Maine GOP Sen. Collins beats Sara Gideon in hard-fought race in Maine

PORTLAND, Maine — Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has won the hardest-fought race of her career, turning back a challenge by Democrat Sara Gideon.

Collins survived to serve a fifth term following a costly race that was viewed as pivotal to control of the Senate.

Collins, one of four candidates on the ballot, won a slim majority of first-place votes. That meant no additional tabulation rounds were necessary under Maine’s ranked choice voting system.

Speaking as Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” played, Collins thanked Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon for her “gracious” phone call conceding the race.

“To the people of Maine, thank you. I will serve you with all my heart. I will work hard for you each and every day. And together, we will come together to work on the problems and challenges that are facing our state and our country,” Collins told supporters.

Gideon, for her part, thanked her supporters in an address transmitted live, but without reporters being present.

“While we came up short, I do believe Mainers in every corner of this state are ready to continue to work together to make a difference,” Gideon said Wednesday during the speech.

The Senate race was the most expensive in Maine’s history with Gideon raising nearly $70 million, more than double the $27 million that Collins raised. But that didn’t include so-called dark money. All told, more than $120 million was spent by both candidates and their allies on advertising.

Further complicating the calculus was Maine’s ranked choice voting system. If no candidate wins a majority of first-place votes, then there would be additional tabulations, aided by computers, in which last-place candidates are eliminated and votes reallocated to ensure a majority winner.

In other developments:

Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden defeated Republican Dale Crafts in the 2nd Congressional District.

In the presidential race, Democrat Joe Biden won at least three of four electoral votes by winning a majority of the statewide vote and a majority of the vote in the 1st Congressional District.

But President Donald Trump won a majority in the more rural and conservative 2nd Congressional District to claim one electoral vote, as he did in 2016.