By Andy Sullivan and Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican Senator Susan Collins, an independent-minded moderate, won a surprise re-election victory in Maine on Wednesday, strengthening her party’s chances of retaining control of the U.S. Senate.
Collins, 67, turned back one of the strongest challenges in her career as she defeated Democrat Susan Gideon, 48, the speaker of the Maine State House of Representatives.
Gideon said she called Collins to concede the race.
“Just now I spoke with Senator Collins. I congratulated her on winning this election, and I told her I would always be available to help serve the people,” she said in a video broadcast on Facebook.
The result is a setback for Democrats, who hope to pick up at least three seats to win control of the 100-seat Senate. Collins had been viewed as one of the more vulnerable Republicans.
Gideon had led most opinion polls since July, as she argued that Collins had sacrificed her independence in support of Republican President Donald Trump, a divisive figure in the New England state.
But with 75% of expected votes counted, Collins led Gideon 49.8% to 43.4%, according to Edison Research.
Collins voted with Trump two-thirds of the time, according to the FiveThirtyEight website, making her the Senate Republican who was least aligned with the president.
(Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Franklin Paul and Jonathan Oatis)
