Sen. Susan Collins Maintains Perfect Voting Record, Attends Senate Session During JD Vance Visit to Bangor

D. Vance in Bangor, Maine, her hometown, to preserve her unbroken record of Senate votes.

Vance occurred on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Bangor. ” Collins, 73, is seeking a sixth term in the November 2026 midterm election. She is the longest-serving Republican woman ever in the Senate and the first woman to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee.

A photo of Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, was taken at the Capitol in Washington on March 26, 2026. Her presumptive opponent is Graham Platner, the 41-year-old Democratic nominee, a former Marine and oyster farmer who has never cast a vote in any legislative chamber.

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer recruited Democratic Gov. Janet Mills to run for the seat after Platner’s lack of governing experience became an issue. Janet Mills dropped out of the Senate race in Maine, clearing the path for the November matchup.

U.S. Senate in the 2026 midterm elections. Collins was first elected to the Senate in fall 1996.

She was sworn into office in early January 1997 by then-Vice President Al Gore. Sen. Susan Collins wore a deep blue suit jacket and skirt when sworn into office. The Senate tapped South Carolina Sen.

Strom Thurmond by unanimous consent to serve as president pro tempore on the same day Collins was sworn in. She has never missed a vote during her entire Senate service and is nearing her 10,000th roll call vote, according to her office. The Washington Times reported that Collins continues to leave her mark in the upper chamber as she stakes her claim to being the chamber’s iron woman.

Blake Kernen said Sen. ” Collins is on a collision course with Platner in a race that will test how much weight voters give to legislative experience. Platner, energizing activists in the Democratic primary, saw Mills’ campaign never catch fire before she exited the contest.