Republican Sen. Susan Collins has announced she is seeking a sixth term in Congress in the cringiest way imaginable.
Collins, 73, shared a 15-second clip to social media titled, “Unboxing 2026.” Smiling ear-to-ear, she pulls a pair of New Balance sneakers—the New England-based brand has three factories in Maine—out of a box and slowly says, “This is perfect for 2026, because I’m running.”
Collins is hoping Mainers will send her to Washington for a sixth term, which, if successful, would keep her in Congress until she is 80. It would also make her Maine’s longest-serving senator in its history.
The centrist GOP lawmaker—often mocked for speaking out against the MAGA agenda but still voting in favor of its policies and appointees—is in for what many expect will be her toughest race since her first Senate bid in 1996. In that campaign, she promised voters she would not serve more than two terms.
“Twelve years is long enough to be in public service, make a contribution, and then come home and let someone else take your place,” Collins said during a town hall event in 1996.
Now in 2026, The New York Times reports that Collins’ seat is the most vulnerable among those Democrats hope to recapture in November.
The Democratic Party, which has enjoyed enormous success in special elections amid President Donald Trump’s chaotic first year back in office, must flip four Republican-held Senate seats to win a majority. Other states viewed as vulnerable for the GOP are North Carolina, Ohio, and Alaska, according to The Cook Political Report.
Collins does not enjoy the benefit of a close relationship with Trump to energize right-wing voters in inland Maine. Rather, the 79-year-old Trump said last month that Collins “should never be elected to office again” after she and four other Republicans voted with Democrats to restrict his ability to strike Venezuela without Congressional approval.
The native of Caribou—in northern Maine, near the border with the Canadian province of New Brunswick—published an op-ed in the Bangor Daily News that detailed her reason for running again, but it is unavailable to those who are not a subscriber of the paper.
Collins wrote in the piece that the 2026 midterms offer “a choice between leaders committed to uniting Americans or further dividing us.”
She continued, “At a time when Washington seems broken, and trust is low, Maine needs experienced, steady leadership and a senator committed to the hard work it takes to get things done.”
There is no clear Democratic favorite to oppose Collins in November. A thorny primary is expected between Maine’s moderate Gov. Janet Mills, who is backed by New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, and Graham Platner, an oyster farmer who is backed by progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders, despite being embroiled in scandal for having a tattoo resembling Nazi imagery.
