It was confirmed Wednesday that Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is holding onto her seat.
Collins, a moderate Republican who has not endorsed President Donald Trump, faced a tough race against Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, the Democratic speaker of the Maine House of Representatives.
On Wednesday morning, Gideon conceded the race to Collins, boosting the GOP in the Senate.
“Just now, I spoke with Senator Collins. I congratulated her on winning this election,” Gideon said in a concession speech, CNN reported. “While we came up short, I do believe that Mainers in every corner of this state are ready to continue to work together to make a difference,” she added.
“Thank you, Maine,” Gideon also tweeted. “I’m proud of the campaign we ran, regardless of the result—together we built a movement that will help us make progress for years to come.”
“While this election may be over, we can’t afford to stop organizing. So let’s get some rest, and then get back to work.”
Thank you, Maine. I’m proud of the campaign we ran, regardless of the result—together we built a movement that will help us make progress for years to come.
While this election may be over, we can't afford to stop organizing. So let’s get some rest, and then get back to work.
— Sara Gideon (@SaraGideon) November 4, 2020
“I want to publicly thank Sara for her call, we had a good time, and I very much appreciated her taking the time to call,” Collins said at a subsequent news conference, CNN noted.
“Let me say what an extraordinary honor it is to represent the great state of Maine and to know that I will have the opportunity to serve all of Maine for the next six years,” she added.
As noted by The Daily Wire, undetermined Senate races into Wednesday morning mounted some doubt on the prospect of Republicans hanging onto the Senate majority. Much of that doubt has been dissipated on the heels of Collins’ win.
Now, for Democrats to split the Senate 50-50, they would have to win three of the four seats up for grabs in GA, where there are two, MI, and NC.
“In Georgia, there were two Senate seats up for grabs; with 91% of the vote counted. In one, incumbent GOP Senator David Perdue held a lead over Dem challenger Jon Ossoff of 188,000 votes and a 50.8% — 46.8% lead, but if Perdue slips under 50% there would be a runoff election,” The Daily Wire outlined Wednesday morning. “In the other race, there were three candidates, with the top two facing a runoff election. Two of the candidates were from the GOP: incumbent Senator Kelly Loeffler and Republican Rep. Doug Collins, the other was Dem. Raphael Warnock. Warnock garnered 31.9% of the vote, with Loeffler getting 26.5% and Collins obtaining 20.4%. Thus Warnock will face Loeffler, but Collins has already said he wants his voters to vote for Loeffler, so in all likelihood Loeffler should win a runoff election.”
In Michigan, it’s still unclear if GOP candidate John James can overtake Democrat Sen. Gary Peters.
And in North Carolina, GOP Sen. Thom Tillis is holding onto a lead against Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham, with 94% of the vote in.