A long-time Democrat who left the party to become an Independent as it shifted further to the left is embracing a former GOP colleague as she fights for reelection.
Former Sen. Joe Manchin is campaigning alongside Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine this week, providing the endangered incumbent with a prominent display of bipartisan support as she seeks a sixth term in one of the country’s closest Senate races.
Manchin, who spent most of his political career as a Democrat before registering as an Independent in 2024, is scheduled to join Collins at an event in central Maine on Wednesday, her campaign confirmed Monday.
The former West Virginia Democratic senator endorsed Collins last month and has repeatedly praised his former colleague as an independent-minded lawmaker willing to break with her party.
Manchin told the New York Times that he had “never” worked with a more centrist and independent-minded person during his years in Washington while rejecting Democratic efforts to portray Collins as an automatic vote for President Donald Trump.
“She’s not Donald Trump’s senator,” Manchin said, adding that Collins represents Maine rather than simply following the Republican Party, though Collins’ voting record leans solidly to the right.
The endorsement is especially notable because Collins is facing former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, a Democrat whose campaign has repeatedly attempted to tie the Republican incumbent to Trump as it seeks to flip her seat.
Manchin’s appearance provides Collins with a surrogate who spent more than a decade inside the Democratic Senate caucus and frequently worked with her on bipartisan legislation before retiring from Congress.
The two senators collaborated on major legislation including the bipartisan infrastructure law passed during former President Joe Biden’s administration, while both developed reputations for occasionally frustrating their respective party leaders.
Manchin previously backed Collins during her 2020 reelection campaign, when she defeated Democrat Sara Gideon despite national Democratic groups spending heavily in an unsuccessful effort to remove her.
His latest intervention comes as Collins faces another extremely close contest, with recent polling generally showing Jackson holding a narrow advantage that remains within or near individual surveys’ margins of error.
The RealClearPolitics average currently has Jackson at 48.8% and Collins at 47.2%, a difference of only 1.6 percentage points.
An InsiderAdvantage survey conducted October 13-14 among 1,200 likely voters found Jackson leading 49% to 47%, while a Suffolk University poll conducted October 8-11 produced the identical 49%-47% result.
A Rasmussen Reports survey also showed Jackson ahead 49%-47%, while an earlier co/efficient poll had Collins leading 48%-46% and a CBS News survey found the race tied at 50% apiece.
Marist’s October survey showed Jackson ahead 51%-47% among registered voters, reinforcing that Collins remains in a difficult but competitive contest heading into the final two weeks.
Collins has emphasized her seniority and position as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, arguing that her influence in Washington allows her to secure federal resources for Maine that a freshman senator could not immediately replicate.
She has also sought to distinguish herself from Trump on several major issues, including voting against his signature tax-and-spending legislation last year and opposing Pete Hegseth’s confirmation to lead the Pentagon.
Manchin’s visit appears designed to reinforce that independent image at a moment when Democrats are deploying prominent progressive figures to boost Jackson.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is scheduled to campaign for Jackson one day after Manchin’s appearance with Collins, while fellow left-wing figures, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, have also traveled to Maine to support the Democratic nominee.
Collins’ campaign has seized on those appearances to contrast Jackson’s progressive allies with Manchin, whose centrist record frequently put him at odds with Democratic leadership during his Senate career.
The race has also grown increasingly contentious, including a heated final debate last week in which Jackson told Collins to “shut up” after she suggested that a protester who interrupted the event was connected to his campaign, an allegation Jackson denied.
