Vice President JD Vance praised Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) during a campaign trip to Maine before the fall midterm elections, despite the senator distancing herself from him and President Donald Trump.
During an event in Bangor on Thursday highlighting the work of Vance’s anti-fraud task force, the vice president noted that Collins was not in attendance due to votes in Washington.
“Sometimes I get frustrated with Susan Collins,” Vance told the crowd. “I almost wish that she was more partisan. But the thing I love about Susan is she is independent because Maine is an independent state, and frankly, if she was as partisan as I sometimes wish that she was, she would not be a good fit for the people of Maine.”
“So let’s give a shout out to Susan Collins, who’s doing a great job,” Vance added.
Collins is facing a tough reelection battle this fall. The incumbent is likely to face scandal-plagued Democrat Graham Platner in the general election. Platner leads Graham by an average of 7 percentage points, according to RealClearPolitics’s data aggregation.
Vance is also in Maine on Thursday to campaign for former Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who is contesting the Pine Tree State’s 2nd Congressional District. The seat is open after Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) opted to retire.
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Republicans see the district as a prime pick-up opportunity. President Donald Trump won the district by 10 percentage points in 2024 over former Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Paul is a great guy, a guy who loves the state of Maine,” he said. “Fraud has festered in Maine because this guy is no longer the governor of Maine, so we’re going to send him to Washington and fight fraud at the federal level.”