GOP Sen. Susan Collins bucked her party and congratulated the presumptive president-elect, Joe Biden.
Collins, who won a contentious race in her own right, shared a statement recognizing the perceived outcome of the election on social media Monday afternoon. Despite major outlets projecting the former vice president will become the next commander in chief, President Trump and his campaign have not conceded and are fighting legal battles in a bid to win the election.
“First, I would offer my congratulations to President-elect Biden on his apparent victory — he loves this country, and I wish him every success,” she said. “Presidential transitions are important and the President-elect and the Vice-President-elect should be given every opportunity to ensure that they are ready to govern on January 20th.”
The senator from Maine also addressed the president’s claims of fraud and irregularities.
“I understand that the President and others have questions about the results in certain states,” Collins said. “There is a process in place to challenge those results and, consistent with that process, the President should be afforded the opportunity to do so.”
She became the third GOP senator to congratulate the former vice president, following in the footsteps of Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah, all of whom have faced the president’s wrath at one point or another. Other Republicans, including former President George W. Bush, have also congratulated Biden. Many Republican senators, who could face backlash from the president and his supporters if they don’t appease him, have begun reiterating similar talking points about election integrity.
The Trump campaign claims, without verifiable evidence, that there has been widespread voter fraud or compromises to the voting system in states Biden is projected to win, including Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Georgia. It has not expressed similar concerns about the integrity of the election in states that the president is projected to win.
Collins, who was first elected to the Senate in 1996, defeated Democratic challenger Sara Gideon. Gideon was viewed as a beacon of hope for Democrats in their quest to win back the majority in the Senate. Instead, Collins’s victory, coupled with multiple other GOP incumbents retaining their seats in seemingly tight races, ensured the Democrats won’t have anything more than a 50-50 split in the Senate.
