Democrat Troy Jackson defeats Susan Collins in Maine Senate race

Jackson defeats Collins in Maine

Democrat Troy Jackson has defeated Republican Susan Collins in Maine's Senate race, unseating the longtime moderate senator after nearly 30 years in office.

Jackson replaced withdrawn nominee

Jackson entered the race after Democrat Graham Platner withdrew following a series of scandals, including allegations of sexual assault. Platner has denied the allegations.

Collins was rare Republican in blue state

First elected in 1996, Collins was the only Republican senator representing a state that has consistently voted Democratic in presidential elections since 1992.

Jackson pitched working-class battle

Jackson, a former logger, campaigned on workers' rights and positioned the race as a battle between the working class and the political establishment.

“We did it! Working people did it!”

Jackson's Senate ambitions

Addressing supporters in Portland on Tuesday night, Jackson said he would take the fight for working people to the United States Senate.

“I couldn't accept that working people could give everything they had and still have so little to say over their own lives.”

Cost-of-living concerns sealed Collins' fate

With cost-of-living concerns dominating conversations at polling stations across Maine on election day, Collins finally ran out of time in her Senate seat.