With a two-vote margin, Sen. Susan Collins provided a critical vote to ensure that Brett Kavanaugh became a Supreme Court justice. In the final quarter of 2018, she received contributions of $1.8 million, with the larger individual ones coming almost entirely from non-Maine sources.

This represents her best fundraising quarter ever. This windfall had been predicted by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who told Fox News: “Senator Collins will be well funded, I can assure you.”

When a crowdfunding campaign collected over $2 million for her prospective 2020 Democratic opponent, Collins compared this funding to bribery. I don’t think that raising money for a political opponent is bribery. I do think that financial reward for a specific vote smacks of bribery.

Jessica Mahnke

Bath