The Senate race in Maine has been one of the most closely watched in the country. Incumbent Susan Collins has struggled over the last four years as she flip-flopped on a lot of issues involving Donald Trump. Democrat Sara Gideon, the speaker of Maine’s House of Representatives was hoping to unseat her and most polls pointed in that direction. Now votes are still being counted, but with Collins currently about 6-points ahead, Gideon conceded the race Wednesday afternoon.
Collins’s effort to play a bit of both sides in recent years was expected to have an impact on this race. The Washington Post wrote, “At a time when everyone has become involved in presidential politics, those who don’t pick a side might wind up representing nobody.” But The Los Angeles Times wrote something to the contrary saying that this win shows “the resilience of her appeal as a centrist voice in an increasingly polarized political world.”