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Troy Jackson’s surprise election win means Maine will lose one of its most powerful political figures after he unseated the longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins as part of a national wave of Democratic victories.
A day after Tuesday’s election, Mainers reacted with a mix of excitement and concern over what losing Collins could mean to the state and its small towns that have benefited from the federal dollars she’s directed to local projects.
Collins, who was first elected to the chamber in 1996, made her stature in Washington, including as the chair of the Senate’s appropriations committee, central to her campaign pitch. Her power over the federal pursestrings allowed her to divert millions of federal dollars to Maine communities. Through earmarks, a process that allows legislators to request federal money for specific projects, she brought windfalls to numerous municipalities across Maine.
“That’s all up in the air right now,” said Mike Scott, the president of Professional Firefighters of Maine. The group endorsed Collins. Scott said he was “still processing” her defeat on Wednesday morning.
Fire departments have been among the main beneficiaries of Collins’ largesse. She frequently helped small towns pay for fire trucks and safety equipment, which have grown increasingly expensive. More than $60 million in earmarks went to Maine’s public safety projects this year.
Still, Scott said he looked forward to a positive relationship with Jackson, whom he called a “longtime friend” of firefighters. The group had endorsed Jackson in his run for governor earlier this year.
Collins’ appropriations power and past ability to survive tough political headwinds has helped her dominate Maine politics. A New York Times story published Saturday outlined how even some Democrats have been hesitant to cross Collins.
Lewiston’s Democratic Mayor Carl Sheline told the Times that projects supported by Collins’ appropriations contributed to his decision against endorsing Jordan Wood, her first Democratic challenger, last year. He later endorsed Jackson, and on Wednesday, he expressed relief at Collins’ loss.
“We need real moral leadership for our state and country, and Sen. Collins was asking us to forgo that for something as common as money,” he told the Bangor Daily News.
Rural conservative areas have benefited heavily from federal cash. Paul Davis, a former Republican state legislator and current Piscataquis County commissioner, said Collins helped bring dollars to the area for transportation projects.
“We’ve lost that revenue source,” he said. “We’ve lost that influence.”
Aroostook County Administrator Justin Tibbetts said that even before Election Day he heard from people concerned that the region will lose funding with Collins out.
“Just having somebody — it doesn’t matter which party — as chair of the appropriations committee that’s able to bring that [money] to Maine, a lot of folks that I’ve talked to are concerned about that,” Tibbetts said Wednesday.
Tibbetts referenced the North Lakes Fire and Rescue’s new fire station that is under construction, for which Collins secured roughly $3 million. The county couldn’t have built the station without those funds, he said.
“Certainly it’s too early to tell what Mr. Jackson will be able to help the state of Maine with,” he said. “There is a level of the unknown, but we’ll see how things go, and I look forward to meeting with Sen.-elect Jackson.”
Multiple voters in downtown Bangor said Wednesday they were surprised by Jackson’s victory, especially because of Collins’ track record of bringing funds to the state. One voter, Matt Finch, blamed the senator’s loss on Trump.
Her 30-year record “amounted to nothing” when she was lumped in with Trump, Finch said.
Despite saying that they supported a change in Maine politics, multiple voters said they’re worried that Jackson won’t be able to bring the same funding back to the state. Jackson might “ruffle feathers in the wrong way,” and not have the same power that Collins had, Finch said.
Others are unconcerned. John Merrill, the owner of Merrill’s Bookstore in Hallowell, said he hasn’t felt this good about the state of the country in a long time. He dismissed Collins’ funding prowess as campaign rhetoric.
“Anyone who represented Maine has brought federal dollars to Maine,” he said, noting that he is 80 years old. “[Bath Iron Works] has been building ships long before Susan Collins was ever thought of in Congress, so that’s a specious argument.”
He likened her promises to bring money to Maine to President Donald Trump’s suggestion that he would pay everyone $5,000 if Republicans kept control of Congress.
“I don’t react well to people who try to bribe me,” he said.
BDN writers Kasey Turman and Paula Brewer contributed reporting.