As the GOP looks to defend its slim Senate majority during the 2020 election cycle, it will require all hands on deck to ensure that at-risk incumbent Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is able to once again win election with her brand of moderate conservatism.
Collins is already facing significant opposition from Democrats in her home state. At least four Democratic challengers have announced their campaigns for the Democratic primary in hopes of challenging her in 2020.
Leading the pack is Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon. In the days following her primary announcement, Gideon managed to raise more than $1 million, while millions more have been raised for the eventual Democratic Senate nominee to use in the 2020 race. In her official announcement, Gideon signaled that she will attempt to portray Collins as a fake independent who has fallen in line with Republicans on too many issues.
“Susan Collins has been in the Senate for 22 years,” said Gideon, in her launch video. “And at one point, maybe she was different than some of the other folks in Washington, but she doesn’t seem that way anymore.”
Collins’ reelection is clearly in danger.
It is absolutely essential that Republicans and conservatives rally behind Collins with their full support and make sure she returns to Washington for another six years. While Collins is far from the staunch conservative’s ideal senator, she has proven a reliable vote on conservative issues time and time again, in particular showing her commitment to filling the courts with constitutional jurists.
Importantly, Collins also supported the GOP’s landmark tax reform.
Despite liberal predictions that cutting taxes for businesses would destroy jobs and create a recession, a recent Commerce Department report indicated that GDP grew by 2.1% last quarter, despite expectations that growth would only reach 1.8%. Additionally, the August job numbers indicated a strong economic return, with 164,000 jobs added during the month of July and unemployment at a measly 3.7%.
And despite predictions that she would not support the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Collins once again demonstrated her support of constitutional conservatism and voted to confirm a well-qualified jurist to the nation’s highest court.
Rather than cave to pressure by liberal activists during an unprecedented smear campaign against both herself and Kavanaugh, Collins proved to be an independent-minded arbitrator with her vote to confirm Kavanaugh.
While many conservatives may rightly harbor discontent with Collins over her support of abortion rights and apparent unwillingness to repeal the Affordable Care Act, at the end of the day, Sen. Collins has done more good for the GOP’s agenda than any Democrat ever would. Republicans should throw the full weight of their support behind her in 2020.
John Patrick (@john_pat_rick) is a graduate of Canisius College and Georgia Southern University. He interned for Red Alert Politics during the summer of 2012 and has continued to contribute to the Washington Examiner regularly.
