The defeat of Susan Collins marks the end of the moderate Republican

The Globe and Mail · Andrew Cohen · 2026-11-05 21:02 UTC

The lone GOP survivor in New England lost her seat in Tuesday’s midterms

Andrew Cohen is a journalist, author and professor. His latest book is Two Days in June: John F. Kennedy and the 48 Hours That Made History.

When Susan Collins took her place for the first time in the United States Senate on Jan. 3, 1997, she joined a lively circle of Republicans from New England. They were mostly moderates, sometimes leaning liberal. Proud, self-reliant and independent, their creed was responsibility, opportunity, honesty and limited government.

Olympia Snowe, the other senator from Maine, was a Republican. So were John Chafee of Rhode Island, Jim Jeffords of Vermont and Bob Smith and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire. They were household names. In northeastern America, the Grand Old Party was strong.

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