Republican Sen. Susan Collins trails Democrat Troy Jackson by just four points in Maine, and most voters still expect her to win another term.
A Marist Poll of 1,505 registered voters, conducted Oct. 1 through 4, found Jackson at 51 percent and Collins at 47 percent, a gap roughly the size of the survey's 3.8-point margin of error. Independents favored Jackson 52 percent to 45 percent.
Senate race: Jackson 51%, Collins 47%
Generic congressional ballot: Democrat 54%, Republican 45%
Who will win the Senate race: Collins 57%, Jackson 41%
Collins is running five points ahead of her party's standing on the generic ballot, where Democrats hold a nine-point edge. A majority of voters, 57 percent, say Collins will ultimately prevail, compared with 41 percent who pick Jackson.
Marist found President Donald Trump looming over the contest, though not uniformly. Forty-four percent of voters said their congressional vote is mainly against the president, 16 percent said it is mainly for him, and 39 percent said he is not much of a factor. Among that last group, more than six in ten approve of his job performance. Trump's overall approval among Maine registered voters stands at 40 percent, with 59 percent disapproving.
Economic unease colors the race as well. Forty-four percent said their personal finances have worsened over the past year, 41 percent said they are about the same, and 14 percent said they have improved. Democrats (56 percent) were far more likely than Republicans (23 percent) to report deterioration.
In the governor's race, Democrat Hannah Pingree leads Republican Bobby Charles 52 percent to 40 percent, with Bennett at 6 percent.
Maine voters decide on Nov. 3.
