Maine Senate Race Centers on Collins’ 2018 Kavanaugh Vote and Allegations Against Democratic Candidate

Democrats in Maine are centering their Senate campaign on Sen. U.S. Supreme Court. The issue gained renewed attention after the Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v.

Wade, in which Kavanaugh joined the 5-4 majority. Collins cast the decisive vote after stating in 2018 that Kavanaugh viewed Roe v. ” In her Oct. ” Graham Platner, who won the Democratic primary, has repeatedly cited the vote on the campaign trail.

“She got elected promising to protect Roe versus Wade, only to turn around and put on a justice, put a justice on the Supreme Court who overturned it? She lied to us,” Platner said in his primary victory remarks. ” Voters at a Friday rally for Platner in Maine expressed similar frustration.

Janice Low recalled hearing Collins on the radio suggest she would not confirm him, then feeling disappointed when the senator voted yes. “It was just so representative. That she could say this — and then do that,” Low said.

Collins has defended the vote. In a February interview with an NBC affiliate in Maine, she said, “I believe that I cast the right vote. It was a difficult vote that I spent a great deal of time. I had two interviews.

She noted that she has voted to confirm seven of the eight sitting justices during her tenure—four conservatives and three liberals—and said she opposed Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation for procedural reasons because the vote occurred days before the 2020 election.

Senate Majority PAC polling in March found that attacking Collins on abortion ranked as the second-strongest issue with registered Democrats in Maine, behind healthcare and Medicaid cuts. ” The race also involves separate allegations against Platner.