# Manchin Campaigns With Susan Collins in Maine and Calls Schumer 'Crazy' for Trying to Defeat Her

The former West Virginia Democrat, now an independent, joined Collins at a Lewiston hot dog stand and called her 'the soul of the Senate.' Fox's Power Rankings rate the Maine race a toss-up.

- Section: [Politics](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/politics/)
- Published: 2026-10-21
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/manchin-calls-schumer-crazy-for-targeting-collins-maine/

A former Democratic senator took a swipe at his old party leader on Wednesday while standing next to a Republican.

Joe Manchin, who left the Democratic Party and now calls himself an independent, joined Sen. Susan Collins on the campaign trail in Lewiston, Maine, and told Fox News Digital that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is "crazy" to be working against her.

"I told him he was crazy in 2020 from working against her so hard and he's crazy now to work against her," Manchin said. He added: "She is the soul of America. She is the soul of the Senate, and he knows he needs more Susan Collins, no matter what side of the aisle they're on." Asked whether Schumer would be surprised to see him with Collins, Manchin said no.

The race. Collins is seeking a sixth term and is the only Republican senator running in a state Trump lost in 2024. Her opponent is Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president, who won a special nominating convention in late July after primary winner Graham Platner ended his campaign following an allegation that he raped a woman he had dated. Platner denied it. Fox says the latest public polls show a margin-of-error race, and its Power Rankings, along with Cook Political Report, Inside Elections and Sabato's Crystal Ball, call it a toss-up.

The argument. Jackson has tried to tie Collins to Trump, whose approval ratings in Maine and nationwide have slipped, Fox says. Manchin pushed back: Collins is "not a Trump senator. She's not a Republican senator or a Democrat senator. She's an American senator that represents her state of Maine." Collins said she and Manchin were part of "every bipartisan initiative that passed the Senate and became law" during their years together.

What happened. The pair met workers and customers at Simones' Hot Dog Stand, a century-old Lewiston eatery, the first of two stops in Maine's 2nd Congressional District. Collins and Jackson held their fourth and final debate last week. Fox says it asked Schumer's team and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for comment and got no response by publication.

The history. Collins has survived this kind of push before. Six years ago she trailed Democrat Sara Gideon in polls, then won by nearly nine points, Fox notes, even as Joe Biden carried the state by a similar margin.

## Source

Original reporting: [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/manchin-calls-schumer-crazy-oust-gop-senator-crucial-senate-showdown)