SCOTUS Vote Shadows Collins in Midterms09/28 06:38

   

   GORHAM, Maine (AP) -- For years, Planned Parenthood's endorsement of 
https://apnews.com/article/maine-senate-platner-collins-0abe847799b9779d604425de
03a914de was enough to persuade Erin Evans to vote for Maine's longtime U.S. 
senator, believing that the moderate Republican would protect abortion access.

   Evans is now "just furious with myself" for those votes. The 56-year-old 
from Portland described Collins' critical vote 
https://apnews.com/article/north-america-ap-top-news-sexual-misconduct-supreme-c
ourts-courts-8234f0b8a6194d8b89ff79f9b0c94f35 to the U.S. Supreme Court, where 
President Donald Trump's nominee eventually helped 
https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e
58cf8d8a7b0, as a betrayal.

   "I was a really uninformed voter," Evans said. "I thought any woman from 
Maine was probably in line with me."

   The Nov. 3 election will be the first time Collins is on the ballot since 
the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, resulting in 
abortion being banned in much of the United States. This time, Evans says she 
is backing Democrat 
https://apnews.com/article/maine-senate-susan-collins-platner-troy-jackson-a5f89
f03b6a9aace01f4e829befb7809, a 
https://apnews.com/article/maine-troy-jackson-susan-collins-senate-election-079c
2d5ba0a2b572d2c79a6c6a9138e8 trying to deny Collins a sixth term.

   Jackson and Democrats are hoping that voters like Evans will help flip a 
seat in a state the party has made a priority in the quest to retake the Senate.

   Both Collins and Jackson have made an effort to appeal to women, who make up 
the majority of Maine's population and have had a slightly higher rate of 
voting than men, according to a 
https://www.democracymaine.org/sites/default/files/2025-07/2025_State%20of%20Dem
ocracy%20in%20Maine_FINAL.pdf by democracy advocacy groups. In campaign ads 
from both candidates, women are featured prominently.

   Democrats' ads have focused heavily on Collins' vote in support of Kavanaugh 
and describe her as caving to Trump. The Democratic-aligned advocacy group 
Affordable Maine has spent nearly $10 million on ads stressing the senator's 
backing of other Trump-appointed judges who oppose abortion. An additional $32 
million has been spent by Win Senate, a political action committee focused on 
Collins. Planned Parenthood Votes has so far spent at least $500,000 to run ads 
that include a female voter who regrets voting for Collins because of her 
Kavanaugh vote.

   Yet Jackson is facing a steep challenge.

   Collins has a 30-year record of winning elections even as Maine voters have 
spurned Republican presidential nominees, including Trump, since 1988.

   And the issue trails others in terms of importance to voters. A New York 
Times/Siena poll conducted in September found that when asked in their own 
words what one issue will be most important in deciding their vote for Congress 
in November, almost no likely Maine voters mentioned abortion.

   'I do not regret' voting to confirm Kavanaugh, Collins says 

   Collins has long called herself a "pro-choice" Republican and a supporter of 
a woman's right to an abortion. She was one of the few Republicans endorsed by 
Planned Parenthood earlier in her political career. In 2022, she co-sponsored 
legislation to put federal protections for abortion into law.

   The position has put her at odds with her party but was in line with Maine 
voters.

   In 2020, the last time Collins sought reelection, the vast majority of Maine 
voters in the Senate race, 76%, said the Supreme Court should not overturn Roe 
v. Wade, according to AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of the electorate. That 
included most Collins voters. Some 35% of voters who supported Collins in her 
successful reelection bid said they wanted Roe to be overturned.

   Collins' https://apnews.com/article/1a911d6e59db4d89ada69a6f090d76bb was 
crucial to his confirmation. At the time, Collins waited months before 
announcing her decision in a 45-minute floor speech. The final vote was 50-48.

   Kavanaugh later joined the 6-3 conservative majority in stripping away 
constitutional rights to abortion.

   Collins criticized the high court's decision in 2022, but she has never 
publicly wavered in her decision to confirm Kavanaugh. She told 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g_GCsZU5jM that "I do not regret that vote." 
Collins had said before the 2018 vote that Kavanaugh, in a two-hour meeting 
with her, said 
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-confirmation-hearings-ap-top-news-brett-
kavanaugh-north-america-d843c7076e2b44fbbec1a4d26ef9d830.

   But her confirmation vote is what stands out in the minds of voters like 
Bente Lundh, 67, of Falmouth.

   "She's positioned herself as this moderate voter, but she's really chopped 
that down with her vote for Kavanaugh," Lundh said.

   For others, Collins' 
https://apnews.com/united-states-congress-1092f2eb241e46859913d7a2261ff119 
continues to draw their support even if they are disappointed with the eventual 
overturning of Roe.

   "I think I've tried to not have my allegiance to party make me blind to what 
may be a better path from time to time," said Mary Ann Lynch, a Democrat 
supporting Collins. "Neither party, in my view, has a monopoly on the truth and 
how best to do things. So I think it's really important to have people who will 
reach across the aisle."

   Lynch added that Collins may have voted to confirm Kavanaugh, but she also 
voted to confirm Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, who 
dissented in the abortion ruling. They were nominated by Democratic President 
Barack Obama.

   Jackson makes his case to women, abortion rights supporters 

   Since launching his campaign in July, Jackson has announced a "Women for 
Troy" coalition made up of women from all 16 Maine counties and he has secured 
endorsements from abortion rights groups Planned Parenthood and Reproductive 
Freedom for All.

   Jackson was serving as a top state senator when the landmark 1973 decision 
was upended in 2022. He says he worked to pass "some of the strongest 
protections for abortion access in the country."

   Yet Jackson has had his own hurdles.

   The Democrat became a last-minute Senate nominee after 
https://apnews.com/article/graham-platner-maine-senate-53839ed2762e9f84557a299ae
922f2dd dropped out this summer following criticism of his past relationships 
with women and a sexual assault allegation, which Platner denies. Jackson is 
now scrambling to win over voters who may be wary of his connection to Platner. 
The two campaigned together as Jackson initially sought the Democratic 
gubernatorial nomination but lost.

   Jackson also has had to explain the evolution of his support on abortion 
rights and same-sex marriage, both of which he opposed years ago. Jackson now 
says he was wrong about his past beliefs and changed his mind after talking to 
women. Jackson's campaign spokesperson Maggie Amjad said Jackson now holds a 
"100% rating from Maine's Planned Parenthood."

   Blake Kernen, a spokesperson for Collins, described the senator as the only 
"reliably pro-choice" candidate in the race.

   Abortion is not top of mind for Maine voters 

   While Jackson is reminding voters of Collins' role in the abortion rights 
fight, he is doing so in a state that was not highly affected by the decision 
compared with Republican-controlled regions where many abortion clinics have 
shuttered, said Mark Brewer, a political science professor at the University of 
Maine.

   "If you were in a state where all of the abortion clinics had closed, then 
that might be a bigger issue," Brewer said. "That has not been the case here."

   The state's Democratic-controlled Legislature in 2023 
https://apnews.com/article/maine-legislature-abortion-access-8e307526d1c0101d820
841f4d42a94c4 that allows abortions at any time if deemed medically necessary 
by a doctor, and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has enacted legislation protecting 
providers of 
https://apnews.com/article/maine-abortion-transgender-shield-law-9e1d7ca3d80089f
f200ada9304813598 from legal action brought by other states.

   A CNN/SSRS survey of likely Maine voters conducted in late August and early 
September found that most voters are still unhappy about the decision to 
overturn Roe, but that anger over the loss of abortion rights could be 
overshadowed by broader concerns about the economy.