Sen. Susan Collins has survived being a Republican in the blue-leaning state of Maine for decades by positioning herself as a moderate who breaks with her party on issues like abortion rights.
However, Collins took off her mask again on Tuesday when she voted in favor of Matthew Byrne, a virulently anti-abortion Ohio state appeals court judge whom President Donald Trump nominated to the federal bench. In fact, Collins was effectively the deciding vote on Monday to advance Byrne’s nomination, even though Byrne opposes abortion in nearly every case, including when the pregnancy is the product of rape or incest.
According to The New Republic, Byrne said an abortion should be legal only when the “life of the mother” is at risk, but he added that those situations should be “strictly defined so as to avoid creating loopholes.” In 2023, Byrne also dissented from a ruling that declared Ohio Republicans’ six-week abortion ban unconstitutional.
Collins’ votes for Trump-appointed judges have become a sticking point in her reelection battle against Democratic nominee Troy Jackson.
Jackson is running ads that highlight how Collins has voted with Trump 96% of the time, adding that Collins always aids Trump. And WinSenate, a super PAC that seeks to elect Democrats to the Senate, is running an ad that highlights Collins’ votes for Trump’s Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated federal abortion rights.
“She pretends to be independent. But every time it matters, Susan Collins caves to Donald Trump,” a series of female voters say in the ad. “The Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. The Iran war. Doubling health insurance premiums. The Medicaid cuts. Every single time. Every single time. When it matters, Susan Collins sides with Trump, and she’s hurting Maine.”
That’s a devastating attack in a state like Maine, which Trump lost in 2024 and where he is currently 31 percentage points underwater in his approval rating, according to The Economist.
For Mainers who have previously crossed party lines to vote for Collins, ads like these provide a permission structure to kick the five-term GOP lawmaker to the curb.
The fact that Collins has backed Trump’s worst nominees and policies when her vote is needed is likely why Collins hasn’t led a poll in the Pine Tree State since July, when Graham Platner was still the Democratic nominee.
Jackson made the point about Collins’ latest vote to confirm one of Trump’s anti-abortion zealots to a lifetime job on the federal bench.
“We need to put the idea that Susan Collins is ‘pro-choice’ or ‘moderate’ completely behind us,” Jackson wrote in a post on X. “Being the deciding vote to advance an anti-abortion, MAGA-backed judge is not the moderate position. Worse than that, confirming a judge like that will have dangerous consequences for everyday people. She’s shown us her true colors. Enough with the lies.”