Collins says she won't be intimidated after Biddeford office vandalized

Vandals spray-painted Sen. Susan Collins' Biddeford constituent office Monday, and her staff kept it open for business.

State Sen. Matt Harrington, R-Sanford, posted a photo showing the words "Trump whore" in red capital letters on the doors of the Main Street office. The doors were scrubbed clean by mid-afternoon, and Biddeford police Chief JoAnne Fisk said the incident is under investigation. "This is disgusting, disappointing and it's not the Maine I grew up in," Harrington wrote.

Collins' chief of staff, Katie Brown, said the senator and her staff will not be intimidated and that the office remains open to serve Mainers. Collins was in Washington at the time.

Collins' Democratic opponent, Troy Jackson, condemned the vandalism Monday night after his campaign initially stayed silent. "There's no place for this in Maine," Jackson said in his statement.

Monday's vandalism is not the first time Collins has drawn hostility over her votes. Her office said in 2022 that Capitol Police had advised it to notify local police of any activity around her home because she periodically receives threatening letters and phone calls. In 2018, a hazardous materials team was called to her Bangor home to investigate a suspicious letter, days after critics directed threats at her over her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh. Preliminary tests showed no threat to the public, and Independent Sen. Angus King said at the time that she and her staff should not face such threats regardless of political differences.

The incident lands in a race with little room to spare. A New York Times/Siena poll conducted Sept. 15 to 22 gave Collins a 49 to 46 percent lead over Jackson, the first survey to show her ahead since Jackson replaced Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee. A University of New Hampshire poll released last week had Jackson ahead, 51 to 47 percent.

Biddeford police have not announced a suspect, and voters decide the race Nov. 3.