Republican Sen. Susan Collins has been talking about running to succeed termed-out Maine Gov. Paul LePage for a while, and she reiterated this week that she's still interested and says she will decide by the end of September. Ever since her initial 1996 Senate victory, Collins has been renominated without opposition and decisively turned back Democratic attempts to unseat her. However, it's very possible that if she runs for governor, she'll have a tough fight for the GOP nod.
The only notable declared Republican candidate is Mary Mayhew, a former state Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner and a LePage ally. In an early August poll for an unnamed client, the Democratic firm PPP gave Mayhew a clear 44-33 lead in a hypothetical GOP primary over Collins. The survey gave Collins a horrible 60 percent disapproval rating with primary voters. , and found her trailing an unnamed Republican foe by 18 points.
Collins has carefully cultivated a moderate image for decades, which served her well when she had no Republican opponents. Collins also has been sure to back Republicans in state elections, including her frequent critic LePage. But Collins notably voted against the Senate GOP's healthcare bill, a vote that may have finally pissed off Maine Republicans. LePage predicted on Thursday that Collins would lose a GOP primary if she runs, and in the age of Trump, it's quite possible that LePage has a better feel for the pulse of Maine Republicans than Collins does. LePage speculated that Collins could instead run as an independent, something Collins has not publicly talked about doing.
Meanwhile, a different prospective GOP candidate took his name out of the running this week. Ex-state party chair Rick Bennett, a former state Senate leader, announced he would sit the contest out.