The New England region of the United States comprises six states, more than 15 million people, 21 seats in the House of Representatives, and 12 senators.
asserted
region → comprise → Representatives
In the Pine Tree State, Democrat Troy Jackson has a slight lead in the polls.
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Jackson → have → polls
Over her 30 years in the Senate, Collins has pulled a lot of electoral footballs from Democrat Charlie Browns, who thought victory and a Senate seat were a chip shot away.
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victory → pull → Browns
In Maine, I chatted with Republican State House Representative Laurel Libby — a rising star in the local GOP and possible heir to the kind of centrist Republicanism that Collins has managed to cling to in this mostly blue region.
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Collins → chat → region
Libby told Fox News Digital that "[Collins] is great on constituent services and goes out of her way to be in the community," adding, "it's kind of hysterical for Troy Jackson to say she doesn’t hold town halls.
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she → tell → halls
I pressed Libby a bit on what role, especially if Collins holds on to win, the Maine and broader New England Republican Party can play in the post Trump era — which lies just over two years over the horizon.
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which → press → horizon
She replied, "I think we need to be providing the long-term solutions for Maine.
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we → reply → Maine
"We’ve seen what a Democrat trifecta [in state government] has done for Maine.
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trifecta → see → Maine
During Jackson’s time in the Senate, he is responsible for our electricity costs going up 70%," she said.
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she → go → Senate
"He supported a budget that went up 50%."
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that → support → budget
These were concerns that I also heard from Don, a Vietnam veteran in his late 70s who recently moved into Bangor from a nearby farm after his wife passed away.
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wife → hear → farm
"All those Democrats south of [the state capital] Augusta, they just think everyone is made of money, and it's really hurting normal folks," Don said.
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Don → think → folks
Among Republican voters in Bangor, and even some Independents, the word "Augusta," is generally uttered with approximately the level of disdain Jerry Seinfeld had when saying "Newman!"
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Seinfeld → utter → Newman
They both see Collins as a strong centrist voice for the region.
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They → see → region
"It's a problem when every politician in New England is a Democrat," Dan said.
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Dan → say → England
Chris, also from Massachusetts, was in Maine upgrading carrier lines.
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Chris → upgrade → lines
When asked what Republicans could do to get a foothold in the region, he said, "I don't really know, when the state's been Democratic [for so long]. ...
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state → ask → region
Coming together to the people with things that don't pull sides apart, because they have two sides, but they're supposed to meet in the middle."
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they → come → middle
This is a point that Libby refined in our conversation when asked about the fact that Collins was campaigning this week with former moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, while Jackson barnstormed with far-left New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
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Jackson → refine → Cortez
"It’s absolutely representative of what they both [would] bring to the Senate," Libby told Fox News Digital.
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Libby → ’ → Digital
"Susan Collins has proven that she is willing and able to work in a bipartisan manner, to get things done, and during his time in the [state] Senate, did the opposite," including Libby claims a few end runs around the Maine Constitution.
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Libby → prove → Constitution
Manchin is now out of power, mostly owing to his refusal to bow to the far left zeitgeist of the current Democratic Party.
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Manchin → owe → Party
This is thus far a fate Susan Collins has avoided over the past decade when she distances herself from Trump and MAGA populism.
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she → avoid → Trump
If Troy Jackson does manage to topple Collins, the message to Republicans in Maine and New England will be that centrism doesn’t work, that they need bare knuckle brawlers more like Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas, than bipartisan peacemakers like Collins.
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they → manage → Collins
Nationally, there are some hardcore Republicans who would welcome a Collins loss in this respect.
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who → be → respect
They see moderate Republicans as more of an obstacle than an asset.
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They → see → asset
But most in the GOP concede that holding the Senate for Trump’s final two years in office outweighs the broader ideological intraparty fights.
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holding → concede → fights
Win, lose, or draw for Collins, in the future it will be younger Republican politicians like Libby, who will have to define what a Republican is in Maine, New England, and to some degree in America as a whole.
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Republican → win → whole
Democrats exiled Joe Manchin for his lack of political purity; they are on the way to doing the same to Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., even though, somewhat hilariously, he really could wind up as the 51st vote in a one-seat Democratic majority next year.
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he → exile → majority
If Maine Republicans can save Susan Collins once again, it will show that the GOP really can, at least in part, and unlike Democrats, embrace moderate and centrist positions — a point that could play heavily in their favor as both parties try to define themselves for the post-Trump age.
uncertain
parties → save → age
The Aporia
