July 19th 2019

By Oliver Willis

The American Independent Institute

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is now the second most unpopular senator in the United States, according to a report released Thursday. Collins collapse in the polls comes as she has more closely aligned herself with Trump.

Morning Consult’s ranking of the “most unpopular” senators has Collins now ranked just below her fellow Republican, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Only 45% of those surveyed approve of the job Collins is doing.

“Collins’ net approval — the share of voters who approve of her job performance minus the share who disapprove — has fallen by 44 percentage points since the first quarter of 2017, when Trump took office,” Morning Consult noted.

“This new polling reflects the fact that we can’t count on Senator Collins to be an independent advocate, she has chosen her party and special interests in Washington over the people of Maine,” Kathleen Marra, chair of the Maine Democratic Party, said in a statement.

“Every day I hear from voters who supported her in the past or who would have  been open to supporting her now but can’t because of her actions over the past few years.”

A Congressional Quarterly (CQ) study of “presidential support” votes from 2017-19 found Collins ranked among the senators who have most frequently backed Trump’s agenda.

Over the course of 266 votes, Collins voted with Trump 93.3% of the time. That puts her in the same league as Trump stalwarts since Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) who voted with Trump 95.9% of the time and Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), who topped the list with a 96.1% voting record.

Collins has repeatedly found herself on Trump’s side despite her claims of independence and moderation.

Despite credible evidence that he sexually assaulted a woman, Collins backed Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination. In exchange for that vote, Collins raked in donations from conservative donors.

Kavanaugh went on to vote in favor of abortion restrictions, quickly destroying Collins’ assurances that he would respect court precedent on the issue.

She also voted for the Republican tax scam, which struck down the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. Collins had repeatedly claimed she supported health care reform.

Trump has consistently been unpopular, but Collins has backed him up on the key issues over the last few years. In that same time, her approval has collapsed.

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