Dear MoveOn member,
The polling from the state of Maine is very troubling, and we need to respond right now.
Here's the deal: Just three weeks ago, Susan Collins was trailing by as much as 12 points in the polls and appeared to be losing momentum.
But Susan Collins has come back, using some of the most vicious, despicable, Trump-style lies that Maine politics has ever seen. And a new poll shows Collins closing the gap and trailing her Democratic opponent, Sara Gideon, by just 1 point.1
Collins and her GOP backers are diving into the gutter with appalling TV ads and mailers falsely accusing her opponent of protecting a state legislator who was accused of sexual assault. It's such a baldfaced lie that it's literally the exact opposite of the truth: Sara Gideon was the first person to call on the accused legislator to resign from office—before any Republican or Susan Collins herself—and he did.2
Meanwhile, what did Susan Collins do when she heard Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony about being assaulted by Brett Kavanaugh? She cast the deciding vote to confirm him. And what has she done about the sexual predator in the White House, who has admitted to grabbing women's genitals and been credibly accused by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and rape? She's been one of his biggest enablers and voted to acquit him in the Senate's impeachment trial.
It's shameless and disgusting. But negative attacks work. That's why politicians do them. We need to help Sara Gideon fight back and win.
The lights are flashing red in this crucial race, and we're not just reacting to one poll. In fact, public, nonpartisan polls have been tightening for weeks.
Three weeks ago, the respected Quinnipiac University poll had Susan Collins trailing in the Maine U.S. Senate race by a whopping 12 points. A week later, another nonpartisan poll came out with Sara Gideon's lead down to 7 points. Then, on September 25, the A-rated Suffolk University poll had the race at 5 points.3
And now, Critical Insights, a well-respected Maine-based pollster, has Collins behind by just 1 point—a statistical tie when you factor in the margin of error.4
The Maine Senate race is one of the key tipping-point races that will decide control of the U.S. Senate. It's not impossible for Democrats to take back the Senate while losing Maine, but it's a lot harder. That's why Mitch McConnell—who calls the race his "top priority"—has been pouring money into the state, and why Collins is going so far into the gutter to save her seat.5,6
We need to make sure Sara Gideon has the resources to fight back against Susan Collins' heinous, despicable lies.
Thanks for all you do.
–Allison, Melissa, Ankur, Mary, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Sara Gideon and Susan Collins within 1 point in new BDN poll of Maine Senate race," Bangor Daily News, October 6, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/145135?t=4&akid=279631%2E40999114%2EJ_sR3H
2. "Ad fact check: What Speaker Sara Gideon knew, and the action she took in Dillon Bates scandal," News Center Maine, July 7, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/145224?t=6&akid=279631%2E40999114%2EJ_sR3H
3. "Latest Polls, U.S Senate: Maine," FiveThirtyEight, October 15, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/142064?t=8&akid=279631%2E40999114%2EJ_sR3H
4. "Sara Gideon and Susan Collins within 1 point in new BDN poll of Maine Senate race," Bangor Daily News, October 6, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/145135?t=10&akid=279631%2E40999114%2EJ_sR3H
5. "Susan Collins becomes top 2020 target for Dems," The Hill, October 9, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/145395?t=12&akid=279631%2E40999114%2EJ_sR3H
6. "Susan Collins Goes on the Attack," Slate, October 12, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/145396?t=14&akid=279631%2E40999114%2EJ_sR3H
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