Opinion: David Marcus Says the GOP's Future in New England Rides on Susan Collins and Maine's Senate Vote
The Fox columnist notes Collins is the region's only Republican in Congress and argues a loss would feed the case against moderates. He relies on talks with state Rep. Laurel Libby and Bangor voters.
Fox News columnist David Marcus argues that Maine's Senate race matters far beyond one seat.
His argument. New England has 12 senators and 21 House seats, and only one member of Congress from the region is a Republican: Sen. Susan Collins. Democrat Troy Jackson has a slight poll lead. If Jackson wins, Marcus writes, the lesson many Republicans will draw is "that centrism doesn't work" and that they need brawlers more like Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas than peacemakers like Collins. Some hardcore Republicans, he says, would welcome that. But most in the party, he says, agree that holding the Senate for Trump's last two years matters more than the intraparty fight.
Who he talked to. Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby, whom he calls a rising star, said Collins is "great on constituent services" and called it "kind of hysterical" for Jackson to say she skips town halls. Libby blamed Jackson for a 70% rise in electricity costs and a 50% rise in the state budget during his time in the state Senate. Marcus also quotes Bangor voters, including a Vietnam veteran who says Democrats south of Augusta "think everyone is made of money."
The contrast. Collins campaigned this week with former Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, while Jackson campaigned with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Libby called that "representative of what they both would bring to the Senate."
His closing point. Democrats exiled Manchin for a lack of purity and, he writes, are on the way to doing the same to Sen. John Fetterman. If Collins survives, he says, Republicans can show they can embrace moderate positions in the post-Trump era.
Note for readers: this is an opinion column. The cost and budget figures are Libby's, and the voter comments are a handful of interviews, not polling. We covered Marcus' earlier column on the race and the Fox poll showing a tie.