Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said she does not regret her vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court despite his vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, reaffirming a position that has become a flashpoint in her closely watched 2026 reelection campaign in Maine.
The Maine Republican was asked Friday about her 2018 vote to confirm Kavanaugh, whose later vote in the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision helped overturn Roe, ending the federal constitutional right to abortion. Collins has faced criticism from abortion-rights advocates regarding the vote since the Dobbs ruling.
“I do not regret that vote,” Collins told the Portland Press Herald. “I do disagree with Justice Kavanaugh’s vote.”
Collins noted that she has also voted to confirm Democrat-appointed justices and reiterated her support for abortion rights.
“When I look at a justice, I look at their qualifications, their integrity, their background, their experience in reaching a decision,” she said. “Obviously, I’m disappointed in that decision, which turned abortion issues back to the states. It has not had an impact on the state of Maine in that Maine actually expanded its law.”
The comments come as Collins prepares for what is expected to be one of the nation’s most competitive Senate races. Democrats are seeking to unseat the six-term incumbent, though the party’s nominee, Graham Platner, has faced scrutiny over allegations and controversies that emerged during the primary campaign.
Platner quickly seized on Collins’s remarks. Responding to a clip of her comments on social media, the Democrat wrote, “You should.”
Collins was one of the pivotal Republican votes in Kavanaugh’s 50-48 confirmation in 2018. At the time, she argued that Kavanaugh respected legal precedent and said she did not believe he would vote to overturn Roe.
THE PLATNER PROBLEM: WHAT WENT WRONG IN MAINE?
Collins has consistently stood by her confirmation vote, arguing that senators should evaluate judicial nominees based on their qualifications rather than attempting to predict how they will rule in future cases.
Recent polling puts Collins and Platner neck and neck, and the Democratic candidate is likely going to use Collins’s Kavanaugh vote as ammunition on the campaign trail. However, Collins’s confirmation decision does not reflect her stance on abortion, as she has long supported abortion rights and efforts to advance legislation aimed at codifying Roe-era protection into federal law.