Susan Collins is the abortion rights movement’s biggest test of 2026

Key Points:

• Nationally, abortion has become a less prominent campaign issue, with candidates focusing more on cost-of-living, immigration, and policing; however, in Maine, Democrats are heavily investing in abortion rights ads targeting Republican Senator Susan Collins.
• Collins, who voted to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh—whose confirmation contributed to overturning Roe v. Wade—is facing criticism from abortion rights groups who argue her judicial votes have harmed reproductive rights, despite her claims that Maine remains protected.
• Collins’s Democratic opponent, Troy Jackson, has shifted from previously opposing abortion to supporting expansive reproductive rights laws in Maine, complicating the race dynamics and voter perceptions.
• Abortion rights advocates view the Maine Senate race as a critical test of whether abortion remains a motivating issue for voters, especially Democratic women, even though few voters list it as their top concern; turnout and persuasion efforts focus on linking Collins’s Kavanaugh vote to extremism.
• The race outcome will influence the narrative around abortion’s political impact: a Collins loss would reinforce abortion as a decisive issue for voters, while a win would highlight other factors like incumbency and candidate dynamics, leaving the question of abortion’s electoral power unresolved.