Susan Collins is using a breakfast appearance with former senator Joe Manchin to reinforce her appeal to Maine voters across party lines. She has criticized President Trump’s handling of the Iran war and opposed his Russia decisions, while saying Putin is the aggressor in Ukraine. Democratic opponent Troy Jackson questions whether those disagreements carry weight, pointing to Collins’s role as chair of appropriations and her ability to affect war funding. Protesters and supporters made the disagreement visible outside her event. The race is rated a toss-up, and voters will weigh Collins’s record and Jackson’s criticism as the campaign continues.
TLDR: Collins is presenting herself as a Maine-focused senator who can work across party lines, with Manchin appearing alongside her in Lewiston. Her public breaks with Trump face a direct challenge from Democrat Troy Jackson, and voters will judge those claims during a toss-up race.
Susan Collins is making a direct appeal to Maine voters who do not fit neatly into either party. On Wednesday in Lewiston, the Republican senator shared breakfast sandwiches with Joe Manchin, the former Democratic senator who later became an independent, and a roomful of voters. The event put her central campaign message into practice: she can sit across the table from people across the political spectrum.
Manchin described Collins as an American senator representing Maine, rather than as a senator defined by Trump or by either party. That is the rationale behind the appearance: Collins wants voters of every political stripe to see her as focused on the state she represents. The approach is common sense in a state President Trump lost, where Collins is the only Republican senator up for reelection.
Collins is running for a sixth term, and her record shows a capacity to win in difficult political conditions. In 2020, she won by more than eight points even as Trump lost Maine by nine. CBS News rates the current race a toss-up. Collins has also repeatedly separated herself from parts of the president’s agenda, a pattern shared by Manchin, who represented deep-red West Virginia before leaving the Democratic Party and retiring in 2024.
The breakfast gathering gave that cross-party message a visible setting, but the campaign’s test came during a visit to a New Balance factory. Asked about Trump envoy Steve Witkoff describing Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “humanitarian” after the release of a jailed U.S. citizen, Collins answered plainly. She called Putin a warmonger and a thug, rejected the humanitarian label, and said he is the aggressor in the war against Ukraine. Manchin shook his head as the question was raised.
Collins also said she opposed Trump’s decision to waive new sanctions on Russia and make a deal to import Russian diesel from Moscow. She argued that the arrangement would provide Russia with more funding to attack Ukraine. Those positions put distance between Collins and the White House on specific issues, while giving voters a concrete account of where she disagrees with the president.
Her criticism extends to the Iran war. Collins has said in debates that the president did not have a good plan and that the conflict should end. Those comments demonstrate that her campaign is not simply relying on a shared party label. They also expose the tension she must manage: a Republican running in a state Trump lost, while arguing that she can represent Maine independently of the president’s wishes.
Democratic opponent Troy Jackson has challenged whether those breaks are meaningful. At a debate last week, Jackson said Collins, as chair of appropriations, could cut off funding for the war if she wanted to stop it. He argued that she was unwilling to do so because Trump wanted the conflict to continue. His criticism turns Collins’s role and voting record into a test of accountability, rather than treating her public disagreements as sufficient evidence of independence.
That skepticism was also present outside the breakfast stop. Protesters called for Collins to retire and held signs and cutouts of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, referencing her vote to confirm him. Collins supporters in bright red answered with chants of “six more years” when she came out to speak with reporters. Her tour bus blocked the demonstrators from view. The scene showed how sharply the campaign’s message is contested, even as Collins continues to make her case in public.
Elaine Makas, a Lewiston Democrat and former state legislator, said she was grateful for Collins’s service and considered her a nice person, but believed her votes were wrong. Makas said Collins had fallen in line with the president and suggested she disagreed only when her vote did not matter. She said she knew Jackson from their time in the legislature and believed he would listen to Mainers. Collins, for her part, has argued that she frequently votes against Trump’s wishes.
The practical impact of this campaign strategy is political rather than administrative. The excerpt identifies no new fees, forms, compliance rules, or government deadlines. It directly affects Maine voters deciding whether Collins’s record represents independent judgment or alignment with the president. The choice puts traditional party loyalty and a senator’s independence in tension, while making public votes, policy statements, and debate claims the evidence voters must weigh.
The next steps are the continuing campaign and the election, with the race rated a toss-up by CBS News. Voters will assess Collins’s statements on Russia and Iran alongside Jackson’s funding criticism and the record Collins says shows frequent disagreement with Trump. That scrutiny is a necessary part of the campaign’s accountability. The experts have this handled, and the process will keep the claims in view until voters decide.
Miles Harrington serves as the Senior Correspondent for Federal Systems & Executive Power at Just Right News, where he brings a disciplined, constitutionalist lens to the inner workings of the American government. With a focus on the mechanics of the federal bureaucracy and the limits of executive authority, Harrington has established himself as a vital voice for readers who value transparency, accountability, and the preservation of the separation of powers.
A native of Richmond, Virginia, Harrington’s perspective is deeply rooted in the traditions of the Old Dominion. Growing up in a city defined by its historical significance and its role as a center of American jurisprudence, he developed an early appreciation for the foundational principles of the Republic. His upbringing in Richmond—a place where the legacy of the Founding Fathers is woven into the landscape—instilled in him a belief that the federal government should remain within its constitutional bounds. This background informs his skepticism of centralized overreach and his commitment to reporting on the ways in which the administrative state impacts the lives of everyday citizens.
In his current role, Harrington specializes in the complexities of federal systems. He doesn’t just report on the headlines of the day; he digs into the structural shifts within the executive branch that often go unnoticed by the mainstream press. Whether he is analyzing the implications of a new federal regulation or investigating the expansion of agency jurisdiction, his work is characterized by a rigorous adherence to the facts and a dedication to the rule of law.
Harrington is perhaps best known for his signature feature series, “How Washington Works.” Through this ongoing project, he demystifies the often-opaque processes of the nation’s capital, pulling back the curtain on the “Deep State” and the unelected officials who wield significant influence over national policy. By breaking down complex legislative maneuvers and executive orders, he empowers Just Right News readers to understand the true levers of power in Washington. His reporting serves as a necessary check on the federal government, ensuring that the actions of those in power are held up to the light of public scrutiny.
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