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Last Republican incumbent senator in a Democratic-leaning state fights for survival · GNN Daily Breaking News

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  Speaker 1: Five-term Republican Senator Susan Collins is locked in a fierce
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  Speaker 1: battle for political survival in Maine, defending her seat as
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  Speaker 1: the sole remaining Republican U.S. Senator representing a state won
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  Speaker 1: by Democrats in recent presidential contests. Facing a formidable general
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  Speaker 1: election challenge from Democratic nominee Troy Jackson, the Maine Senate
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  Speaker 1: race has emerged as a crucial battleground in the national
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  Speaker 1: fight for legislative control of the upper chamber. With polling
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  Speaker 1: averages showing a razor-thin contest, national political committees are pouring
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  Speaker 1: tens of millions of dollars into final week ad campaigns
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  Speaker 1: across Portland, Bangor, and Presque Isle. Senator Collins, who was
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  Speaker 1: first elected to the Senate in 1996, is running on
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  Speaker 1: her decades-long record of bipartisan legislative dealmaking and senior leadership
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  Speaker 1: on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Emphasizing her independent voting record,
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  Speaker 1: Collins has campaigned heavily on securing federal funding for Maine shipbuilding,
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  Speaker 1: rural health care facilities, and coastal infrastructure projects. However, nationalized
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  Speaker 1: political dynamics and falling presidential approval ratings have presented steep
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  Speaker 1: hurdles for the veteran lawmaker, as national Democrats work to
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  Speaker 1: link her record to the broader conservative agenda in Washington.
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  Speaker 1: Democratic candidate Troy Jackson said, a former state Senate president
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  Speaker 1: and union logger from Aroostook County, has structured his campaign
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  Speaker 1: around working-class economic issues, prescription drug costs, and reproductive health
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  Speaker 1: care rights. Jackson's campaign argues that Collins' pivotal votes on
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  Speaker 1: federal judicial nominations and tax legislation align her too closely
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  Speaker 1: with national party leadership, contending that Maine voters require new
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  Speaker 1: leadership in Washington. The race has drawn unprecedented attention from
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  Speaker 1: outside political action committees, making it one of the most
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  Speaker 1: expensive campaigns in state history. With early voting and absentee
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  Speaker 1: balloting reaching record levels across Maine's two congressional districts, both
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  Speaker 1: campaigns are deploying intensive ground operations to maximize base turnout.
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  Speaker 1: Election analysts emphasize that the outcome in Maine could ultimately
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  Speaker 1: determine whether Republicans retain their narrow majority or if Democrats
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  Speaker 1: secure the necessary pickups to reclaim the Senate gavel on
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  Speaker 1: November 3rd. As the final six-day sprint to Election Day begins,
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  Speaker 1: Both candidates are conducting aggressive bus tours across the state
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  Speaker 1: to win over remaining undecided voters.