Susan Collins behind in reelection polls after voting to acquit Trump

If the election were held today, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) would lose reelection to her likely Democratic opponent, Sara Gideon, by 4 points, according to a new survey from Public Policy Polling released on Thursday.

PPP noted Collins has seen her support plummet over the past year, which it ascribed at least in part to Collins’ vote to acquit Donald Trump of the two charges over which the House of Representatives impeached him in December.

In voting to acquit Trump, Collins said she thought his behavior in trying to force Ukraine into investigating a political rival was wrong, but that he learned his lesson and would act more appropriately in the future.

“When PPP first polled the Gideon-Collins match up for a private client last spring, Collins led by 18 points at 51-33. The reason for the 22 point shift since then is that in the wake of opposing impeachment, Collins has lost most of the crossover Democratic support she’s relied on for her success over the years,” PPP wrote in an analysis on Thursday.

Since PPP polled the race last spring, Collins has seen her approval rating among people who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 plummet from 32% to just 9%. Meanwhile, PPP noted this week, her support from Donald Trump voters has climbed.

PPP said that the tradeoff was not a wise move for Collins.

“Her choice to cast her impeachment vote more based on fear of a primary than on fear of the general election now has her trailing in the general election,” the outlet wrote.

Ousting Collins has been a top Democratic goal, as Democrats look to win the seats needed to win a Senate majority. Democrats need to pick up three seats if the party wins the White House, or four seats if Trump wins reelection.

This week’s poll revealed good news for Democrats looking to take back the Senate, finding that not only would Collins lose reelection if the election were held today, but so would GOP Sens. Martha McSally of Arizona, Cory Gardner of Colorado, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

On the presidential front, the poll also had good news for Democrats. It found both former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders leading Trump in Maine by identical 52% to 42% margins.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.