President Donald Trump’s headline-making assertion that voters are mad at Republicans — not him — has proven half true in a crucial swing state ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Democrats and independents who say they’ve repeatedly voted for their state’s conservative senator told the Washington Post Saturday morning they refuse to do so again.
“I just gave her the benefit of the doubt,” Kim Bridgham, a Democrat, told the Washington Post. “When she voted for RFK Jr., I totally lost it.”
Bridgham was talking about Maine’s “political powerhouse” Sen. Susan Collins — whom the Washington Post warned may not be able to reply on her usual cabal of blue voters in her fight to defend her seat from Democratic candidate Troy Jackson.
The stakes are high Collins and for both political parties.
The U.S. Senate currently has 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats, and with 35 seats up (22 held by Republicans) for grabs in the 2026 midterms, Democrats can retake control with a net gain of just four seats, according to 270toWin.
What will happen in Maine remains unclear, as Collins’ record in the Senate, her age (78) and the recent horrific killing of a 26-year-old Colombian immigrant has voters questioning whether they can afford to send her back to Washington, D.C.
“I’m horrified that some young father who’s just trying to provide for his family just got basically gunned down in the street,” Bridgham said.
Democrat Margaret Shaw, 74, also told the Post she will not vote for Collins as she’s done in the past.
Shaw cited Collins’ decision to confirm anti-abortion Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination as “the crack in the teapot.”
The teapot shattered during Trump’s second administration, she told the Post.
“Can’t she speak out?” Shaw asked. “Can’t she be like John McCain?”
Theresa Boisot, 56, an independent voter who voted for Collins in 2020 and for Trump in 2024, told the Post that economic factors influenced her decision not to back the Republican senator again.
“She’s taking money from other people and she’s not giving it to us poor people,” said Boisot. “I just don’t like Trump, and I don’t like Susan Collins, and I think they both need to hit the road.”
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