Susan Collins loses Maine Senate election after nearly 30 years in Senate

Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins conceded defeat in the midterm election to Democrat Troy Jackson, the former president of the state Senate, ending her nearly 30-year career in the U.S. Senate.

Republican Senator Susan Collins conceded defeat in Maine’s U.S. Senate election on Wednesday morning and congratulated her Democratic opponent, Troy Jackson, the former president of the Maine State Senate.

“Serving the people of Maine in the U.S. Senate has been the honor of my life,” Collins said. She said she had called Jackson to congratulate him and promised that she and her staff would ensure a smooth transition.

Democrat Troy Jackson, who won the Senate election, in the Maine State Senate chamber (file photo)

Collins had served in the Senate since 1997 and was seeking a sixth term that would have made her the longest-serving senator in Maine’s history. She was the only Republican senator from New England, was considered one of the most moderate members of her party, and her vote often proved decisive in the Senate.

Collins’s defeat was part of a sweeping Democratic victory. In the November 3 midterm elections, Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress, flipping Senate seats from Republicans in Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, South Carolina and North Carolina.