Former Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia said he told Senator Susan Collins, who is locked in a tough re-election fight, “Whenever you run again, I’m going to come.”

© Sarah Silbiger for The New York Times

Ms. Collins, a Republican running in a crucial race, said the debate remark by Troy Jackson reflected how he treated women. Mr. Jackson defended his comment.

© Charly Triballeau/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Both Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, and Troy Jackson, her Democratic challenger, grew up in Aroostook County, a vast, isolated northern wilderness. Those roots have helped define them.

The race’s fourth and final debate centered on whether Senator Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent, was as independent as she claimed to be from President Trump.

© Pool photo by Gregory Rec

Maine senator refutes claim from ex-Navatek CEO that he funded Collins’s Super Pac in exchange for naval contracts

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Susan Collins, the US senator of Maine, has dismissed allegations that she traded federal contracts for campaign cash as “completely false” after it emerged the FBI examined the claims.

Asked by a reporter about an ethics complaint filed last week by a Maine attorney, the Republican – currently campaigning to retain her seat ahead of November’s US midterm elections – said the allegations were recycled from 2020 and had been rejected by the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Federal Election Commission.

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© Photograph: Kylie Cooper/Reuters

© Photograph: Kylie Cooper/Reuters

© Photograph: Kylie Cooper/Reuters

Despite hopes for a blue wave, Democratic candidates in Minnesota, Maine and Michigan are facing local political headwinds and have struggled to open up clear daylight in the polls.

© Jenn Ackerman, Nick Hagen and Ryan David Brown for The New York Times

With the midterms nearing, some are venting frustration with the president while others are standing by him.

© The New York Times

The race in Maine, which could decide Senate control, is testing whether there is still room for Ms. Collins’s brand of moderation during a sharply polarizing presidency.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, and her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson, disagreed over the war in Iran and President Trump in the third of four debates in a key race.

© Ryan David Brown for The New York Times

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Ahead of her White House podium debut, Katie Zacharia reportedly monitored Donald Trump’s public schedule every day, and monitored his Truth Social, and made sure she was on-air when she assumed he might be watching, according to Politico, citing a person familiar with the matter.

That source noted that and a number of high-profile conservative anchors – including from Fox News, Newsmax and OANN – also backed Zacharia for press secretary. She is now set to the sixth person to hold the role throughout both of Trump’s terms in office.

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© Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

© Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

© Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

An executive with the Republican super PAC that paid for the ad attacking Troy Jackson, the Democratic Senate candidate in Maine, blamed its vendor for running the ad in Oregon.

© Ryan David Brown for The New York Times

Three months after a jarring summer candidate switch, some Democrats in the state are worried about the enthusiasm for their nominee, Troy Jackson, who is in a close race.

© Cj Gunther/Reuters

A New York Times analysis of Senator Susan Collins’s voting record shows that she frequently breaks with Republicans but more seldom changes an outcome.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

© Ryan David Brown for The New York Times

Candidates in three of the races that could determine control of the Senate engaged in bitter and personal attacks.

© Pool photo by Paul Sancya

Candidates in three of the races that could determine control of the Senate engaged in bitter and personal attacks.

© Pool photo by Paul Sancya

The second debate between Senator Susan Collins, a vulnerable Republican, and Troy Jackson, her Democratic challenger, quickly grew heated.

Senator Susan Collins, one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the midterms, clashed with the Democratic challenger Troy Jackson over President Trump, ICE and more.

© Ryan David Brown for The New York Times