Collins says she’s ‘sad’ about some of the support she lost from voters over her vote for Kavanaugh

Republican Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) said in a recent interview that she is “sad” about some of the support she has lost from voters in the past year over her decision to vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court last fall. 

In an interview with Politico published on Monday, Collins opened up about some of the backlash she has received from voters since voting to confirm Kavanaugh to the court after a multiple allegations of sexual assault were brought against him last year.

{mosads}“Have I lost some votes because of my decision to support Justice Kavanaugh? Yes, I have,” Collins said. “And I’m sad about that because I explained in great depth my decision-making.”

However, Collins added that she believes “there still is an appreciation in Maine for someone who looks at the facts of an issue, votes with integrity and independence.”

Her comments arrive nearly two weeks after The Cook Political Report shifted the Maine Senate race from “lean Republican” to “toss-up” next year, spelling trouble for the four-term senator in the purple state.

At the time, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) attributed the shift to the senator’s vote for Kavanaugh.

“This is the latest in a string of bad news for the vulnerable incumbent, who has continued to lose support among Mainers and seen her net approval drop by a ‘stunning’ amount since President Trump took office,” the DSCC said in a release then.

In the weeks following her decision to vote for Kavanaugh, activists threatened to boycott products and tourism in Maine. Many more even pledged to donate thousands of dollars raised through a crowdfunding campaign to her future Democratic opponent over her vote for President Trump’s nomination to the court. 

However, Collins said in an interview with The New York Times last month that she did not regret her vote to confirm Kavanaugh “in the least.”

When talking about some of her critics who say she doesn’t stand up to Trump, Collins said in the Monday interview that “it’s never enough. Never.”

“For those who truly hate the president, I’m never going to be able to do enough for them,” she added. “I get tired of the ‘she speaks but doesn’t act.’”