WASHINGTON – Sara Gideon, Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, formally became the Democratic nominee to challenge Senator Susan Collins of Maine, wielding a formidable war chest in a race that could determine if Republicans retain control of the Senate in November.
Backed by the Senate Democratic campaign arm and various outside political groups, Ms. Gideon had long been the front-runner to challenge Ms. Collins, the only remaining Republican in the New England Congress. Cook’s nonpartisan Political Report has called the race a discard, and elections have already become the most expensive in Maine’s history.
“This campaign is about all of us and how we can build a stronger future together,” Gideon said in an acceptance speech broadcast on Facebook. “After 24 years in Washington, Senator Collins has become part of that broken system, putting special interests and her political party first, and Mainers knows and feels it.”
“Senator Collins has changed, and Mainers deserves better,” added Gideon. “Mainers deserves a senator who will bring people together to overcome the challenges we face.”
While Collins reached a fourth term in 2014 with 69 percent of the vote, his reputation for independence and bipartisanship has suffered under the Trump administration, and his approval ratings have plummeted at home. Although he has parted ways with President Trump on a number of issues, he faced significant backlash after supporting the $ 1.5 billion tax cut package in 2017 and voting to confirm Brett M. Kavanaugh before the Supreme Court in 2018. .
Millions of dollars have flooded the race and waves in Maine, with Gideon raising $ 23 million from Maine voters and national Democratic donors eager to change the seat and secure control of the Senate.
Having defeated two progressives, Betsy Sweet, a lobbyist, and Bre Kidman, an attorney, Gideon will receive another windfall: at least $ 3.5 million raised by a crowdfunding campaign during and after Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation. (Because organizers promised to return the donations if Collins voted against their confirmation, the senator has condemned the money as a bribe seeking to influence an official act.)
“Our state Legislature has been out of session for 120 days because the Maine unemployment system collapsed and thousands of workers who lost their jobs in the pandemic are still unable to get the help they need,” said Kevin Kelley, spokesman for the senator’s campaign. Meanwhile, President Gideon is about to take $ 4 million from people who tried to buy Senator Collins’ vote. But Senator Collins cannot be bribed, and she focuses solely on assisting cities, towns, small businesses, and workers who need her help now more than ever. ”
When Ms Gideon announced her campaign in June 2019, she said her candidacy was in part influenced by the senator’s casting vote on Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation. After Judge Kavanaugh disagreed with a decision that would set a precedent to preserve abortion rights, Ms. Gideon and other advocacy groups promoting abortion rights quickly renewed attacks on Ms. Collins, who is also favor of those rights and said he believed Judge Kavanaugh would. support the precedent to preserve them.
In interviews this month while traveling across the state for the July 4 festivities, Collins acknowledged that Gideon’s war chest, along with restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, had made the race particularly challenging. His campaign program has been limited to virtual meetings and fundraisers and the few remaining outdoor events.
“That’s what frustrates me in this pandemic, because I can do this in a rural area, at an outside event, but the vast majority of fairs and festivals in our state have been canceled,” Collins said. “I think it is a great loss for me because people know that I am there because I want to be there, and it gives me energy.”
