Republican · Maine Senate · 2026
Susan Collins
Collins grew up in Caribou as one of six children in a family whose lumber business dates to 1844.
Biography
Susan Collins grew up as one of six children in Caribou, where her family's lumber business traces its beginnings to 1844.1 Both parents served as the town's mayor, and her father also served in Maine's legislature.1 Today, she lives in Bangor with her husband, Tom Daffron, and their black Labrador, Pepper.1
After St. Lawrence University, Collins worked for Bill Cohen in the House and Senate before leading Maine's professional and financial regulation department.1 She later directed a regional Small Business Administration office and helped establish Husson's Center for Family Business.1 First elected in 1996, she now chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, giving her a leading role in federal funding decisions.12
Collins helped write the 2020 Paycheck Protection Program, which provided pandemic assistance to businesses.3 She also helped write the Social Security Fairness Act, signed in January 2025, repealing benefit reductions that affected certain public employees and their spouses.3
On healthcare, she voted to advance the 2025 Republican tax and spending bill for debate, then opposed final passage, citing its Medicaid cuts.4 Her current proposals include expanded nurse training, stronger rural emergency services and permanent Medicare telehealth access.3 She faces Democrat Troy Jackson while emphasizing her seniority and bipartisan legislative work in a contest with national stakes.2
Record and controversies
Closed inquiry involving a defense contractor
ProPublica reported an inquiry into alleged exchanges of campaign donations for Navatek contracts, which ended in 2025.5 The Washington Post independently confirmed the closure; neither Collins nor her staff was charged.6 Collins denied wrongdoing, said the research had military value and maintained that her campaign cooperated with investigators as witnesses.7 The FBI said its investigation found nothing implicating her or her campaign; ABC noted that the bureau did not answer ProPublica's question about the later investigative phase.7 The inquiry ended without a bribery conviction or an active prosecution.
Late investment disclosure and misleading insider trading advertisement
FactCheck.org reported that Collins disclosed a corporate bond purchase by her husband five days after the reporting deadline; her campaign said an outside adviser made his investment decisions.8 The outlet also found that a Democratic advertisement falsely equated her opposition to an outright congressional stock trading ban with support for legalizing insider trading.8 She supports independently managed portfolios and enforcement of existing insider trading restrictions, while the advertising group argued that the current rules are inadequate.8