Around New England

Susan Collins Wins Maine, Trump Earns Electoral Vote

November 5, 2020

Maine Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins will serve another term after all — and President Donald Trump got an electoral vote from New England once again.

Collins, the moderate Republican first elected in 1996, will serve at least one more term. She earned 51.1 percent of the vote in her re-election bid, besting Maine House Speaker and Democrat Sara Gideon, who received 42.3 percent of the vote.

The win for Collins should help Republicans maintain control of the U.S. Senate. As of Wednesday afternoon, they had lost seats in Arizona and Colorado, but gained one in Alabama. Headed into the election, the GOP had 53 U.S. Senate seats.

Additionally, President Trump took the electoral vote in Maine’s Second Congressional District for the second straight time.

Trump’s exact vote total in Maine’s second district is unclear as of Wednesday afternoon, but he received more than 50 percent of the first place votes cast under Maine’s ranked-choice voting system. Former vice president Joe Biden won the state’s other three electoral votes.