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Taurean Small is a congressional reporter for CBS News.

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October 21, 2026 / 6:20 PM EDT / CBS News

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Lewiston, Maine — Republican Sen. Susan Collins is campaigning on a simple idea: She can sit across the table from anyone. On Wednesday, she did it literally, sharing breakfast sandwiches with Democrat-turned-independent Joe Manchin and a roomful of Maine voters as she makes her case to people of every political stripe.

"She's not a Trump senator. She's not a Republican senator or a Democrat senator," Manchin told reporters after dining with Collins in the morning. "She's an American senator that represents her state of Maine."

Collins is the only Republican senator up for reelection in a state that President Trump lost. CBS News rates the race a toss-up. But Collins, who is running for a sixth term, has a history of surviving tough reelection battles and outrunning other Republicans. In 2020, she won by more than 8 points, even as Mr.…