At 05:03 CET, Troy Jackson led Susan Collins in the Maine Senate race by 1,667 votes, 50.3 to 49.7 percent with 35.9 percent of the expected vote counted, according to NBC News, based on AP data. No winner has been called. Susan Collins has held this seat since 1997 and is seeking a sixth term. It is the only Republican-held Senate seat in a state Trump lost in 2024. For crypto the race has a twist: Collins is one of four Republicans who voted against opening debate on the CLARITY Act in September.

Maine Senate race: the key facts

  • Status (05:03 CET): Jackson 143,549 votes (50.3 percent), Collins 141,882 (49.7 percent), 35.9 percent counted.
  • Governor: Hannah Pingree leads Bobby Charles 51.1 to 40.6 percent with 35 percent counted.
  • 2024: Kamala Harris won Maine in 2024 with 435,652 votes to 377,977 for Donald Trump, a margin of 6.9 points.
  • Ranked-choice voting: without more than 50 percent of first choices, the count goes into further rounds.
  • Stand With Crypto score: Jackson 100, Collins 67.
  • Prediction market: Jackson 97.2 percent, Collins 2.8 percent on Polymarket (05:03 CET).

Maine election results: read the early numbers with care

Maine reports by town rather than by county, and small towns can come in hours before the larger ones. We estimate about 417,000 votes are still out, most of them in Portland, Lewiston, Bangor. In 2020, Collins won by nine points although most polls had her behind, so early impressions in this state have a poor record.

Maine 2024 vs 2026: where the towns moved

Portland went from D+64.9 in the 2024 presidential race to D+65.2 now, with 46 percent counted. Lewiston stood at D+8.2 in 2024 and had reported few or no votes at this count. Bangor stood at D+19.6 in 2024 and had reported few or no votes at this count. Across the larger areas with at least half of the count in, the margin moved 4.8 points toward Republicans on average. These figures compare a partial Senate count with a full presidential count. Collins has long run ahead of her party, so a swing against Trump's 2024 result says less here than in other states.

Ranked-choice voting in Maine: how the Senate race can go to another round

Maine uses ranked-choice voting in this race. Under state law, a candidate with more than 50 percent of first-choice votes wins outright. Otherwise the last-placed candidate drops out, those ballots move to the next choice, and this repeats until two candidates remain. A recount is not automatic: a candidate has to apply within five business days, and it is free only if the margin is at most 1 percent or 1,000 votes, whichever is smaller.

Who are Susan Collins and Troy Jackson?

Collins, a Republican, has served in the Senate since 1997. Troy Jackson, a Democrat, was president of the Maine Senate from 2018 to 2024 and came third in the Democratic primary for governor this year. He entered the race late: Graham Platner, who beat Governor Janet Mills in the June primary, withdrew on 10 July, and a party convention chose Jackson on 25 July by 566 votes to 5.

Maine Senate race and crypto: Collins and the CLARITY Act

The CLARITY Act failed 49 to 50 on 15 September, far short of the 60 votes it needed. All 49 yes votes came from Republicans, and Collins was one of four Republicans who voted no, along with Josh Hawley, Jerry Moran and Thom Tillis. Collins pointed to the bill's more than 600 pages and to the risk of smaller banks and credit unions losing deposits.

That makes Maine an unusual case. Stand With Crypto scores Jackson at 100 and Collins at 67, so the advocacy group rates the Democrat higher than the incumbent Republican. Tech Influence Watch lists no crypto PAC spending in the race. What it does list is $810,294 from Alliance for a Better Future, an AI-focused committee, for Collins, plus $325,644 in direct support from Palantir, Paradigm, Andreessen Horowitz and ten other companies or their executives. For Jackson it lists none. Our CLARITY Act explainer follows what comes next for the bill.

Why Maine matters for the Senate majority

Republicans went into the night with 53 seats, so Democrats need a net gain of four for the majority, and Maine is one of the seats that could deliver it. At 05:03 CET, NBC News showed 48 Senate seats for Democrats and 39 for Republicans, counting seats not up for election, and a net change of +3 for Democrats. All calls and the full Senate table are in our midterm results live ticker. More from the states: South Carolina and the fight for Lindsey Graham's seat, Michigan and its crypto ETF stake and crypto's $50 million bet against Sherrod Brown.

What Polymarket says about Maine

Traders put Jackson at 97.2 percent and Collins at 2.8 percent at 05:03 CET, on a market with $5.1 million in volume. That shows what the market expects and is no forecast from us; prediction markets moved quickly tonight and can overreact to early counts. If you hold coins through a week like this, compare regulated crypto exchanges and crypto brokers first. This article is not investment advice.