Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, holds a healthy lead over her main Democratic challenger, Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, in a late-July poll obtained by Politico’s Morning Score.
Collins, who was first elected to the Senate in 1997, received positive ratings for favorability and approval, along with strong support from voters in the upcoming election.
- 49 percent favorable of Collins
- 41 percent unfavorable
- 55 percent approve of Collins’ job performance
- 41 percent disapprove
- 62 percent would consider voting for Collins
- 35 percent would not
Gideon, despite leading the state House of Representatives since 2016 and having the DSCC’s endorsement, is described by the polling memo as “an almost complete unknown,” and less than one-third of respondents had any opinion on her. In a head-to-head matchup, Collins clearly outpaces Gideon at this point in the race, except among voters who have an opinion on both candidates.
- Among all respondents, Collins leads 52 percent to Gideon’s 35 percent.
- Among all Independents, Collins leads 52 percent to Gideon’s 30 percent.
- Among voters who’ve heard of both, Collins leads 47 percent to 44 percent.
- A generic ballot shows a GOP candidate leading 43 percent to a Democrat’s 42 percent.
“It's clear that Mainers appreciate her common-sense approach to problem solving,” a spokesperson for Collins told Score, after being asked about the poll. “While she appreciates the strong support, her focus remains on the job that Mainers elected her to do.”
1820 PAC, a pro-Collins super PAC, will unveil a new TV ad supporting the senator on Tuesday, touting her as the most “bipartisan senator in Washington.”
Fabrizio Ward, LLC conducted the poll on behalf of AARP, surveying 600 likely voters in the state by phone from July 29-30, 2019, and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.
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