Susan M. Collins

Subject: Susan M. Collins, Republican, U.S. Senator from Maine since 1997, seeking a sixth term in 2026, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee Compiled: October 25, 2026 for the On Point Politics watchdog database, onpointpolitics.us Data cutoff: September 30, 2026 for campaign filings, as reported October 15, 2026. Outside ad bookings through October 19, 2026. Next scheduled data drop: FEC pre-general report covering through October 14, 2026, and the post-general report due December 3, 2026.

Bottom line up front

Collins is being outraised by Troy Jackson and carried by outside money. She had raised more than $18 million by the end of June 2026, per Boston.com on October 15, 2026, boston.com. Groups backing her had booked about $126 million in ads through the end of the year, per the Bangor Daily News on October 19, 2026, bangordailynews.com.

Four interests combine money and a decision she controls:

1. Senate Republican leadership. SLF booked nearly $50 million in Maine. Its top donor nationally, One Nation, gave it $132.9 million and booked nearly $35 million of its own Maine ads. The decision is Senate control and her Appropriations gavel.
2. Billionaires through Pine Tree Results PAC. The super PAC closest to her is run by Scott Reed and funded by Stephen Schwarzman, Ken Griffin and two dark money nonprofits. New Balance owner Jim Davis gave $1 million to a Collins super PAC in 2025.
3. Dark money networks. Stronger America, the Lexington Fund and the Eighteen Fifty-Four Fund do not disclose donors. The Lexington Fund is part of a network linked to Leonard Leo, which ties it to judicial confirmations.
4. Defense contractors and federal grantees. As Appropriations chair she wrote more than $425 million of Maine's $460 million in FY2026 earmarks. The Navatek case shows how a contractor tried to buy access through a pro-Collins super PAC.

Committee structure and treasurer

Her candidate ID is S6ME00159 from the roster. The principal committee name, ID and treasurer were not verified because fec.gov is blocked for this project. Spokesperson Blake Kernen speaks for the campaign. A Collins joint fundraising committee had about $1.6 million lined up, and the NRSC bought $2.6 million in ads with the campaign, per the Press Herald on October 15, 2026, pressherald.com. Pine Tree Results PAC and her campaign share limited fundraising functions, which the FEC allows, per the BDN.

Third quarter money. The BDN and Boston.com report she raised $5.2 million, spent $10.9 million and held $5.4 million on September 30 with no debt, bangordailynews.com. The Press Herald reports $3.9 million raised, with only 11 percent of individual money from Maine. The two figures are stored as Contested and not reconciled. Named donors include George W. Bush at $3,500 on August 26, Education Secretary Linda McMahon at $3,500 and Thomas Klingenstein at the personal maximum. She paid Mentzer Media Services nearly $6.5 million for media and Targeted Victory more than $2.8 million for digital work.

Bloc: Senate Republican leadership

Documented. SLF booked nearly $50 million in Maine ads, the largest outside spender. One Nation, its nonprofit sister group, gave SLF $132.9 million through September and booked nearly $35 million in pro-Collins ads. Miriam Adelson and Stephen Schwarzman are among SLF's funders, amounts not stated in the BDN. Overall, the Press Herald counts $151.5 million in Republican aligned ad spending against $110.7 million Democratic aligned.

What they want. Senate control. For Collins personally, control means keeping the Appropriations chair.

What she has said. At a debate she said dark money groups should not exist. Kernen said the campaign is "unwilling to continue to be subjected to lies paid for by dark money without fighting back."

Inference: One Nation money cannot be traced past One Nation. The largest pro-Collins dollars therefore have no named donor on the public record.

Bloc: Billionaires and Pine Tree Results PAC

Documented. Pine Tree Results PAC booked $29.1 million in Maine ads. Its donors include Stephen Schwarzman, Ken Griffin, Stronger America and the Lexington Fund, per the BDN. Reed is a friend of her husband, Tom Daffron, and Reed's lobbying firm paid Daffron as a consultant last year. Nearly 100 billionaires and spouses gave $9.8 million to Collins and allied groups from January 2025 through May 2026, per a Maine Monitor count relayed by the BDN. Jim Davis gave $1 million to a Collins super PAC in 2025, per the Press Herald on September 22, 2026.

Inference: The Daffron payment and the shared fundraising functions put the closest outside group one step from her household. That is a structural conflict question, not an allegation of wrongdoing.

Bloc: Dark money networks

Documented. Stronger America booked nearly $12 million in Maine ads and gave to Pine Tree. Collins attended its July dinner in Washington. The Lexington Fund is part of a network linked to Leonard Leo. The Eighteen Fifty-Four Fund sent $1 million to another pro-Collins group. Its money came almost entirely from Ardleigh Impact Corp. and another Delaware nonprofit, and its treasurer is Les Williamson. Ardleigh is the subject of a pending 2024 Campaign Legal Center FEC complaint alleging it hid the true sources of super PAC money. Groups listing Staci Goede as treasurer gave millions to SLF and Pine Tree. Goede did not respond to the BDN.

Bloc: Defense contractors and appropriations

Documented. Martin Kao, the former CEO of Navatek, says Collins would not meet him in 2018 unless he donated. He says that in late 2019 Reed promised $32 million in Navy contracts for a $500,000 gift. Kao admits sending Reed's super PAC $150,000 through a shell company, pleaded guilty in 2022, and was sentenced in 2025. On August 6, 2019, Navatek and the University of Maine announced an $8 million Navy contract, per the Press Herald on September 22, 2026, pressherald.com. ProPublica reported the FBI examined her campaign finances from 2020 to 2025 before the inquiry ended.

Her response. Deputy chief of staff Annie Clark said the campaign "was never the target of the FBI investigation," that Collins "does not 'steer' contracts," and that Kao is deflecting blame to cut his sentence. Collins says she backed the project at the University of Maine's request. An FBI spokesperson said the bureau "ultimately found nothing implicating Senator Collins."

Earmarks. Collins secured more than $425 million of Maine's $460 million for FY2026 across 156 projects in all 16 counties, per the Maine Morning Star on February 24, 2026, mainemorningstar.com. The largest is $45 million for a University of Maine life sciences complex. Maine ranks second per capita.

Inference: The earmarks are her strongest argument and the reason the Navatek story lands. Both run through the same gavel.

Own finances and disclosure history

Collins and her husband report $4 million to $10 million in assets, per the BDN on October 8, 2026. Congressstock.com estimates the couple's net worth at $7.1 million, per the Press Herald on October 7, 2026, pressherald.com. Her holdings are mutual funds and bank deposits. Daffron holds stocks, bonds and government securities. No stock trading controversy was found in sources read.

Enforcement and controversies

• Navatek. Stored as Contested above, with her denial and the FBI statement.
• Reed's 2020 super PAC took a $150,000 gift from a defense contractor that the BDN, citing ProPublica, describes as illegal. That gift is Kao's.
• Ardleigh complaint. A pending Campaign Legal Center complaint against a funder of a pro-Collins group. It does not name Collins.
• No FEC or Senate Ethics action against Collins was found.

Deal table

Levers and calendar

Calendar. The election is November 3, 2026. FY2027 spending bills run from late 2026 into 2027 under the chair. The new Senate sits in January 2027. The FY2028 cycle follows in 2027 and 2028.

What we could not verify

• Campaign committee name, ID and treasurer, and the joint fundraising committee's name.
• Which Q3 figure is right, $5.2 million or $3.9 million.
• Amounts for Schwarzman, Griffin, Adelson, Stronger America and the Lexington Fund.
• Which group received the Eighteen Fifty-Four Fund's $1 million and Musk's $10 million mentioned by the BDN.
• Bodies not read: the ProPublica original report, bostonglobe.com and spectrumlocalnews.com and mainemorningstar.com and bangordailynews.com and rollcall.com and cnbc.com