 30, 2020
Politico [82]	Tossup	November 2, 2020
RCP [83]	Tossup	October 23, 2020
DDHQ [84]	Lean D (flip)	November 3, 2020
538 [85]	Tossup	November 2, 2020
Economist [86]	Lean D (flip)	November 2, 2020

Debates

The four candidates participated in two in-person debates on September 11 and September 29, both held without an audience. ^[87] Collins at one point proposed holding 16 debates, one for every county in Maine, but such a schedule was not agreed upon. ^[88]

2020 United States Senate election in Maine debates
N°	Date	Moderator	Participants
Key:  P Participant.   NI Not invited.			Republican	Democratic	Independent	Independent
			United States Senator Susan Collins	Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon	Financial planner Max Linn	Public schoolteacher Lisa Savage
1	Friday, September 11, 2020	Pat Callaghan Rachel Ohm Michael Shepherd	P	P	P	P
2	Tuesday, September 29, 2020	Kelly O'Mara Jason Parent	P	P	P	P
3	Thursday, October 15, 2020	Jennifer Rooks Steve Mistler Mal Leary	P	P	P	P
4	Thursday, October 22, 2020	Pat Callaghan	P	P	P	P
5	Wednesday, October 28, 2020	Steve Bottari	P	P	NI	NI

Endorsements

Susan Collins (R)

U.S. presidents

• George W. Bush, 43rd president of the United States (2001–2009), 46th governor of Texas (1995–2000) ^[89]
• Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States (2017–2021) ^[90]

U.S. senators

• William Cohen, former U.S. senator from Maine (1979–1997), former United States Secretary of Defense (1997–2001) ^[91]
• Lindsey Graham, U.S. senator from South Carolina (2003–present) ^[90]
• Joe Lieberman, former U.S. senator from Connecticut (1989–2013), 2000 Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States (former Democrat, Independent since 2006) ^[92]
• Joe Manchin, U.S. senator from West Virginia (2010–present), former governor of West Virginia (2005–2010) (Democrat) ^[93]

U.S. governors

• Charlie Baker, 72nd governor of Massachusetts (2015–2023) ^[94]
• Larry Hogan, 62nd governor of Maryland (2015–2023) ^[95]
• Paul LePage, 74th governor of Maine (2011–2019), mayor of Waterville (2003–2011) ^[96]

Individuals

• Laura Bush, former First Lady of the United States (2001–2009), former First Lady of Texas (1995–2000)

Organizations

• Maggie's List ^[97]
• Maine Fraternal Order of Police ^[98]

Sara Gideon (D)

U.S. presidents

• Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States ^[99]

U.S. vice presidents

• Joe Biden, 47th vice president of the United States, 2020 Democratic nominee for president ^[100]

U.S. senators

• Catherine Cortez Masto, U.S. senator from Nevada (2017–present) ^[101]
• Tammy Duckworth, U.S. senator from Illinois (2017–present) ^[102]
• Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. senator from New York (2009–present); former 2020 presidential candidate ^[103]
• Kamala Harris, U.S. senator from California (2017–2021); 2020 Democratic vice presidential nominee ^[104]
• Chris Murphy, U.S. senator from Connecticut (2013–present) ^[105]
• Elizabeth Warren, U.S. senator from Massachusetts (2013–present), former 2020 presidential candidate ^[106]

Members of U.S. Congress

• Chellie Pingree, US Representative for Maine's 1st congressional district (2009–present) ^[107]

State executive officials

• Janet Mills, Governor of Maine (2019–present) ^[108]

State legislators

• Stacey Abrams, former Democratic leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, 2018 nominee for governor of Georgia ^[109]

Individuals

• Stephen King, author ^[110]
• Ross LaJeunesse, former aide to George J. Mitchell, Ted Kennedy, Steve Westly and Arnold Schwarzenegger ^[111]

Organizations

• Asian American Action Fund ^[112]
• Bend the Arc: Jewish Action ^[113]
• CAPA21 ^[112]
• Council for a Livable World ^[114]
• Democratic Majority for Israel ^[115]
• Emerge America ^[116]
• Everytown for Gun Safety ^[117]
• Feminist Majority PAC ^[118]
• J Street PAC ^[119]
• Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs ^[120]
• NARAL ^[121]
• National Organization for Women ^[112]
• Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund ^[122]
• Planned Parenthood ^[123]
• Population Connection ^[124]
• Sierra Club ^[125]
• Voter Protection Project ^[126]
• Women's Political Committee ^[127]

Unions

• Carpenters Local 349 ^[128]
• Carpenters Local 352 ^[128]
• Heat and Frost Insulators Local 6 ^[128]
• International Union of Operating Engineers ^[128]
• Maine State Association of Letter Carriers ^[128]
• United Food and Commercial Workers Local 791 ^[128]
• United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1445 ^[128]

Lisa Savage (I)

State executives

• Jesse Ventura, former governor of Minnesota, former mayor of Brooklyn Park, and former professional wrestler ^[129]

State legislators

• Ralph Chapman, former member of the Maine House of Representatives ^[129]

Local officials

• April Caricchio, South Portland, Maine City Councillor ^[130]
• Matt Gonzalez, former president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors ^[130]
• Sam Pfeifle, chair of the Gray-New Gloucester School Board ^[129]
• Kim Rich, trustee of the Portland, Maine Water District ^[129]
• Jill Stein, former Green Party nominee for President in 2012 and 2016 and former member of the Lexington Representative town meeting (2nd District) ^[129]

Individuals

• Ajamu Baraka, founding executive director of US Human Rights Network, associate fellow at Institute for Policy Studies, and former Green Party nominee for vice president in 2016 ^[129]
• Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink and Global Exchange ^[129]
• Francis Boyle, human rights lawyer and professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law ^[129]
• Helen Caldicott, physician, author, and anti-nuclear advocate ^[129]
• Jonathan Carter, environmentalist and former Green candidate for Governor (1994 and 2002) ^[129]
• Daniel Ellsberg, former military analyst who released the Pentagon Papers ^[129]
• Jodie Evans, co-founder of Code Pink, chair of Rainforest Action Network, and former member of Governor Jerry Brown's cabinet ^[129]
• Margaret Flowers, pediatrician, public health advocate, and activist ^[129]
• Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author, and television host ^[129]
• Cheri Honkala, co-founder of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, co-founder and National Coordinator of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign and 2012 Green Party nominee for vice president ^[129]
• Bre Kidman, attorney, activist, and former candidate for the Democratic Senate nomination in Maine ^[131]
• John Kiriakou, former CIA officer, former senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and whistleblower ^[129]
• Ryan Knight, co-founder of Movement for a People's Party ^[132]
• Pat LaMarche, former Green Party nominee for vice president in 2004 ^[129]
• Nellie McKay, singer-songwriter ^[130]
• Cecile Pineda, novelist ^[129]
• John Rensenbrink, political scientist, academic, and journalist ^[129]
• Coleen Rowley, former FBI special agent and whistleblower ^[129]
• David Swanson, author, blogger, and Executive Director of World Beyond War ^[133]
• Ann Wright, retired United States Army colonel and retired U.S. State Department official ^[129]
• Kevin Zeese, lawyer and political activist ^[129]

Organizations

• Demand Universal Healthcare (DUH!) ^[130]
• The Good Party ^[134]
• Maine Democratic Socialists of America ^{[135] [136]}
• Maine Green Independent Party ^[137]
• Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights ^[130]
• RootsAction ^[138]

Publications

• Mainer ^[139]

Declined to endorse

• Jared Golden, U.S. representative (ME-02) ^[140] (Democratic)

Polling

Aggregate polls

Sara Gideon vs. Susan Collins
Source of poll aggregation	Dates administered	Dates updated	Sara Gideon	Susan Collins	Other/undecided [e]	Margin
270 to Win [141]	October 6 – November 1, 2020	November 3, 2020	46.4%	42.6%	11.0%	Gideon +3.8
Real Clear Politics [142]	September 10–23, 2020	September 25, 2020	48.5%	42.0%	9.5%	Gideon +6.5

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Susan Collins (R)	Sara Gideon (D)	Lisa Savage (I)	Other / Undecided
Change Research [143]	October 29 – November 2, 2020	1,024 (LV)	± 3.5%	42% [f]	46%	7%	5% [g]
				46% [h]	54%	–	–
Emerson College [144]	October 29–31, 2020	611 (LV)	± 3.9%	46% [i]	48%	5%	5% [j]
				47% [k]	51%	–	5% [l]
SurveyUSA [145]	October 23–27, 2020	1007 (LV)	± 3.7%	45% [f]	46%	4%	5% [m]
				49% [n]	51%	–	–
Colby College [146]	October 21–25, 2020	879 (LV)	± 3.3%	43% [f]	47%	5%	5% [o]
				44% [p]	49%	–	7% [q]
Pan Atlantic Research [147]	October 2–6, 2020	600 (LV)	± 4.5%	40% [f]	47%	5%	8% [r]
				41% [s]	49%	1%	9% [t]
Critical Insights [148]	September 25 – October 4, 2020	466 (LV)	± 4.4%	43% [f]	44%	3%	11% [u]
				43% [k]	46%	1%	10% [v]
Data for Progress (D) [149]	September 23–28, 2020	718 (LV)	± 3.7%	41% [f]	46%	3%	11% [w]
				42% [x]	50%	–	8% [y]
Colby College [150]	September 17–23, 2020	847 (LV)	± 3.4%	41% [f]	45%	3%	11% [z]
				43% [s]	47%	–	6% [aa]
Moore Information (R) [151] [A]	September 20–22, 2020	600 (LV)	–	42%	42%	–	9% [ab]
Suffolk University [152]	September 17–20, 2020	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	41% [f]	46%	4%	7% [ac]
				42% [ad]	49%	1%	8% [ae]
Siena College/NYT Upshot [153]	September 11–16, 2020	663 (LV)	± 5.1%	40% [f]	44%	2%	2% [af]
				44% [ag]	49%	0%	7% [ah]
Quinnipiac University [154]	September 10–14, 2020	1,183 (LV)	± 2.9%	42%	54%	–	4% [ai]
Citizen Data [155]	September 4–7, 2020	600 (LV)	± 4%	41%	49%	1%	9% [aj]
Fabrizio Ward/Hart Research Associates [156] [B]	August 30 – September 5, 2020	800 (LV)	± 3.5%	43% [f]	44%	6%	8% [ak]
				47% [x]	48%	–	5% [al]
Public Policy Polling [157]	August 13–14, 2020	571 (V)	± 4.1%	44%	49%	–	7% [am]
Critical Insights [158]	July 28 – August 9, 2020	453 (LV)	± 4.3%	38%	43%	5%	15% [an]
		499 (RV)		35% [f]	43%	5%	18% [ao]
				37% [p]	44%	1%	18% [ap]
Quinnipiac University [159]	July 30 – August 3, 2020	807 (RV)	± 3.5%	43%	47%	–	10% [aq]
RMG Research [160]	July 27 – August 2, 2020	500 (RV)	± 4.5%	41%	48%	–	11% [ar]
Data for Progress [161]	July 24 – August 2, 2020	866 (LV)	± 3.0%	45%	48%	–	7% [as]
Colby College/SocialSphere [162]	July 18–24, 2020	888 (LV)	± 3.9%	39%	44%	–	18% [at]
Public Policy Polling [163]	July 22–23, 2020	561 (V)	± 3.6%	42%	47%	–	11% [ar]
Public Policy Polling [164]	July 2–3, 2020	1,022 (V)	± 3.1%	42%	46%	–	11% [ar]
Moore Information (R) [165] [A]	June 20–24, 2020 [au]	600 (RV)	± 4.0%	45%	37%	3%	1% [av]
Victory Geek (D) [65]	May 13–18, 2020	512 (LV)	± 4.3%	42%	51%	–	7% [am]
Tarrance Group (R) [166] [C]	April 2020	– [aw]	–	48%	47%	–	5%
Public Policy Polling [167]	March 2–3, 2020	872 (V)	± 3.3%	43%	47%	–	10% [ax]
Colby College/SocialSphere [66]	February 10–13, 2020	1,008 (LV)	± 3.1%	42%	43%	–	14% [ay]
Fabrizio Ward [168] [B]	July 29–31, 2019	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	52%	35%	–	13% [az]
Gravis Marketing [169]	June 24, 2019	767 (RV)	± 3.5%	44% [ba]	30%	–	26% [bb]
				52% [x]	36%	–	12% [bc]
Pan Atlantic Research [170]	March 4–13, 2019	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	51%	29%	–	20% [bd]

Hypothetical polling

with Betsy Sweet

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Betsy Sweet (D)	Susan Collins (R)	Other / Undecided
Victory Geek (D) [65]	May 13–18, 2020	512 (LV)	± 4.3%	44%	43%	10%

with Susan Rice

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Susan Rice (D)	Susan Collins (R)	Other / Undecided
Emerson College [171]	October 27–29, 2018	883 (LV) [be]	± 3.5%	20%	44%	35%

with generic Democrat

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Generic Democrat	Susan Collins (R)	Other / Undecided
Victory Geek (D) [65]	May 13–18, 2020	512 (LV)	± 4.3%	49%	39%	12% [bc]
Colby College/SocialSphere [66]	Feb 10–13, 2020	1,008 (LV)	± 3.1%	34%	40%	26%
Public Policy Polling [172]	October 11–13, 2019	939 (V)	± 3.2%	44%	41%	15% [bf]
Public Policy Polling [173]	October 1–2, 2018	– [aw]	± 3.3%	34%	42%	–
Public Policy Polling (D) [174] [D]	August 28–29, 2017	501 (V)	–	21%	51%	27% [bg]

with generic Democrat if Collins supports impeaching Donald Trump

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Generic Democrat	Susan Collins (R)	Other / Undecided
Public Policy Polling [172]	October 11–13, 2019	939 (V)	± 3.2%	38%	32%	30% [bh]

with generic Democrat if Collins opposes impeaching Donald Trump

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Generic Democrat	Susan Collins (R)	Other / Undecided
Public Policy Polling [172]	October 11–13, 2019	939 (V)	± 3.2%	47%	40%	13% [bi]

with Generic Opponent

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Susan Collins (R)	Generic Opponent	Other / Undecided
Fabrizio Ward [168] [B]	July 29–31, 2019	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	38%	55%	7% [bj]
Pan Atlantic Research [170]	March 4–13, 2019	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	25%	27%	48% [bk]

with Generic Republican and Generic Democrat

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Generic Republican	Generic Democrat	Other / Undecided
Siena College/NYT Upshot [153]	September 11–16, 2020	663 (LV)	± 5.1%	41%	53%	6% [bl]
Quinnipiac University [154]	September 10–14, 2020	1,183 (LV)	± 2.9%	40%	53%	7% [am]
Fabrizio Ward [168] [B]	July 29–31, 2019	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	43%	42%	15% [bm]

Results

Like many Republican Senate candidates in 2020, Collins did much better on Election Day than pre-election polls predicted; nearly all of them predicted her defeat. ^[175] Collins defeated Gideon in the general election with 51.0% of the first-place votes, precluding additional rounds of tabulation. ^[176] Gideon conceded to Collins on November 4. ^[177]

United States Senate election in Maine, 2020 ^[178]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Susan Collins (incumbent)	417,645	50.98%	−17.48%
	Democratic	Sara Gideon	347,223	42.39%	+10.89%
	Independent	Lisa Savage	40,579	4.95%	N/A
	Independent	Max Linn	13,508	1.65%	N/A
	Write-in		228	0.03%	-0.01%
Total votes			819,183	100.0%	N/A
	Republican hold

By county

By county

County Susan Collins Republican Sara Gideon Democratic Lisa Savage Independent Max Linn Independent Write-in Margin Total votes # % # % # % # % # % # % Androscoggin 32,979 56.19 22,181 37.79 2,438 4.15 1,090 1.86 2 0.00 10,798 18.40 58,690 Aroostook 24,033 67.51 9,750 27.39 1,072 3.01 743 2.09 3 0.01 14,283 40.12 35,601 Cumberland 74,592 38.45 105,308 54.29 11,907 6.14 2,138 1.10 39 0.02 -30,716 -15.83 193,984 Franklin 9,817 56.47 6,276 36.10 969 5.57 322 1.85 0 0.00 3,541 20.37 17,384 Hancock 17,371 49.19 15,379 43.55 1,821 5.16 736 2.08 8 0.02 1,992 5.64 35,315 Kennebec 39,481 54.92 27,664 38.49 3,407 4.74 1,324 1.84 10 0.01 11,817 16.44 71,886 Knox 11,705 45.44 12,190 47.32 1,461 5.67 399 1.55 3 0.01 -485 -1.88 25,758 Lincoln 12,075 51.08 10,102 42.73 1,111 4.70 349 1.48 3 0.01 1,973 8.35 23,640 Oxford 19,567 58.54 11,705 35.02 1,511 4.52 635 1.90 4 0.01 7,862 23.52 33,422 Penobscot 51,088 59.96 28,958 33.98 3,461 4.06 1,600 1.88 100 0.12 22,130 25.97 85,207 Piscataquis 6,603 66.95 2,655 26.92 394 3.99 210 2.13 0 0.00 3,948 40.03 9,862 Sagadahoc 11,558 48.08 10,787 44.87 1,354 5.63 337 1.40 3 0.01 771 3.21 24,039 Somerset 17,861 64.92 7,355 26.73 1,770 6.43 525 1.91 3 0.01 10,506 38.18 27,514 Waldo 12,538 51.57 9,768 40.18 1,604 6.60 394 1.62 9 0.04 2,770 11.39 24,313 Washington 11,196 64.56 5,251 30.28 547 3.15 338 1.95 10 0.06 5,945 34.28 17,342 York 64,092 49.46 57,826 44.63 5,389 4.16 2,255 1.74 16 0.01 6,266 4.84 129,578 Overseas 1,089 19.28 4,068 72.02 363 6.43 113 2.00 15 0.27 -2,979 -52.74 5,648 Totals 417,645 50.98 347,223 42.39 40,579 4.95 13,508 1.65 228 0.03 70,422 8.60 819,183 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Cumberland (largest municipality: Portland) Knox (largest municipality: Rockland)

By congressional district

Collins won one of the two congressional districts in the state, which also elected a Democrat. ^[179]

District	Collins	Gideon	Representative
1st	44%	49%	Chellie Pingree
2nd	59%	35%	Jared Golden

Analysis

Gideon underperformed Biden by 10.6%, the second-worst underperformance by a Democratic Senate candidate in the country. ^[180] Examples of this discrepancy include Wells, a coastal town in the state's liberal southwest corner, where Biden won by 14% and Collins by 6%. ^[181]

During his presidency, Collins's stance on Trump waffled, as he did not share her moderate politics but had a strong base in Maine's sprawling, rural 2nd congressional district. Collins voted against the Affordable Care Act repeal, but for the GOP's 2017 tax bill and to acquit Trump in his first impeachment. She voted to confirm Trump's nominees Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court but against the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett just days before the 2020 election, citing disagreement with process. ^[182]

See also

• 2020 Maine elections

Notes

Partisan clients

1. Poll sponsored by the NRSC, which exclusively supports Republican candidates in U.S. Senate elections.
2. Poll sponsored by AARP.
3. Poll sponsored by the 1820 PAC.
4. Poll sponsored by Our Lives on the Line

Voter samples

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. Likely primary voter subsample of 306 likely general election Democratic voters
3. Undecided with 17%
4. Undecided with 31%; LaJeunesse with 0%; "another candidate" with 2%
5. Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.
6. Standard VI response
7. Linn (I) with 2%; "Don't recall", would not vote, and Undecided with 1%; Did not vote with 0%
8. With 3 rounds of Ranked Choice Voting
9. With voters who lean towards a given candidate
10. Linn (I) and "Someone else" with 1%; Undecided with 4%
11. Reassigning the second preferences of Linn, Savage and "Someone else" voters
12. "No second choice" and "Someone else" with 1%; Undecided with 4%
13. Linn (I) with 1%; Undecided with 4%
14. With Ranked Choice Voting
15. Linn (I) with 2%; Undecided with 4%
16. Reassigning the second preferences of Savage voters
17. Linn (I) with 3%; Undecided with 4%
18. Linn (I) with 2%; Undecided with 6%
19. Reassigning the second preferences of Linn and Savage voters
20. Linn (I) with 2%; Undecided with 8%
21. Linn (I), "Someone else" and "Refused" with 1%; would not vote with 0%; Undecided with 7%
22. "No second preference" and "Refused" with 1%; Linn (I) and "Someone else" with 0%; Undecided with 7%
23. Linn (I) with 1%; Undecided with 10%
24. If only Collins and Gideon were candidates
25. Undecided with 8%
26. Linn (I) with 5%; Undecided with 6%
27. Undecided with 6%
28. Undecided with 9%
29. Linn (I) with 2%; "Other" and "Refused" with 1%; Undecided with 5%
30. Assigning the second preferences of non-Collins/Gideon voters
31. Linn (I) and "Refused" with 1%; "Other" with 0%; Undecided with 6%
32. Linn (I) with 2%
33. Topline after Ranked Choice Voting is used
34. Would not vote with 1%; Linn (I) and "someone else" with 0%; "Undecided/Refused" with 6%
35. "Someone else" with 1%; Undecided with 3%
36. "Other" with 2%; Linn (I) with 0%; Undecided with 7%
37. Would not vote with 1%; Undecided with 7%
38. Would not vote with 1%; Undecided with 4%
39. Undecided with 7%
40. "Refused" and would not vote with 1%; Undecided with 13%
41. Would not vote with 2%; "Refused" with 1%; Undecided with 14%
42. Would not vote with 2%; "Refused" with 1%; Undecided with 15%
43. "Someone else" and would not vote with 2%; Undecided with 6%
44. Undecided with 11%
45. "No one" with 7%
46. "Minor party candidates" with 6%; Undecided with 12%
47. Additional data sourced from FiveThirtyEight
48. Linn (I) with 1%
49. Not yet released
50. Undecided with 10%
51. Undecided with 14%
52. Undecided with 12%; "Would not vote/would not vote for US Senate" with 1%
53. First choice on an RCV ballot if the candidates were Collins, Gideon and VanHelsing (I)
54. Undecided with 19%; VanHelsing with 7%
55. Undecided with 12%
56. "Other" with 12%; Undecided with 8%
57. Using the likely voter screen for the 2018 U.S. Senate election in Maine
58. Undecided with 15%
59. Undecided with 27%
60. Undecided with 30%
61. Undecided with 13%
62. "Refused" with 0%; Undecided with 7%
63. "Consider voting for Collins" with 40%; Undecided with 8%
64. "Undecided/Refused" with 6%
65. "Undecided/Don't know/Refused" with 15%

References

1. "'She knows Maine': How Susan Collins defied Democrats". AP News . November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
2. Parlapiano, Alicia; Benzaquen, Mercy (June 22, 2017). "Where Senators Stand on the Health Care Bill". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved July 11, 2020.
3. "2020 Senate Race Ratings". The Cook Political Report .
4. Leary, Mal (August 17, 2019). "New Report Calls Maine 2020 Senate Race A 'Toss-Up'". Maine Public.
5. Bowden, John (August 16, 2019). "Cook Political Report moves Susan Collins Senate race to 'toss up'". The Hill .
6. Carrigan, Don (August 23, 2019). "Political expert says next year's Senate race a 'toss-up'". News Center Maine.
7. "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 115th Congress – 2nd Session". www.senate.gov.
8. "On the Nomination PN2259: Brett M. Kavanaugh, of Maryland, to ... – Senate Vote #223 – Oct 6, 2018". GovTrack.us.
9. "READ: Susan Collins' statement on impeachment witness vote". January 30, 2020.
10. "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 116th Congress – 2nd Session". www.senate.gov.
11. "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 116th Congress – 2nd Session". www.senate.gov.
12. "Guilty or Not Guilty H.Res. 755 – Senate Vote #33 – Feb 5, 2020". GovTrack.us.
13. "Guilty or Not Guilty H.Res. 755 – Senate Vote #34 – Feb 5, 2020". GovTrack.us.
14. "Susan Collins says Trump 'has learned' from impeachment case". theweek.com. February 4, 2020.
15. Bowden, John (February 4, 2020). "Collins: Trump has learned 'a pretty big lesson' from impeachment". The Hill.
16. Wise, Justin (February 6, 2020). "Collins admits comments about Trump learning a lesson are 'aspirational'". The Hill .
17. "Democrats say Collins broke two-term pledge Senator made promise in '96, '02, admits she underestimated seniority". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved July 8, 2020.
18. "Letter to the Editor: Collins ignores her two-term pledge". Press Herald. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
19. Bowden, John (August 23, 2019). "Susan Collins challenger hit with ethics complaints over reimbursements". The Hill . Retrieved July 11, 2020.
20. Christie, Isabelle (June 15, 2020). "Pressure mounts on Speaker Gideon, President Jackson to reconvene the Maine Legislature". The Maine Wire.
21. "The Dillon Bates case: here's everything we know". newscentermaine.com. September 20, 2018.
22. Winger, Richard (February 24, 2020). "Maine Green Party Fails to get its U.S. Senate Candidate on the Green Party Primary Ballot | Ballot Access News".
23. Shepherd, Michael (February 24, 2020). "Green US Senate candidate to unenroll for easier path to Maine ballot in 2020". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved August 22, 2020.
24. "Max Linn Cleared For Ballot After Challenge Is Withdrawn". www.mainepublic.org. AP. July 18, 2020.
25. Piper, Jessica (July 28, 2020). "Max Linn now says he'll only quit Senate race if Susan Collins endorses 5 policies". Bangor Daily News .
26. Andrews, Caitlin (December 18, 2019). "Mills officially pushes back June elections to July 14". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved April 10, 2020.
27. Ohm, Rachel (December 18, 2019). "Sen. Susan Collins announces re-election campaign". Portland Press Herald . Retrieved December 18, 2019.
28. "MAINE". Politics1. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
29. Shepherd, Michael (March 25, 2019). "A Trump Republican says he'll challenge Susan Collins from the right in 2020". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved March 25, 2019.
30. Shepherd, Michael (September 9, 2019). "Longshot Republican primary challenger to Susan Collins exits 2020 race". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved September 10, 2019.
31. Milliard, Mike (May 23, 2019). "Calling all challengers". Pine Tree Watch. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
32. Thistle, Scott (June 8, 2018). "Federal judge rejects Max Linn's effort to run in Maine Republican primary". Portland Press Herald . Retrieved June 8, 2018.
33. @mikeshepherdME (August 4, 2019). ".@BrucePoliquin confirms that he won't run for office in 2020. It might leave @SenatorBrakey alone in the #me02 primary. #mepolitics" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
34. Public Policy Polling (D)
35. "Maine U.S. Senate Republican Primary". Maine Secretary of State. August 8, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
36. Collins, Steve (May 3, 2019). "'Queer feminist mermaid' hopes to unseat Collins". Lewiston Sun Journal. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
37. Shepherd, Michael (June 13, 2019). "Progressive Democrat Betsy Sweet unveils bid to challenge Susan Collins". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved June 13, 2019.
38. Graham, Gillian (June 24, 2019). "Gideon announces she will challenge Collins in 2020". Kennebec Journal. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
39. Saul, Stephanie (June 24, 2019). "Sara Gideon to Challenge Susan Collins for Maine Senate Seat". The New York Times . Retrieved June 25, 2019.
40. Wagner, John (June 24, 2019). "Susan Collins draws a Democratic challenger who seeks to undermine her moderate image". The Washington Post . Retrieved June 25, 2019.
41. Cillizza, Chris (June 24, 2019). "Susan Collins had a very bad day today". CNN . Retrieved June 25, 2019.
42. "Maine Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Sara Gideon skips debate". Press Herald. Associated Press. June 9, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
43. "Maine Democratic US Senate hopeful Gideon misses debate". Newsradio WGAN. Associated Press . Retrieved July 13, 2020.
44. Piper, Jessica (July 7, 2020). "Underdogs get last chance to challenge Democratic favorite in Maine US Senate debate". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved July 13, 2020.
45. Collins, Steve (April 22, 2019). "Saco lawyer Bre Kidman seeks Democratic backing to challenge Susan Collins". Lewiston Sun Journal. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
46. Weinland, Gerald [@DirigoBlue] (December 19, 2018). "Michael Bunker of Bangor has filed to run as a Dem against @SenatorCollins in 2020 #mepolitics #mesen" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
47. "Christine Gates". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
48. LaJeunesse, Ross (March 26, 2020). "Statement from Ross LaJeunesse". Medium. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
49. Dr Cathleen London [@DrChaya] (July 16, 2018). "I am running because #SCOTUS cannot wait @SenatorCollins needs to realize that Maine & the country are watching & she was held accountable for her votes #mepolitics My announcement: https://www.doctorcatlondonforme.com/_api/media-share-server-for-video/crp5?instance-id=5f191a6c-020c-4fc6-9b82-2786411308cb&component-id=comp-jjog8axh&channel-id=2435a32f-3d87-4ae1-aac4-b8175b02e63c&video-id=b3603e263c0a42348786f1c1f8fe8d60&bi-token=8a23ff18-94ae-0e5a-0a87-60cb8863dede … @DrCat4ME" (Tweet) – via Twitter.^{[ dead link ‍]}
50. "LONDON, Cathleen Greenberg Dr – Candidate overview". FEC.gov.
51. Collins, Steve (January 25, 2019). "Independent challenging Collins aims to be first transgender member of Congress". Brunswick Times Record. Retrieved January 26, 2019. Updated November 11, 2019.
52. Morin, Ed (October 22, 2019). "Retired General From Oxford Withdraws From US Senate Race". MPBN . Retrieved October 22, 2019.
53. Shepherd, Michael (January 18, 2019). "Democrats aren't racing to run against Susan Collins in 2020". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved January 24, 2019.
54. @SaraGideonME (June 24, 2019). "Unbelievably honored to have the endorsement of so many Mainers as I launch my campaign for U.S. Senate to defeat Susan Collins. I will always put Maine first and I'm proud to have the support of these dedicated public servants. #MESen #MEpolitics" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
55. Villeneuve, Marina; Peoples, Steve; Pace, Julie (October 9, 2018). "Democrats lining up to consider challenging Collins in 2020". Associated Press . Retrieved October 12, 2018.
56. Dan Merica; Eric Bradner; Gregory Krieg. "The effort to unseat Susan Collins in 2020 is already underway". CNN . Retrieved October 6, 2018.
57. Collins, Steve (May 6, 2019). "Lewiston lawyer might challenge Collins in 2020". Lewiston Sun Journal .
58. Shepherd, Michael (June 5, 2019). "Here's the latest on Maine Democrats mulling a run against Susan Collins in 2020". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved July 2, 2019.
59. Collins, Steve [@SteveCollinsSJ] (May 20, 2019). "Not surprising, but @RepGolden said today he is not going to run for US Senate. He said he respects @SenatorCollins & her approach to governing, even if he doesn't always agree with her. Besides, he said, his #ME02 seat is "not a stepping stone" & he plans to stay. #mepolitics" (Tweet). Retrieved May 20, 2019– via Twitter.
60. "Former Maine Gov. John Baldacci wants Stephen King to run for office: 'You've got a winner there'". Washington Examiner. September 12, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
61. Budryk, Zack (June 24, 2019). "Stephen King: 'It's time for Susan Collins to go'". The Hill . Retrieved June 28, 2019.
62. Gray, Emma; Vagianos, Alanna (April 11, 2019). "Susan Rice Will Not Run Against Susan Collins For Maine Senate Seat In 2020". HuffPost . Retrieved April 11, 2019.
63. Merica, Dan; Bradner, Eric; Krieg, Gregory (October 5, 2018). "The effort to unseat Susan Collins in 2020 is already underway". CNN . Retrieved January 6, 2024.
64. Emerson, Anthony [@AnthonyEmerso14] (June 17, 2019). "Love that Betsy Sweet has a disclaimer on emails sent from email lists that were not her own. Shows a commitment to transparency. Also, hey, @RingelsteinME is backing her!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
65. Victory Geek (D)
66. Colby College/SocialSphere
67. "Maine U.S. Senate Democratic Primary". Maine Secretary of State. August 8, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
68. Shepherd, Michael (July 23, 2019). "Green candidate's entry pushes Maine toward ranked-choice U.S. Senate race in 2020". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved July 24, 2019.
69. "Lisa for Maine". Lisa for Maine. Archived from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
70. Shephard, Michael (February 24, 2020). "Green US Senate candidate to unenroll for easier path to Maine ballot in 2020". BDN Politics. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
71. Bond, Tiffany [@TiffanyBond] (November 14, 2019). "If only you hadn't voted for a tax bill that buries us in an absurd amount of debt and hinders our flexibility to find solutions. You may not have children, but I do, and they deserve a goddam future without crippling debt and a crumbling planet. Hire a mom for Senate" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
72. "Upcoming Elections". Maine Secretary of State. August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
73. "Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions". maine.gov.
74. @ForFogg (August 24, 2020). "Combined, Susan Collins and Sara Gideon have spent $30 million dollars so far trying to convince you to vote for them, or, based on the negative campaigning, convincing you not to vote for the other. You have an alternative! Write-in Douglas Fogg for U.S. Senate!" (Tweet). Retrieved September 10, 2020– via Twitter.
75. @MESecofState (December 17, 2018). "1/2 The Libertarian Party no longer has party status in the State of Maine, as it did not reach the threshold of 10,000 voters in the Nov. 6 General Election, as required in Maine law. If you were enrolled as a Libertarian, you are now "unenrolled" as of Dec. 4" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
76. "Millinocket town councilor enters race to unseat Susan Collins". Bangor Daily News . Maine Public. February 9, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
77. Cover, Susan (April 15, 2020). "Stay-at-home order threatens to derail independent candidates". Pine Tree Watch. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
78. "2020 Senate Race Ratings for October 29, 2020". The Cook Political Report . Retrieved March 11, 2021.
79. "2020 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
80. "2020 Senate race ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
81. "2020 Senate Race Ratings". Daily Kos Elections. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
82. "2020 Election Forecast". Politico . November 19, 2019.
83. "Battle for the Senate 2020". RCP. October 23, 2020.
84. "2020 Senate Elections Model". Decision Desk HQ. September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
85. Silver, Nate (September 18, 2020). "Forecasting the race for the Senate". FiveThirtyEight . Retrieved September 18, 2020.
86. "Forecasting the US elections". The Economist. November 2, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
87. Smith, Cam (September 29, 2020). "2020 Senate debate". WAGM .
88. Axelrod, Tal (July 15, 2020). "Susan Collins proposes 16 debates against challenger Gideon". The Hill . Retrieved September 20, 2020.
89. Sonmez, Felicia (June 17, 2020). "George W. Bush to hold virtual fundraiser for Republican senators". The Washington Post .
90. "Trump agrees '100%' that Susan Collins' 2020 re-election is crucial for Republicans". Bangor Daily News . December 24, 2019.
91. Mannino, Gabrielle (September 18, 2020). "Collins picks up endorsements from Mass. Gov., former Maine Sen. Cohen". News Center Maine. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
92. Russell, Eric (September 9, 2020). "Former Democratic senator, vice presidential nominee Lieberman endorses Collins".
93. Everett, Burgess (April 11, 2019). "Joe Manchin endorses Susan Collins for reelection". Politico . Retrieved April 11, 2019.
94. Stout, Matt (September 18, 2020). "Baker, long averse to national GOP politics, backs Susan Collins in Maine Senate race". The Boston Globe .
95. Greenwood, Max (September 18, 2020). "Blue state GOP Govs. Larry Hogan, Charlie Baker endorse Susan Collins". The Hill . Retrieved September 20, 2020.
96. Andrews, Caitlin (August 22, 2019). "Paul LePage downplays past criticism of Susan Collins: 'I absolutely endorse' her". Bangor Daily News .
97. "2020 Candidates". maggieslist.org.
98. "Maine Fraternal Order of Police endorses Susan Collins for US Senate". WGME. September 10, 2020.
99. Obama, Barack (August 3, 2020). "First Wave of 2020 Endorsements". Medium .
100. "Joe Biden endorses Sara Gideon for US Senate". newscentermaine.com. July 16, 2020.
101. Watson, Eleanor (June 26, 2019). "National Democrats rally behind Maine lawmaker Sara Gideon's bid to beat Susan Collins". CBS News . Retrieved June 29, 2019.
102. Sero, Sam (July 23, 2019). "ME-Sen: Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D. IL) Helps Sara Gideon (D) Get Ready To Defeat Susan Collins (R)". Archived from the original on August 14, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
103. Gontcharova, Natalie (December 13, 2019). "Democrats Could Flip The Senate In 2020. Kirsten Gillibrand Wants To Be Behind That Effort".
104. Harris, Kamala (May 9, 2020). "Kamala Harris Endorsements". medium.com.
105. "ME-Sen: Sen. Chris Murphy (D. CT) Helps ME House Speaker Sara Gideon (D) Defeat Susan Collins (R)". Daily Kos. June 28, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
106. "Endorsements | Warren Democrats". elizabethwarren.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
107. "Representative Chellie Pingree Endorses Sara Gideon for U.S. Senate". SaraGideon.com. July 16, 2020. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
108. "Gov. Mills endorses Gideon for US Senate". WCSH . July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
109. "Stacey Abrams endorses candidates in 7 US Senate contests". MSN .
110. Budryck, Zack (June 24, 2019). "Stephen King: 'It's time for Susan Collins to go'". The Hill . Retrieved June 25, 2019.
111. Rachel Ohm (March 26, 2020). "LaJeunesse ends Senate campaign, endorses Gideon".
112. "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
113. "Bend the Arc Jewish Action PAC". Bend the Arc: Jewish Action.
114. "Senate Candidates – Council for a Livable World". Council for a Livable World.
115. "Democratic Majority for Israel". DMFI PAC.
116. "2020 Candidates". Emerge America. Archived from the original on May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
117. "Sen. Susan Collins Loses Endorsement Of Major Gun Control Group". HuffPost . June 9, 2020.
118. "2020 – Feminist Majority PAC". feministmajoritypac.org.
119. "JStreetPAC Candidates". JStreetPAC. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
120. "Meet the 2020 Candidates". Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
121. Miller, Hayley (June 25, 2019). "Democrat Sara Gideon Nabs 3 Key Endorsements In Maine's 2020 Senate Race" . Retrieved June 29, 2019.
122. "NRDC Action Fund Endorses 9 House, Senate Candidates". www.nrdcactionfund.org. June 30, 2020.
123. "2020 Endorsements". www.plannedparenthoodaction.org. Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
124. "2020 Endorsements". Population Connection. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
125. "Sierra Club #ClimateVoter Guide: Endorsements". Sierra Club.
126. "Endorsements – Voter Protection Project". Voter Protection Project.
127. "Federal Endorsed Candidates 2019–2020". Women's Political Committee.
128. "Seven Labor Unions Endorse Sara Gideon for U.S. Senate". June 24, 2019. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
129. "Endorsements". Lisa for Maine. August 14, 2020. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
130. "We're going all out with 20 days left!". Lisa for Maine. October 14, 2020. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
131. "Bre Kidman endorses Lisa Savage for US Senate". Lisa for Maine. July 30, 2020. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
132. Knight, Ryan (@ProudSocialist) (October 3, 2020). "I knew @LisaForMaine was a real one when she defended Julian Assange. We have a chance to replace Susan Collins with a true progressive who is fighting for #MedicareForAll, a #GreenNewDeal & to #EndTheWars". Twitter . Retrieved October 15, 2020.
133. "Lisa Savage for U.S. Senate". davidswanson.org. June 8, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
134. "Maine Senate Election". The Good Party. July 17, 2020. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
135. "Maine DSA Endorses U.S. Senate Candidate Lisa Savage". Lisa for Maine. September 15, 2020. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
136. "We are proud to announce Maine DSA has voted to endorse Lisa Savage for U.S. Senate!". Maine DSA. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
137. "Maine Green Independent Party Endorses US Senate Candidate Savage". Lisa for Maine. August 22, 2020. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
138. "Voters in Maine this year get to do something envied and desired by much of the United States: vote for a thoroughly progressive candidate without worrying about in any way benefitting the worst candidate on the ballot". RootsAction . August 25, 2020. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
139. "Lisa Savage for U.S. Senate, Rank Sara Gideon second to stop Susan Collins". Mainer. October 13, 2020. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
140. Collins, Steve (September 4, 2019). "Jared Golden vows to remain neutral in Susan Collins' US Senate race". Lewiston Sun Journal. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
141. 270 to Win
142. Real Clear Politics
143. Change Research
144. Emerson College
145. SurveyUSA
146. Colby College
147. Pan Atlantic Research
148. Critical Insights
149. Data for Progress (D)
150. Colby College
151. Moore Information (R)
152. Suffolk University
153. Siena College/NYT Upshot
154. Quinnipiac University
155. Citizen Data
156. Fabrizio Ward/Hart Research Associates
157. Public Policy Polling
158. Critical Insights
159. Quinnipiac University
160. RMG Research
161. Data for Progress
162. Colby College/SocialSphere
163. Public Policy Polling
164. Public Policy Polling
165. Moore Information (R)
166. Tarrance Group (R)
167. Public Policy Polling
168. Fabrizio Ward
169. Gravis Marketing Archived June 28, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
170. Pan Atlantic Research
171. Emerson College
172. Public Policy Polling
173. Public Policy Polling
174. Public Policy Polling (D) Archived December 15, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
175. "Polls got Senate races badly wrong — leading donors to spend in the wrong places". The Washington Post . November 12, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
176. "Senate Latest: GOP Sen. Collins wins reelection in Maine". AP News . November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
177. WGME (November 4, 2020). "Democrat Sara Gideon concedes to Sen. Collins". WGME. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
178. "November 3, 2020 General Election". Maine Department of Secretary of State. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
179. https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::9fd5b08c-1830-4d60-a0c8-387c764ecfb0
180. Rakich, Nathaniel (December 2, 2020). "There Wasn't That Much Split-Ticket Voting In 2020". FiveThirtyEight . Retrieved December 2, 2020.
181. "Maine Election Results". The New York Times . November 3, 2020. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 5, 2021.
182. Berman, Russell (November 4, 2020). "How Susan Collins Did It". The Atlantic . Retrieved November 24, 2020.

Further reading

• Paul Merrill (August 4, 2018). "Anonymous accusations prompt House Speaker to call on Democratic lawmaker to resign". WMTW Ch. 8 ABC. Spokeswoman confirms Speaker Gideon had heard rumors about Dillon Bates 'several months ago' but found no proof ... In an article published Friday [Aug. 3, 2018], the monthly newspaper 'The Bollard' cites an anonymous source who says Rep. ... Bates had an inappropriate relationship with her and other high school girls over the past half-decade
• Brian MacQuarrie; Hanna Krueger (September 26, 2020), "Once considered a strong favorite, Collins faces toughest challenge", Bostonglobe.com
• Sarah Lyall (September 27, 2020), "In Maine, a Race About the Issues Has Become a Referendum on Susan Collins", The New York Times
• Amber Phillips (October 9, 2020), "The Senate seats most likely to flip parties in November", The Washington Post

External links

• Elections & Voting division of the Maine Secretary of State
• Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Maine", Voting & Elections Toolkits
• "Maine: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org , Oakland, CA
• "League of Women Voters of Maine". (state affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
• National Institute on Money in Politics; Campaign Finance Institute, "Maine 2019 & 2020 Elections", OpenSecrets

Official campaign websites

• Susan Collins (R) for Senate
• Sara Gideon (D) for Senate Archived June 1, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
• Max Linn (I) for Senate Archived November 3, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
• Lisa Savage (I) for Senate Archived October 10, 2019, at the Wayback Machine