Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins said Tuesday during a radio interview that she is mulling whether to run governor in 2018.
The centrist Republican, who has served in the Senate for two decades, would succeed Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who is set to hit the end of his term. In the past Collins has not answered questions about her plans to seek the office, but gave a more definitive answer when being interviewed by radio hosts of WGAN, a local outlet.
“Let me say that I am looking at where I can do the most good for the people of Maine,” she said. “In the Senate I now have significant seniority and that allows me to do a lot.
“Coming to be governor, if I were fortunate enough to be elected … you can work on issues I care a lot about like economic development, jobs, education. And I would try to heal the state and bring people back together, which I think is important as well.
“So I’m trying to figure out where I can do the most good. I’m being totally honest with you – I truly don’t know, I really don’t, it’s a hard decision.”
If Collins wins, she would be the state’s first female governor. When she previously ran for governor in 1994 she lost to Angus King, an independent who serves alongside her now in the Senate. With 23 percent of the vote in 1994, she came in third behind Democrat Joseph Brennan, who had previously served two terms as governor, from 1979 to 1987, and later was elected to the House.
Republicans hold a slight majority in the Senate, and if Collins were to win the gubernatorial race, she would have to relinquish her seat two years before her term is up. The task to appoint a new senator would then fall to LePage.
Collins has deviated from her Republican colleagues in the past, including by opposing measures to defund Planned Parenthood and voting against the appointment of Betsy DeVos for education secretary. She also has introduced a bill to replace Obamacare, called the Patient Freedom Act, that would allow states to decide whether they want to keep portions of the law or to develop an alternative approach.
LePage has previously vetoed state lawmakers’ efforts to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, and it’s not clear if, if elected, Collins would vote differently.
Last year, Collins announced in an editorial that she would not be voting for President Trump, saying he was unsuitable for the office, “based on his disregard for the precept of treating others with respect, an idea that should transcend politics.”
