Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is expected next week to announce whether she’ll run for the governor’s seat in her home state next year, which already has Democrats asking her to stay in the Senate.
Seen as a powerful moderate voice in a polarized Senate, Collins has played a key role in many legislative debates, most recently as one of the Republicans who chose not to support the Graham-Cassidy bill, intended to restructure Obamacare. Collins has also not shied away from criticizing President Trump when in disagreement.
Sen. Angus King, Maine’s independent senator who caucuses with Democrats, is one of the strongest voices urging Collins to remain in the Senate.
“Sen. King considers Sen. Collins a terrific colleague, a dogged fighter for Maine people in Washington and the kind of consensus-builder that the Senate needs,” Jack Faherty, a spokesman for King, told the Portland Press Herald. “Most importantly, he considers Sen. Collins a true friend. He considers serving alongside her to be a great privilege, and of course he’s urged her to stay, but he knows that whatever decision she makes will be with the best interest of Maine in mind and he will respect that decision.”
According to a Politico report, King was “begging her not to leave.” Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-North Dakota, reportedly texted Collins “don’t do it” after seeing a TV report that the Maine senator was considering a run for governor. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, said, “she’s so important to the country here. We don’t have enough folks like her.”
Collins had originally planned to announce her decision by the end of September, but pushed it back to mid-October as the GOP ramped up efforts to repeal Obamacare.
“Given the contentious environment in Washington right now, my voice and vote matter a great deal,” Collins said in an interview. “On the other hand, if I were fortunate enough to be elected governor, I could work more directly on job creation. … That’s why it’s such a difficult decision to make. And I’m trying to figure out where I matter most.”
