As a freshman senator in Cohen’s former seat in 1999, Collins spurned her party’s leadership and voted to acquit Clinton. Through her four Senate terms, Collins had nurtured a reputation as a bipartisan problem-solver, one who enjoyed support from Republicans, Democrats and independents. “Susan Collins is not one of them.”Collins is part of a long tradition of centrist, consensus-building Maine Republicans, including Margaret Chase Smith, Cohen and Olympia Snowe. “The Republican Party in Maine isn’t what it used to be,” said Mark Brewer, a University of Maine political scientist. “But it’s very important to have people like that in Washington.”Al Thiebault, a 69-year-old minister and Republican, said he will vote for Collins, too.

Source: Washington Post February 02, 2020 18:00 UTC