Five-term Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Friday she will be writing in Nikki Haley’s name for president in November’s election.
Her decision would mark the third straight general election that Collins has not voted for Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican presumptive nominee.
Collins endorsed Haley during the Republican primary and has signaled in the past that she would not support Trump, even if he became the party’s nominee. That is certain to happen at next week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
“Ultimately, I have to do what I think is right," Collins said at an event in Limerick, Maine. "I publicly endorsed Nikki Haley, and I wanted her to win. She’s still my favorite candidate, and I think she could do a great job. She’s my choice, and that’s how I’m going to express it.”
Collins didn’t vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020. She said in 2016 she was writing in then-House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., for president. Collins didn’t say who she would vote for in 2020, citing her reelection bid.
Collins also weighed in on President Joe Biden’s debate performance two weeks ago.
"When I watched the debate, I felt a sense of sadness because I think all of us have had the experience when a loved one or a co-worker or a close friend and had seen cognitive decline," Collins said at an event in Auburn, Maine, earlier Friday. "We know that it doesn't get better."
Collins, 71, is up for reelection in 2026.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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