Politics
Our political journalists are based in the Maine State House and have deep source networks across the partisan spectrum in communities all over the state. Their coverage aims to cut through major debates and probe how officials make decisions. Read more Politics coverage here.
Maine students handed U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ seat to Troy Jackson in this week’s mock election.
More than 12,000 students across 115 participated in Tuesday’s mock election.
In Maine’s highly contested U.S. Senate race, Democrat Jackson won narrowly with 50.8% of the vote over Republican Collins’ 45.1%, according to results that the Maine secretary of state’s office released Wednesday.
Students handed Democrat Hannah Pingree a plurality victory in the race for governor. She secured 41.8% of the vote, compared with 30.4% for Republican Bobby Charles and 24.4% for independent Rick Bennett.
In the 1st Congressional District race, Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree kept her seat with a comfortable margin over her Republican opponent, Ron Russell, who garnered 39.7% of the vote.
But the Democratic sweep stopped in the 2nd Congressional District, where 52% of students supported Republican former Gov. Paul LePage over 43.2% for Democratic State Auditor Matt Dunlap.
“The Maine Student Mock Election is an engaging way for students across the state to learn about elections and have their voices heard even before they can cast a real ballot,” Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said in a statement. “We always say that voting is not a test, but we know that practicing voting before students turn 18 can help them feel prepared to participate in our democracy when the day comes. Mock election creates a fun environment for civic participation and civil discourse about the upcoming election.”
In recent years, the results of the mock election have mirrored the results of the general election. Students rejected voter ID and backed a red-flag law referendum last year, much like eligible voters did that November. In presidential elections, the favorite among Maine students went on to win in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
But the prognosticating powers of Maine’s teens haven’t always borne fruit.
In 2016, they backed Donald Trump for president but also backed a gun background check referendum that failed. Then in 2020 they backed Democrat Sara Gideon in her bid to unseat Collins, but considering who’s on the ballot this year, you know how that race turned out.
This year’s race between Collins and Jackson is very tight, with poll after poll after poll giving the former Maine Senate president just a narrow edge over Collins, who has led in at least one public poll, also by a single digit, this fall.
Both Republicans and Democrats have brought out heavy hitters to boost their candidates here, including Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson for Republicans, and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Democrats. Former President Barack Obama also gave a prominent endorsement to Jackson this month, and former Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia stumped for Collins last week.
It will be an uphill battle for Democrats to unseat Collins, who officially announced her historic bid for a sixth term in February. The Republican has handily beaten back challengers, including in 2020 when she defied polls and expectations to secure a fifth term in the Senate. But Collins, who has been ranked the country’s most bipartisan senator and relied on cross-party appeal to carry her to victory, has seen her popularity slump since Trump’s first term in the White House.
If Collins is successful in winning a sixth term, she would be Maine’s longest-serving U.S. senator.