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Republican Sen. Susan Collins is well aware of the tough road ahead as she officially kicks off her 2026 re-election campaign in blue-leaning Maine.
Collins is a top target for Senate Democrats as they try to regain the party’s majority in the November midterm elections.
“Chuck Schumer has made me again — this is the third time he’s done this — his first goal,” Collins said in an interview with Fox News Digital shortly after announcing his re-election bid, as he pointed to the longtime Democrat in the Senate.
Collins took to social media a few hours earlier to announce, “GOOD NEWS! I’M IN 2026.”
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Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, leaves the room at the Capitol in Washington, July 24, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
Democrats have been targeting the 73-year-old Collins, who was first elected to the Senate three decades ago, but have been slow to come around.
“I will do well in 2020, but fortunately, the people of Maine are famously independent. They look out for the individual, and they don’t just vote for the party line,” the senator said.
Collins was one of the Senate Republicans who voted for impeachment after the House impeached President Donald Trump in 2021, following the Jan. 6 in the US Capitol by the president’s supporters with the aim of raising congressional credentials for the results of the 2020 presidential election.
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And Collins has angered Trump with Senate votes against the administration’s wishes.
Trump has so far not supported a significant contest, and has fired back at Collins throughout the year for rifts with himself and Republicans, most notably when he voted to approve bipartisan legislation that would have curbed his military authority in Venezuela.
Trump announced that Collins and a number of other Republicans who voted with Democrats to limit his war powers “should not be re-elected.”
“Republicans should be ashamed of the newly elected Senators and Democrats who are trying to take away our Powers to fight and protect the United States of America,” Trump said in a Truth Social post at the time.
When asked if Trump should run, or stay neutral in the race, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, “I would let Susan Collins on that.”
“I think he can run in Maine. He’s been incredibly successful. He’s a seasoned campaigner who knows his hometown well and knows what works,” Thune said.
“So I think I will defer to him in any decisions made regarding his campaign and what he would like to see happen or not happen according to the recommendations, but we will be trying to make sure that he is re-elected,” he continued.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins has angered President Donald Trump with Senate votes that do not match the administration’s wishes. (Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)
His willingness to criticize Trump and criticize his policies could be beneficial to Collins, who needs the support of independents and some Democrats to get re-elected.
“What I think the criticism of the President shows is that I’m independent in how I deal with issues. I look at what the impact is on the state of Maine and what the impact is on the state and Mainers appreciate that,” he told Fox News Digital.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, leaves the Senate Republican luncheon at the US Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Collins emphasized, “I support President Trump if I think he’s right, I don’t if I think he’s wrong, and that’s the way I’ve always taken it with all the presidents I’ve worked with. I’ve never agreed 100% with any of them. So, this President speaks more freely if you don’t agree with him than previous presidents I would have voted for fully, but I think I voted fully.”
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But the Maine Democratic Party charged in a statement that “Susan Collins has spent the last 30 years betraying Maine, from depriving Mainers of affordable health care, to the decisive vote to confirm Supreme Court justices overturning Roe v. Wade, to voting with Donald Trump 94% of the time.”
“He now faces low job approval ratings because Mainers see his political games and false agendas as troubling. In November, we will reject him at the ballot box,” added state party director Devon Murphy-Anderson.
The Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Sen. Tim Scott called Collins “a battle-tested leader whose fierce independence led to Maine’s historic victory.”
But at a closed-door NRSC briefing last week for Senate Republicans, Scott pointed to the latter Fox News national poll indicating the GOP is facing a shortage at the ballot box, and said it could affect some Senate races this year.
GOP sources confirmed to Fox News Digital that Scott said the toughest challenge could be in Maine.
Maine Democratic Senator Graham Platner speaks at a town hall at the Leavitt Theater on Oct. 22, 2025, in Ogunquit, Maine. (Sophie Park/Getty Images)
Collins could face two-term Democratic Gov., quietly backed by Senate Minerals Leader Chuck Schumer and the DSCC, or political newcomer, veteran, and oyster farmer Graham Platner, backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, in November. The Democratic primary, which is expected to be competitive, is scheduled for June.
Collins accused Democrats of working to “distort my record,” and Democratic-affiliated outside groups running ads that are “probably false and that’s very disappointing. The people of Maine deserve better.”
Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills is running in 2026 to try to defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins. (Getty Images)
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Asked who he would like to face in the general election, Collins said, “I’ll leave that up to the Democrats to decide. I know there’s going to be a ton of foreign money poured into this race, regardless of who is running for the Democratic Alliance.”
