Troy Jackson or Susan Collins will help pick dozens of federal judges. Here’s how they’d do it.
Susan Collins, left, and Troy Jackson. (Press Herald staff and contributed photos.)
This is the second in an occasional series in which the Portland Press Herald will compare the policy plans of Maine’s major U.S. Senate candidates, Democrat Troy Jackson and Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Our first story dug into Medicare for All.
Maine’s next U.S. senator will play an important role in shaping the future of the country’s courts — and with that, policies on everything from abortion to gun rights to environmental regulations.
Sen. Susan Collins, a five-time Republican incumbent seeking reelection, has come under scrutiny in recent years for her votes on judges. She voted in 2018 to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, despite concerns from reproductive rights advocates.
Since then, she has also taken heat from Democrats for votes to confirm lower court justices who had histories of supporting anti-abortion causes. Collins maintains that she keeps the same standards for evaluating judges no matter the party of the president who nominates them, including weighing their qualifications and experience.
Collins faces former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, a Democrat, in this year’s U.S. Senate race. Although Jackson doesn’t have as long a track record with judicial nominations, they are one policy area that will set the two apart in this November’s closely watched race.
What is the Senate’s role in shaping the judiciary?
There are nearly 900 federal judge positions that are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, following a process established in the U.S. Constitution. These include the nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, plus circuit judges serving in appellate courts, district judges serving in 94 district-level courts and judges who serve on the U.S. Court of International Trade.
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Senators often play a role in recommending nominees, especially in their home states, and the Constitution states that providing “advice and consent” on nominees is the duty of senators.
The Constitution sets forth no specific requirements for judges. But members of Congress and the Department of Justice, which reviews nominees’ qualifications, have developed their own informal criteria, according to the federal court system. The American Bar Association also provides ratings for nominees that are often taken into consideration by senators.
Even if the judge is nominated by a president from the other major party, senators will typically consider factors such as the nominee’s ethics, diligence and intelligence, said Carl Tobias, a professor of law at the University of Richmond.
“Lots of times, even if (a senator) is from a different party than the president, or they want to give some deference to the president as the leader of the country, they might say, ‘I’m willing to do it on this particular person because I trust the president’s judgement,'” he said.
What is Sen. Collins’ record on nominations?
A 2020 analysis by the Portland Press Herald found that Collins’ approval rate for judicial nominations was consistent across four presidencies, Republican and Democrat.
Collins supported 98% of nominees made by President Bill Clinton during her time in office, 99% of those made by President George W. Bush and 94% made by President Barack Obama.
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In the first administration of President Donald Trump, she approved 95% of nominees, according to the American Constitution Society, a progressive legal organization that has compiled data on Senate votes on judicial nominations starting with Trump’s first term.
But Collins’ approval rate took a big dip under President Joe Biden, hitting 80%, then rebounding to 94% in Trump’s second term so far.
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Maine’s Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, approved 57% of nominees in Trump’s first term, 99% of Biden nominees and so far has approved 13% of nominees in Trump’s second term, according to ACS.
In response to a question about why Collins supported fewer Biden nominees, spokesperson Blake Kernen said that Collins voted for more of his nominees than any other Republican senator. She said that when Collins evaluates judicial nominations, she weighs their qualifications, experience and recommendations.
“One thing she does not consider is the political party of the president making the nomination,” Kernen said.
Tobias said he was unsure how to explain the dip in Collins’ approvals under Biden. He said the lower rate could reflect growing partisanship around judicial nominees or increased pressure from Collins’ Republican colleagues.
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“It wasn’t like they were unqualified, so it might just reflect the more partisan nature of (the process),” Tobias said.
The most consequential votes Collins has taken have been for Supreme Court Justices. Democrats have made her vote for Kavanaugh a major campaign issue this year, noting that her move helped confirm a justice who went on to support the end of Roe v. Wade.
Collins also supported Trump nominee Neil Gorsuch in 2017, and he too cast a vote against Roe. She voted against Trump nominee Amy Coney Barrett in 2020 — and for Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Sotomayor and Kagan voted against overturning Roe, while Jackson was not yet on the court at the time of the decision.
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Kernen noted that Collins was the only Republican senator to support all three justices recently nominated by Democrats. (A fourth, Merrick Garland, never got a vote.)
What would Troy Jackson’s approach be?
Jackson said his time as a state senator has prepared him to consider federal judicial nominees. State court justices are nominated by the governor and subject to approval by the Maine Senate, similar to how the process for federal judges works. But state judges are appointed to seven-year, rather than lifetime, appointments.
Jackson said he would closely follow nomination hearings, get questions in early and that he would want to hear from constituents about nominees. He also said he would not “rubber stamp” a candidate based solely on the party of the president nominating them.
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“I’ll vote for them on their merits and whether I believe they’ll do a good job,” he said.
Graham Platner, whom Jackson replaced as the Democratic Senate nominee last month, suggested while running that he would oppose all Trump nominees. Jackson said he would not automatically do so, adding that while in the state Senate, he voted in favor of nominees named by former Republican Gov. Paul LePage.
It’s difficult to compare Jackson’s tenure to Collins’, though, because the process is far less controversial at the state level. During the recent administrations of LePage and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, a total of 21 nominations to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court were considered by the state Senate, with all but two passing unanimously.
Supreme Court Justice Wayne Douglas was approved 26-1 in 2023 and Justice Julia Lipez was approved 34-1 in 2025. Jackson voted for Douglas; he was not in office in 2025.
How do nominees impact our laws and rights?
Federal judges decide important cases on gun rights, campaign finance, environmental regulations, the war making power of the president, election laws and other issues. Their lifetime appointments put them in positions to continue shaping the nation’s laws and policies long after the president that appoints them leaves office.
Kernen said that Collins does not believe it is appropriate for a senator to seek a commitment from a nominee about how they would rule on a particular issue in advance.
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“As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said at her confirmation hearing in 1993, it is not appropriate for judicial nominees to offer forecasts or hints that would prejudge any issue that could come before him or her,” Kernen said.
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A spokesperson for Jackson did not say if he would ever seek such a commitment, but said he is dedicated to protecting the rights of Mainers.
“While Susan Collins votes for Trump’s judicial nominees 95% of the time and cast critical votes confirming the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and ripped away millions of women’s reproductive rights, Troy will always stand up and fight for Maine,” the campaign said in a statement.
Should the U.S. Supreme Court be expanded?
Democrats have recently pushed the idea of expanding the Supreme Court to 13 justices to counter what they see as a disproportionate conservative influence. Six of the nine justices currently on the court were appointed by Republican presidents, including three who were named by Trump.
Collins’ office said she does not support expanding the Supreme Court. “Justice Ginsberg noted in 2019 that we have had nine justices for a very long time and that seems to be a good number,” Kernen said. “She also noted that she believed it was a mistake when President (Franklin D.) Roosevelt attempted to pack the court. Senator Collins agrees with her views and thinks that the court should remain at nine justices.”
A spokesperson for Jackson did not respond to a question about whether he supports an expansion of the court.
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Tagged: Sen. Susan Collins, senate 2026, Susan Collins, Troy Jackson
Rachel covers state government and politics for the Portland Press Herald. It’s her third beat at the paper after stints covering City Hall and education. Prior to her arrival at the Press Herald in. More by Rachel Ohm
