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2026 Maine Senate
Bob Dylan
Collins’s Kavanaugh Vote Drives Senate Fight
Coverage from Daily Kos, WAVY.com, and others
Troy Jackson and allied abortion-rights groups are making Susan Collins’s 2018 vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh a central campaign attack, linking it to the Supreme Court’s later decision to overturn Roe v.
Wade. Planned Parenthood Votes and Reproductive Freedom for All have committed substantial advertising and direct-mail resources against Collins, while Collins maintains that she supports abortion access and does not regret the Kavanaugh vote. The fight gives Jackson a way to challenge Collins with abortion-rights voters while forcing the incumbent to defend a position that combines support for abortion access with support for key conservative judicial nominees.
The current version largely confirms the existing story, with slightly greater emphasis on Collins’s Kavanaugh vote and Jackson’s challenge among abortion-rights voters. No material new event, actor, or claim is introduced.
The attack has broadened from Collins’s Kavanaugh vote to include her Gorsuch confirmation, while reproductive-rights endorsements further align Jackson’s campaign with the issue.
The current version largely confirms the existing campaign narrative, while introducing uncertainty over the direct-mail spending figure, which is now reported as ranging up to $850,000.
The main development is Reproductive Freedom for All’s newly stated endorsement of Troy Jackson. Otherwise, the advertising, targets, spending, and abortion-focused framing largely confirm the previous account.
The campaign has expanded from Planned Parenthood’s advertising buy into a broader, multimillion-channel coalition effort, adding direct mail and new organizational support. The increased spending and organizing make abortion rights a more prominent and structured challenge to Collins.
Planned Parenthood Votes is directing $600,000 in advertising against Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, supporting Democratic challenger Troy Jackson and focusing on Collins’ 2018 vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh. The campaign seeks to link Collins to the Supreme Court’s later reversal of Roe v. Wade, despite her stated opposition to the Dobbs decision and support for abortion access through fetal viability. The buy makes abortion policy a prominent line of attack in the contest and marks a significant break between Collins and a former ally.