Election 2026: Maine Senate

Democrat Troy Jackson has a one-point lead over Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who is seeking her sixth term in the Senate. 

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that, if the election were held today, 46% of Likely Maine voters would vote for Jackson, while 45% would vote for Collins. Nine percent (9%) of Maine voters are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Jackson, a former state senator, was nominated by a special Democratic Party convention in July after scandal-plagued primary winner Graham Platner quit the race. Jackson is supported by 77% of Democratic voters, as well as 10% of Republicans and 48% of voters not affiliated with either major party. Eighty-five percent (85%) of Republicans would vote for Collins, along with 18% of Democrats and 36% of unaffiliated voters. Seventeen percent (17%) of unaffiliated voters are still undecided.

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The survey of 1,033 Maine Likely Voters was conducted on September 8-10, 2026 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

The “gender gap” is a net 10 points in the Maine Senate race, with women voters favoring Jackson 47% to 42, while men prefer Collins 49% to 44%.
Forty-five percent (45%) of whites, 55% of black voters, 46% of Hispanics and 65% of other minorities would vote for Jackson, while 46% of whites, 41% of black voters, 45% of Hispanics and 33% of other minorities would vote for Collins.

Jackson leads by a nine-point margin (52% to 43%) among voters 65 and older, while Collins has a 16-point lead (53% to 37%) among voters in their 40s.

Jackson gets more than 70% of the voters among liberal voters, and 51% of moderates, while the strongest support for Collins comes from voters who identify as Very Conservative.

Breaking down the electorate by income categories, Jackson leads by 18 points (52% to 34%) among voters earning less than $30,000 a year, while Collins has her largest margin among those with annual incomes between $50,000 and $100,000.

Seventy-five percent (75%) of those who voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election would vote for Jackson, while 78% of Donald Trump voters favor Collins.

Democrat Rep. Chris Pappas has opened an 11-point lead over former Republican Sen. John Sununu in the race to fill the New Hampshire Senate seat vacated by the retirement of Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

Democrat state Rep. Josh Turek has a narrow lead over U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson in the race to fill the Iowa Senate seat vacated by the retirement of Republican Sen. Joni Ernst. 

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to the public as well as to Platinum Members.

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