Manchin Calls Schumer 'Crazy' for Targeting Collins in Maine Senate Race
Former Sen. Joe Manchin campaigned with Sen. Susan Collins in Lewiston, Maine, calling Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's efforts to unseat the moderate Republican 'crazy' and praising Collins as 'the soul of the Senate.'
Former Sen. Joe Manchin, a longtime Democrat turned independent, sharply criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday for trying to defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, calling the effort «crazy» as he joined Collins on the campaign trail in her high-stakes re-election bid.
Speaking to reporters after meeting with restaurant workers and customers at Simones' Hot Dog Stand in downtown Lewiston, Manchin said his appearance alongside his former colleague should come as no surprise to Schumer. «Chuck Schumer would not be surprised of me being with my dear friend. There is no surprise there at all. I told him he was crazy in 2020 from working against her so hard and he’s crazy now to work against her,» Manchin said.
Manchin, who served in the Senate from 2010 to 2025 and frequently broke with his party, emphasized that Collins is «the soul of America» and «the soul of the Senate.» He added: «He knows he needs more Susan Collins, no matter what side of the aisle they’re on. This is ridiculous.»
Collins, a moderate Republican who has at times voted against President Donald Trump and her party, is running for a sixth six-year term representing blue-leaning Maine. She is the only GOP senator seeking re-election in a state Trump lost in the 2024 election. Her race against Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president, is a top flip opportunity for Democrats as they try to win back the Senate majority in the midterm elections.
The latest public opinion polls indicate a margin-of-error showdown, and the latest Fox News Power Rankings rate the race as a toss-up, as do leading nonpartisan political handicappers the Cook Political Report, Inside Elections and Sabato's Crystal Ball.
Jackson has repeatedly tried to anchor Collins to Trump, whose approval ratings in Maine and across the country have dropped further underwater. But Manchin rejected that framing, saying Collins is «not a Trump senator. She's not a Republican senator or a Democrat senator. She's an American senator that represents her state of Maine... the most independent minded person I've ever met.»
Collins noted her long partnership with Manchin. «Joe and I were part of every bipartisan initiative that passed the Senate and became law during the years that we worked together... I just so enjoy our partnership in getting things done for Maine, for West Virginia and for America,» she said.
The campaign stop was the first of two in Maine's 2nd Congressional District, a key swing district. Collins and Jackson last week faced off on the debate stage for the fourth and final time. Collins used the debates to showcase how her Senate seniority has helped her deliver federal funding for Maine, while Jackson positioned himself as an outsider who understands the struggles and frustrations of working-class voters.
Jackson won a special nominating convention in late July to claim the party's Senate nomination, which was left vacant after primary winner Graham Platner ended his campaign following allegations he raped a woman he previously dated. Platner denied the allegations but dropped out. Jackson, who earlier this year unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, had campaigned alongside Platner during the primary campaign.
Collins has a history of surviving Democratic efforts to unseat her. Six years ago, she trailed Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, the Maine House speaker at the time, but Collins won re-election by nearly nine points while former President Joe Biden carried the state by a similar margin.
Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer's political team and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for comment but did not receive a response at the time this story was published.
16
