What did Harry Enten say about Susan Collins and the 2026 Maine Senate race?

Harry Enten confirmed that Susan Collins beat her polls by at least five points in 2008, 2014 and 2020, by double digits in 2020. He argued this year looks different because even when Collins trailed before, voters still viewed her favorably, while CNN's latest poll put her net favorability around minus 10 to minus 12. CNN rated the race against Democrat Troy Jackson as having no clear leader, at roughly 49 to 45 for Jackson.

• Tommy Vietor said the Maine polling average had Jackson up 2.5 points and that the switch from Graham Platner to Jackson left him a late start.
• Enten said Collins has not run in a tough year for Republicans since 2008 and that Trump is very unpopular in Maine.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Pod Save America (2026-11-01). Read the whole episode summary →

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