Senate race in Maine: Kavanaugh threatens Susan Collins' reelection in 2020

New revelations about US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, including details of a hasty FBI investigation into charges of sexual misconduct lodged in 2018 against him, could be bad news for the senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and her re-election efforts.

Collins' legacy in the era of President Donald Trump has been cemented by his vote to put Kavanaugh at the Supreme Court, after Kavanaugh was charged with sexual assault by his high school classmate Christine Blasey Ford (allegation denied by Kavanaugh).

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Kavanaugh announced as a big problem for Collins' reelection well before the New York Times weekend report, which suggested that the FBI investigation and report on allegations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh were incomplete when the Senate voted to confirm it. Collins and a number of moderate senators said that the FBI's investigation had given them confidence in Kavanaugh before they voted for him.

After Collins' reelection in 2020, the moderate Senator from Maine is already in the political battle of her life and Brett Kavanaugh plays a pivotal role. The political non-political report Cook recently passed his assessment of Collins's race from "lean Republican" to a merger, citing several polls showing that Collins was losing ground and emerging a powerful Democratic challenger.

Of course, the few polls show that Collins is leading his closest opponent – Maine House Democrat and President Sara Gideon – to double-digit numbers. Collins has a huge advantage with the recognition of his name. However, a worrying figure for Republicans is Collins' approval rating, which according to Morning Consult is 45%, versus 48% unfavorable.

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Collins has been a political institution in Maine for 22 years, when she was first elected to the Senate. She can easily be re-elected in the past, but Democrats believe that moderate women angry at Collins' votes could make sure that this different year. Maine is one of the main goals of the Democrats in their country. offer to resume the US Senateand the race against Collins already announces very expensive and disputed.

Maine voters, like Pam Cunningham, might believe that Collins' image has tarnished in the era of President Donald Trump. Cunningham, a co-director of the progressive Mainers for Accountable Leadership group, voted for Collins in her last re-election in 2014, but planned to vote against the senator this year.

"The key points for me were first the Gorsuch vote, then the tax vote, and then Kavanaugh," she told Vox this summer, referring to Collins' votes for two Supreme Court justices. Trump and a bill to reduce taxes. "I do not think she's as moderate as she'd like us to believe."

Collins knows she has lost all support because of Kavanaugh, but she is determined that voters will not make their choices based on that.

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"Did I lose votes because of my decision to support Judge Kavanaugh? Yes I have. And I'm sad about it because I explained in detail my decision making, "Collins told Burgess Everett of Politico recently. But, she added, "in Maine, we always appreciate someone who examines the facts, votes with integrity and independence."

Democrats are motivated to overthrow Collins

Of the three Democratic states plan to take a majority in the Senate – Colorado, Arizona and Maine – Collins will be a tough candidate to beat. She has three Democratic challengers; Gideon, lobbyist and progressive Betsy Sweet, and his lawyer, Bre Kidman.

Until now, Gideon seems to be the most powerful candidate. It has received support from the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee and publishes many fundraising figures. In case of doubt as to whether Kavanaugh would be a campaign problem, Gideon launched a fundraising campaign on Twitter on Monday with a photo of Collins and Kavanaugh.

According to a survey conducted in July by the Fabrizio Ward Association, the investigator Fabrizio Ward, the name of Gideon is hardly recognized by everyone. The survey showed that Collins led Gideon between 52% and 35%, and only 28% of them had an opinion of Gideon – which shows that the majority of the 600 likely voters polled did not know who she was.

But Collins had his own disturbing numbers. Among voters who have heard of both Collins and Gideon, the race has basically turned the corner, with Collins scarcely 47% against 44%.

"In Maine, we do not usually beat the senators in office," Maine political science expert Ken Palmer told Vox. Palmer, who pointed out the last defeat of an outgoing senator, dates back to the late 1970s. "They like to keep their senators, they love seniority."

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But Democrats seem particularly motivated to try to defeat it, if only to blow a blow to the majority of Republicans in the Senate. Democrats have a lot of ambitious and ambitious bills that they would like to see, but they have no hope of doing so if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is in charge.

The DSCC views Collins as a priority target and local groups such as Mainers for Accountable Leadership have been preparing for the Senate round for months with the goal of winning, said Group Executive Director Marie Follayttar at Vox this summer . According to Maine Democratic Party spokesman Alex Stack, nearly 100 volunteer solicitors joined the July weekend. He attributes this energy to a desire to see Collins party on the part of the Left Mainers.

"There was a lot of basic energy that came out of [the Kavanaugh vote]Stack told Vox this summer. "People continue to want to help us. This energy has not dissipated, it has only grown. "