Susan Collins launched her reelection by opening a box of New Balance sneakers on camera. She didn't mention that the billionaire who owns New Balance had already handed a million dollars to the super PAC keeping her in office.
"This is perfect for 2026," she'd said, holding up the shoe. "Because I'm running."
Running on whose money, exactly?
Nearly 100 billionaires and their spouses have poured $9.8 million into Collins' reelection machine, about a third of everything her side has raised.
Ken Griffin wrote a single $2.5 million check. Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman, who once likened a tax on his industry to the Nazi invasion of Poland, added a million more.
They have reason to trust her.
In 2017, Collins floated an amendment to close a private equity loophole and spend the money on affordable child care. A day later she dropped it and voted for Trump's tax cuts instead.
Private equity has been her most reliable donor ever since.
So when Maine families needed cheaper child care, Collins protected the loophole.
When the hedge funds needed a senator, they had one.
Her challenger, Graham Platner, has raised $9.6 million almost entirely from small donors. The average gift is $26, from more than 15,000 volunteers in nearly every zip code in the state.
One campaign is paid for by the people who live under its votes. The other by the people those votes protect.