Collins slams ‘outside money’ before heading to Hollywood for fundraiser

People often say that every accusation President Donald Trump makes is really a confession of his own actions—and apparently the same can be said of Maine Sen. Susan Collins.

A new fundraising email from Collins’ reelection campaign claims Democrats are flooding Maine with out-of-state cash to defeat her. Meanwhile, she is expected to rake in thousands at a glitzy Hollywood fundraiser later this month.

“Make no mistake: this is shaping up to be the biggest Senate race in the country,” the email says. “Democrats are raising millions to take Susan down, flooding Maine with outside money from liberal elites in New York and California.”

Collins is holding a fundraiser on Sept. 26 at the home of Paramount executive Sherry Lansing, according to the New York Times. The event will be co-hosted by sports and entertainment mogul Casey Wasserman. Both Lansing and Wasserman are prolific political donors.

Tickets to attend the fundraiser range from $3,500 to $10,000 per person. The New York Times said Collins is expected to attend events in Northern California around the same time.

Collins was one of three Republican senators to oppose the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will make cuts to Medicaid to fund tax breaks for the rich. But she did vote to advance the bill out of the Appropriations Committee, ensuring its eventual passage. Rolling Stone reported that Collins cast this vote immediately after her super PAC received a $2 million donation from New York billionaire Stephen A. Schwarzman.

Collins is expected to seek a sixth term next year. Democrats are hopeful that her record of flip-flopping and her ties to wealthy donors will make her vulnerable.

“Susan Collins has had this political charade that she’s played for a really long time,” Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson told MSNBC. “She votes with the GOP and with Trump when they need her most. The most recent example being the toxic GOP budget bill that she voted to advance just so that she could vote against it in the end. And I think what’s different this time is that Mainers are seeing through that charade.”

A handful of Democrats have lined up to challenge Collins, including activist Jordan Wood, oysterman Graham Platner, and brewery owner Dan Kleban.

The Cook Political Report, which analyzes elections, currently ranks the 2026 U.S. Senate race in Maine as “leans Republican.”