Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, could be among the most influential lawmakers when the next Congress convenes in January -- with Senate Republicans holding a 52-48 majority at best.
Collins’ position of prominence wasn’t certain. Polling before the election showed Democrats with a good chance of taking control of the Senate and polling showed her campaigning from behind against her Democratic opponent, Sara Gideon, Maine’s House speaker, who outspent her.
But Democrats’ hopes for a blue wave crashed and Collins handily won her race by 9 points, a larger win than even she expected. “I was very gratified that the margin was so big -- that people were able to look at the individual,” she told Politico. “They were smart enough to reject the.