Troy Jackson defeats Susan Collins in Maine Senate race

Troy Jackson has defeated Republican incumbent Susan Collins for the U.S. Senate in Maine, according to an Associated Press race call. The victory ends Collins' nearly 30-year tenure in Congress and makes Jackson the first Democrat to represent Maine in the Senate since 1995.

The result marks a significant gain for Democrats in their push to win back the Senate majority. Jackson, a fifth-generation logger who replaced Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee in August, ran on a progressive populist platform emphasizing his working-class background and ties to the labor movement.

The campaign was one of the most expensive in this year's midterms, with over a quarter of a billion dollars spent on ads. Jackson sought to link Collins to economic concerns such as rising oil and gas prices from the Iran war and trade tensions with Canada, while Collins pitched herself as an independent voice who had brought federal funds to the state.

Read the full story at michiganpublic.org.