The 2026 United States Senate election in Maine will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Maine. Incumbent Republican Senator, Susan Collins is running for re-election. Despite almost all polls and analysts predicting she would lose, Collins unexpectedly won her re-election bid in 2020 with a decisive margin of 8.6 percentage points against Democratic nominee Sara Gideon. This will be the only Republican-held Senate seat up for election in 2026 in a state that Kamala Harris won in the 2024 presidential election.
First elected in 1996, Collins is considered one of the most moderate Republicans in the Senate. Collins, alongside Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski and Louisiana senator Bill Cassidy, are the only remaining Republican Senators that voted to convict former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial; along with voting alongside Democrats on issues such as reproductive rights and confirmation of President Biden's judicial nominees.[1] After Trump's re-election in 2024, Collins has been seen as a potential swing vote in confirming Trump's nominees for his cabinet.[2] With Collins being a moderate and potential swing vote, she could face a more conservative primary opponent (despite the blue lean of the state), with Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville saying on any Republican that votes against Trump: "We’re gonna try to get you out of the Senate."[3]
