By Andrew E. Smith, Ph.D.
UNH Survey Center
DURHAM, NH – Over half of recent Democratic primary voters prefer Troy Jackson as the Democratic nominee for Senate. Most Democratic primary voters believe Graham Platner’s withdrawal from the race was the right decision.
Jackson and incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins are statistically tied in a November election matchup. Collins earns high marks from Mainers on bringing federal dollars to the state during her tenure in o?ce but receives lower ratings on her votes on key legislation, Cabinet nominees, and Supreme Court justices. In Maine’s election for governor, Democratic nominee Hannah Pingree holds a double-digit lead over Republican Bobby Charles. Amid questions about ranked-choice voting in the state, a plurality of state residents support continuing to use it in Maine.
These findings are based on the latest Pine Tree State Poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. Pine Tree State Panel members were sent an invitation to complete the survey and 1,014 completed the survey online. In addition, 222 Maine residents completed the survey after receiving an invitation via text message to complete the survey. Overall, 1,236 Maine residents completed the survey online between July 15 and July 20, 2026. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2.8 percent. Included in the sample were 1,178 likely general election voters (margin of sampling error +/- 2.9 percent). Also included in the sample were 538 2026 Democratic state primary voters (MOE +/- 4.3 percent).
For complete press release and detailed tabular results, please click:https://scholars.unh.edu/survey_center_polls/981/