The U.S. Senate Races in New England

By Henry Srebrnik, [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian

Four of our six neighbouring New England states are holding contests for the United States Senate in this election cycle.

In our closest American state, Maine, Democratic challenger Sara Gideon will defeat U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the four-term Republican incumbent. In Massachusetts, Democrat Ed Markey, the state’s junior senator, is sailing to an easy victory over his Republican opponent, Kevin O'Connor.

New Hampshire’s Jeanne Shaheen, the sitting incumbent Democratic and a former governor, will beat Republican Corky Messner. And in Rhode Island, Senator Jack Reed will easily win a fifth term in office against the Republican challenger Allen Waters. The region is a Democratic stronghold, so none of this is a surprise.

In 2014, 68 per cent of Maine voters cast a ballot for Susan Collins, and she had one of the highest state approval ratings in the Senate.

As an independent, pragmatic centrist who supports abortion access and LGBTQ rights, Collins was ranked as the most bipartisan member of the U.S. Senate in the 116th Congress. But she’s in trouble, fighting a flood of ads and rising anti-Trump fervor.

There has been a record amount of spending in this election – some $115 million in TV ads. Gideon, a four-term state senator, has proved to be a prolific fundraiser, dramatically outpacing Collins.

Issues include the COVID-19 pandemic, health care, the economy, and climate change. Criticism of Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic has helped Gideon, while Collins has campaigned around ensuring small businesses get the attention they need during the emergency.

The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, leaving an opening on the Supreme Court, became a major issue.

Whereas most Republicans wanted Trump to have the Senate confirm a new appointee, Collins opposed holding a quick vote and opposed the nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. Colins also faced backlash for voting to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, and from supporting Trump during his impeachment proceedings.

In Massachusetts, the Republican candidate, Kevin O’Connor, tried to contrast Ed Markey’s liberal stance on racial issues and police brutality. Markey wants to disarm police of “weapons of war.” Ginsburg’s death also featured prominently in the contest. Markey, predictably, was firmly opposed to filling the Supreme Court opening, contending that Barrett was “a far-right, extremist judge.”

The two candidates also clashed on the issues of climate change and medical care. Markey has spent $13.8 million in his Senate re-election campaign as opposed to O’Connor’s $460,003.

In New Hampshire, polls show Jeanne Shaheen far ahead of Corky Messner. The Granite State campaign has also been affected by Ginsburg’s death. Shaheen opposed any replacement until after the election, while Messner wanted the nomination to move forward.

Shaheen has been campaigning around abortion rights. She also accused Messner of using attack ads paid for by “dark money” groups and of trying to suppress the vote.

Rhode Island will re-elect Jack Reed by a wide margin over Allen Waters, a Black Republican with conservative values. This is virtually a non-contest; Reed has raised more than $3.5 million dollars, while Waters has been running a shoestring campaign on little more than $20,000.

Reed opposed Barrett’s nomination, calling it an “unprecedented process to drag the Court down an extremist, polarized path” in order “to terminate the Affordable Care Act” (Obamacare).

Barrett was confirmed Oct. 26 – Collins was the only Republican to vote against her -- and the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on Nov. 10 regarding the law.