Some very big news today out of Maine:
Sara Gideon, the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, said on Monday that she would challenge Senator Susan Collins, making her the most formidable opponent yet for a United States Senate seat that Democrats have identified as a target in the 2020 election.
Ms. Gideon, a Democrat, said that her decision was spurred partly by the vote that Ms. Collins, a Republican expected to seek her fifth term, cast in support for Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.
Ms. Collins, 66, had gained a reputation for independence and bipartisanship during 22 years in the Senate — a fact acknowledged by Ms. Gideon in her announcement video. More recently, though, she has voted repeatedly to support President Trump’s agenda, in what has been perceived as a veer to the right. Her approval rating has also declined in some public polls.
“At one point maybe she was different than some of the folks in Washington,” Ms. Gideon said in the video. “But she doesn’t seem that way anymore.”
Gideon is coming out strong in going after Collins:
And she’s determined to give Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R. KY) Hell to pay:
Friend —
Wow. What an amazing first day. To be honest, we weren’t exactly sure what to expect…
But our supporters have come up BIG.
Of course, not everyone is as happy as we are. Mitch McConnell and Washington Republicans look at this seat as critical for them to hold on to, and they’ll spend whatever it takes to win.
Our job is to send a message that it won’t happen. And one way we do that is by generating as many individual donations as we can on this first day of our campaign.
We’ve still got a few more hours until midnight. So we need to ask you to be one of the people who contributed at the start of this historic campaign:
Chip in and become a Founding Donor of Sara’s campaign for U.S. Senate. Chip in today and we’re going to win this race.
We mean it when we say we can’t do this without you. We aren’t accepting any corporate PAC money, so our campaign quite literally can’t move forward without your support.
Thanks in advance,
— Team Sara
Click here to donate and get involved with Gideon’s campaign.