Republican Susan Collins loses seat, ending almost 30 years in the Senate

Collins at times walked a tight rope with Trump. A moderate Republican, in a state that historically supported Democrats, she often criticised his policies.

She was viewed by many as a possible “swing vote” during controversial legislation, who could tip the scales either way.

She voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial in 2021, after the riots at the US Capitol, and also voted against Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which passed.

And she voted against repealing the Affordable Care Act, helping to save the health-care policy commonly referred to as Obamacare.

Yet she backed the president in many crucial votes – including voting in favour of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination for the Supreme Court and confirming Robert Kennedy Jr, a vaccine sceptic, as Health Secretary.

In debates, Jackson tied Collins to Trump’s record, pointing to her voting record and arguing that she could have used her position as a key swing vote to sway the president.

Collins, though, argued she used her position leading the Senate’s Appropriations Committee, which oversees writing bills that allocates federal funds to states and programmes across the US, to make a difference for Maine and its residents.