WASHINGTON — Democrat Troy Jackson has defeated Republican incumbent Susan Collins to win Maine’s U.S. Senate seat, according to a projection by The Associated Press, strengthening Democrats’ freshly won majority in the chamber. Jackson’s win follows a contentious, high-pressure campaign — and a late start for the Democrat, who stepped into the race after Graham Platner, the party’s nominee, ...

Susan Collins arrives for a Senate vote on the Venezuela War Powers Resolution at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Washington, D.C..

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images North America/TNS

WASHINGTON — Democrat Troy Jackson has defeated Republican incumbent Susan Collins to win Maine’s U.S. Senate seat, according to a projection by The Associated Press, strengthening Democrats’ freshly won majority in the chamber.

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Troy Jackson holds a pulaski ax given to him during a gathering after being selected by the Maine Democratic Party to be their choice as the U.S. Senate nominee to replace Graham Platner on the ballot in November, on July 25, 2026, in Bangor, Maine.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America/TNS

Jackson’s win follows a contentious, high-pressure campaign — and a late start for the Democrat, who stepped into the race after Graham Platner, the party’s nominee, dropped out in July following sexual assault accusations.

The Democrat’s victory ends a three-decade run for Collins, 73, Maine’s longest-serving member of Congress and a reliably moderate Republican voice in the Senate.