Collins enlists Manchin to woo moderates as she distances herself from Trump

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, seeking a sixth term in a state Donald Trump lost, is presenting herself as a senator who answers to Maine rather than a party. To underline that pitch, she had breakfast in Lewiston on Wednesday with former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who left the Democratic Party before retiring in 2024. Manchin told reporters she is an American senator for her state. CBS News rates the contest a toss-up, though she won in 2020 by more than 8 points while Trump lost Maine by 9.

Collins also put space between herself and the president. Asked at a New Balance plant about envoy Steve Witkoff praising Vladimir Putin as a humanitarian, she answered with a flat no and called the Russian leader a warmonger and a thug. She opposes Trump's waiver of new Russia sanctions and a diesel import arrangement with Moscow, saying it would bankroll attacks on Ukraine. She has also faulted his Iran war strategy.

Democratic challenger Troy Jackson questions her sincerity, noting that as appropriations chair she could cut off war funding. Protesters outside the event, including former legislator Elaine Makas, said she has fallen in line with the president.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CBS News’s reporting. Read the full story at CBS News →