CBS News poll shows Collins and Jackson tied in Maine Senate race
CBS News found a tied Maine Senate contest, with voters divided between state and national considerations and 10% open to changing their minds.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
2 min read
The latest Maine Senate poll on Collins and Jackson shows a deadlocked race, according to CBS News. The network reported that Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson were tied, with voters divided over whether they were casting their ballots more on state matters or national ones.
CBS said voters who put more weight on state matters were helping Collins hold the contest even. Jackson’s coalition, the report said, was driven by voters who believe Collins agrees too much with President Trump, oppose tariffs, want Democrats to control the Senate or place more value on change than experience.
What did the CBS News poll find in Maine's Senate race?
The written CBS report described the contest as tied but did not include a precise vote percentage in its text. A separate CBS News video described the result as 50% for Jackson and 50% for Collins among likely voters.
That wording comes with a methodological wrinkle: the written report said the CBS News/YouGov survey interviewed 1,114 registered Maine voters, while the video called the 50-50 result a likely-voter finding. CBS reported that interviewing took place from Sept. 23 through Oct. 1 and gave the registered-voter sample a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 percentage points.
The survey was weighted by gender, age, race and education using Census data, CBS said, as well as by respondents’ 2024 presidential vote. A poll measures opinion during its field period, not the eventual election result.
Which voters were helping each candidate?
CBS reported that Collins was drawing support from enough Maine Democrats to remain tied. The network also said she won support from some voters who disapproved of Trump, and that voters gave her an edge on who would be more likely to bring federal money back to Maine.
Jackson was stronger among voters who saw Collins as too aligned with Trump, CBS said. His support also included voters opposed to tariffs, those seeking Democratic control of the Senate and voters who preferred change over experience.
There is still room for movement: 10% of voters said they could change their minds, according to CBS. The report also said four in 10 Democratic voters and most independents wished someone else had been the Democratic nominee.
Another survey released around the same time offered a slightly different snapshot. The Hill reported that an AARP poll found Jackson at 50% and Collins at 47%, a three-point gap within that survey’s 3.13-point margin of error. The AARP poll is a separate survey and does not establish a change in the race.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.