Sen. Collins Faces Challenges Ahead of 2026 Race

As Sen. Susan Collins gears up for a challenging middle-range race in 2026, she’s finding it tough to shake off her image as a corporate sellout. A recent report may complicate her situation even further.

Collins, the Republican senator from Maine, is among three GOP senators who opted not to support President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act in July, which proposes over $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, provides tax breaks for the wealthy, and could result in more than 10 million individuals losing health insurance coverage.

Interestingly, Collins did cast crucial votes in favor of advancing legislation. An exclusive report by Tessa Stuart offers some insight into the factors at play:

[Collins] made her vote a day after private equity billionaire Steve Schwartzman, chairman of the Blackstone Group, who stands to gain significantly from the bill. On June 27, Schwartzman contributed $2 million to the Pinetree Results PAC, the Super PAC supporting Collins. The very next day, she voted to allow Trump’s bill to proceed, with the final tally at 51-49. Although Vice President JD Vance was present to break a tie, he wasn’t needed after Collins’s affirmative vote.

The bill eventually passed the Senate a few days later, presumably to Schwartzman’s satisfaction. This legislation not only expanded but also made permanent the pass-through business deductions for private equity owners, allowing them to deduct 20% of their pre-tax earnings.

Collins’s office has firmly rejected any notion that Schwartzman’s financial influence swayed her vote. A spokesperson, Blake Kornen, emphasized that Senate ties would have been potentially broken by Vance regardless.

However, Stuart points out this isn’t the first major contribution Collins has received from Schwartzman or the broader private equity sector. Analysis from OpenSecrets reveals that during the 2020 election cycle, Collins’s campaign committee and leadership PAC received over $715,000 from private equity and investment firms, a figure that includes significant donations from Schwartzman and his wife.

This total omits the additional $2 million Schwartzman donated to the Super PAC during the 2020 re-election campaign. As Stuart notes, this donation came after Collins had previously opposed Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and employment law modifications related to private equity. Her plans even included amendments aimed at making parenting more affordable by closing loopholes benefiting those in the private equity sector.

Despite denying that her vote was influenced by financial support from private equity, Collins faces serious competition in 2026. One of her most formidable challengers, Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and Marine Corps veteran, has been quick to point out her connections to the industry, branding her an “Oligarch’s ally.” Platner stated emphatically during a Labor Day speech in Portland, alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders, that he prioritizes workers’ opinions over those of wealthy individuals. “We shouldn’t settle for crumbs while billionaires feast on the cookies we bake,” he argued, asserting that private equity shouldn’t garner more attention from the senator than those working multiple jobs.

For Democrats aiming to regain control of the Senate in 2026, it seems crucial to leverage Collins’s waning approval ratings, which have been slipping in the wake of Trump’s second term.

At a recent event, around 7,000 people attended Platner’s speech, where he criticized Collins’s long tenure in the Senate, highlighting her symbolic votes against her party and her reluctance to take a definitive stance on key issues like Trump’s tax laws and Roe v. Wade. “Susan Collins’s act is wearing thin,” Platner remarked. “No one will believe you regret your actions while cozying up to lobbyists. No one will care as you align with corporate interests, and no one will pay attention while you compromise with the president.”