The New York Times reports how Democrat Troy Jackson, an accidental candidate who lost Maine's gubernatorial primary weeks earlier, defeated five-term Senator Susan Collins in November 2026, ending her 30-year Senate career just 101 days after entering the race. The article credits a mix of his working-class populist appeal, Graham Platner's exit amid misconduct allegations, the Biddeford shooting that sharpened immigration as a campaign issue, and Collins's inability to escape an unpopular president, despite her allies' $40 million spending advantage.