Some Maine swing voters rethink support for Susan Collins after pay-to-play allegations

ProPublica Report on Alleged Pay‑to‑Play Scheme Could Shift Maine Senate Race

Maine — September 27, 2026 – A new investigative story by ProPublica has put U.S. Senator Susan Collins at the center of a potential political crisis, as several Maine voters say the allegations have shifted their support toward her Democratic opponent, State Senator Troy Jackson.

The ProPublica article, released Tuesday, details a federal investigation that began in 2020 and was halted in 2021. It alleges that during Collins’s re‑election campaign, her chief of staff’s former employer, Navatek, made an illegal $150,000 contribution to a super‑PAC that supported the senator. Navatek’s chief executive, Martin Kao, claims that Collins would only meet with him if he donated and that she steered tens of millions of dollars in defense contracts to his company.

The money was routed through the 1820 PAC, controlled by Scott Reed, a friend of Collins’s husband, Tom Daffron. Daffron, according to campaign finance records, was paid at least $1,000 last year for consulting work at a company chaired by Reed. Reed now heads Pine Tree Results, a super‑PAC that is spending heavily to keep Collins in the Senate.

Collins’s office has denied the allegations, describing them as “outrageous” and pointing to a former investigation that cleared the senator in 2021. “We will continue to vigorously rebut these false and desperate attacks,” said spokesperson Blake Kernen in an email. He added that the Biden administration had cleared Collins and that the FBI had not contacted the senator’s office since the 2021 probe closed.

ProPublica has defended its reporting, noting that it was based on a trove of documents, not just Kao’s statements, and that the new allegations arose after Collins’s 2020 victory. The investigative piece also explained that the inquiry was halted when President Donald Trump took office in 2025 for a second term.

The timing of the story could be consequential. A recent poll conducted by the New York Times, Portland Press Herald, and Siena College found that 13% of Democrats in Maine had expressed support for Collins. However, several respondents said the new report nudged them toward Jackson.

Tara Wheeler, a 44‑year‑old Portland resident, said she had been “barely leaning” toward Jackson before seeing the report. “I’m very pro‑Jackson,” she said. “I just didn’t expect that from Susan Collins … That pushed me over the edge like immediately.” Wheeler, who has benefited from federal funding secured by Collins as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the allegations had convinced her that her votes would be better spent elsewhere.

The report also has resonated with swing voters, a group Collins relied on in her narrow 2020 win. “Collins needs Democrats to vote for her. Are there enough swing voters left?” is a question that has been circulating as the campaign season heats up. A CNN exit poll from the 2020 election showed that only 13% of Democrats had supported Collins, underscoring the importance of winning over moderate and independent voters.

Not everyone is swayed. Melanie Mitchell, a 55‑year‑old Republican from Arundel, insists that the senator’s record of bringing federal money to Maine should outweigh the allegations. “Susan Collins is a senior senator. She brings so much money back to Maine,” she said. Mitchell dismissed the investigation as “smear job” and said she would continue to back Collins.

Margaret Daigle, a 73‑year‑old Democrat from East Millinocket, has reconsidered her stance. She likened the late‑cycle attack to the 2016 controversy over Hillary Clinton’s handling of classified emails. “It’s annoying,” she said. “I’m still undecided — this is crazy. It’s gonna come right down to the wire.”

On Friday, Collins appeared in Gorham to rally supporters. In a recorded video she called the allegations a “smear job” and urged the electorate to “debunk these lies and let’s show the people of Maine that integrity still matters.” She has also demanded a new investigation, arguing that her office was cleared by the FBI and the Biden administration.

Jackson’s campaign has seized on the story. Social‑media posts and a press release highlighted the ProPublica findings, hoping to galvanize the electorate to choose a candidate who, according to Jackson, will bring new leadership to the state.

The Senate race is now being watched closely by observers across the state. With the primary and general elections still months away, the debate over Collins’s conduct and her ability to secure bipartisan support remains a pivotal point for both campaigns. The ultimate outcome will hinge on how many of the swing voters, who were critical to Collins’s 2020 victory, decide to turn out for her again.