You are about to learn who Susan Collins is, how she became the longest-serving member of Congress from Maine, and why her name is everywhere in political news right now. She is fighting for her political survival in one of the most expensive and closely watched Senate races of 2026, and this page breaks down exactly where things stand.
Background: Who Is Susan Collins?
Susan Margaret Collins is the senior United States Senator from Maine, a Republican who has held her seat since January 1997. She has built a reputation as one of the Senate’s more moderate voices, someone willing to break from her party on issues like abortion rights and marriage equality, which has helped her survive in a state that leans Democratic in presidential elections.
She’s also Maine’s longest-serving member of Congress and the longest-serving Republican woman in Senate history, records that reflect just how long she has managed to hold onto a seat that national Democrats have targeted repeatedly over the past decade. Her willingness to occasionally vote against her own party, including her vote to convict Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial, has made her both harder to caricature and harder for either party to fully claim as their own.
People are searching her name right now because she’s running for a sixth term this November, and the race against her is being treated as one of the two or three contests that could decide which party controls the Senate. That kind of national spotlight naturally pulls in readers who want the full picture of who she is beyond the headlines.
Latest Update
Collins officially launched her re-election campaign in February 2026 and will face Democrat Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and military veteran, after he won the Democratic primary on June 9, 2026, defeating Maine Governor Janet Mills, who had suspended her own campaign in April. Collins is widely described as the most vulnerable Senate Republican on the map this year, since Maine voted for the Democratic presidential ticket in both 2020 and 2024.
💬 Why this matters: National Republican groups have committed tens of millions of dollars to defend her seat, including a reported $42 million from the Senate Leadership Fund, which shows just how seriously both parties are treating this race heading into November.
As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Collins recently helped guide several major annual government funding bills through the Senate. She also drew local attention in July 2026 after an ICE enforcement surge in Maine was paused following her discussions with the Department of Homeland Security. No new personal announcements about Collins herself, beyond her campaign and committee work, have been confirmed as of this date.
Full Profile
Family and Early Life
Susan Collins was born on December 7, 1952, in Caribou, Maine, one of six children. Both of her parents, Donald and Patricia Collins, served as mayor of Caribou at different points, and her father was also a Maine state senator and a World War II veteran who earned a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. Her uncle, Samuel Collins, served as a Maine Supreme Court justice. She was president of her high school class and completed the U.S. Senate Youth Program before heading off to college.
Career Path
After graduating college, Collins became a legislative assistant to Congressman William Cohen, staying on his staff through his move to the Senate and continuing in various administrative roles until 1987. She later served as New England’s regional director for the Small Business Administration and as Maine’s Commissioner of Professional and Financial Regulation. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996, winning the seat Cohen had vacated, and has been re-elected four times since. She currently chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, a position she has held since 2025, and is the longest-serving Republican woman in Senate history.
Age
Susan Collins is 73 years old, based on her confirmed birth date of December 7, 1952.
Religion
Collins identifies as Roman Catholic, according to biographical records maintained by voter information organizations.
Spouse/Partner
She is married to Thomas A. Daffron, a longtime associate she originally met decades earlier through her work for Senator William Cohen. The two married on August 11, 2012, in Caribou, Maine, and do not have children together.
Net Worth
Financial tracking sites estimate her net worth at somewhere around $7 million as of mid-2026, though independent estimates have ranged as widely as $2.5 million to $12 million depending on how each analyst treats her financial disclosure filings. Since members of Congress report assets in broad ranges rather than exact figures, any specific number should be read as an estimate.
Parents
Her father, Donald F. Collins, was a lumber businessman, World War II veteran, and Maine state senator who died in 2018. Her mother, Patricia McGuigan Collins, was a civic leader and former Caribou mayor who died in March 2024.
Height
Susan Collins’ height has not been confirmed through any verifiable public source.
Education
She attended Caribou High School before earning a Bachelor of Arts in government from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, graduating magna cum laude in 1975 and earning membership in the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society.
Hometown/State of Origin
Susan Collins was born and raised in Caribou, Maine, and currently maintains a home in Bangor, Maine.
Official Social Media
Her official Senate website, where legislative updates and press releases are posted directly, is collins.senate.gov.
✅ Quick fact check: Every claim above is drawn from Senate biographical records, Britannica, and verified news coverage of the 2026 campaign. Where figures like her exact net worth vary between sources, we gave the range instead of picking one number and calling it certain.
Career and Election Timeline
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1975 | Graduates magna cum laude from St. Lawrence University |
| 1979–1987 | Serves on the staff of Senator William Cohen |
| 1994 | Becomes founding director of the Center for Family Business at Husson University |
| 1996 | Wins her first election to the U.S. Senate |
| 1997 | Begins her first Senate term representing Maine |
| 2012 | Marries Thomas A. Daffron |
| 2020 | Wins re-election to a fifth Senate term |
| 2025 | Becomes chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee |
| February 2026 | Officially launches her campaign for a sixth Senate term |
| June 9, 2026 | Graham Platner wins the Democratic primary to face her |
| November 2026 | General election for Maine’s U.S. Senate seat |
Reader Questions (FAQ)
Is Susan Collins running for re-election in 2026?
Yes. Susan Collins officially launched her campaign for a sixth Senate term in February 2026. She will face Democrat Graham Platner in the general election this November.
Who is running against Susan Collins in 2026?
Her opponent is Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and military veteran who won the Democratic primary on June 9, 2026. He defeated Maine Governor Janet Mills, who had suspended her own campaign earlier that year.
How old is Susan Collins?
Susan Collins is 73 years old. She was born on December 7, 1952, in Caribou, Maine.
Who is Susan Collins married to?
She is married to Thomas A. Daffron, whom she wed on August 11, 2012. The couple does not have children together.
What committee does Susan Collins chair?
She chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, a position she has held since 2025. That role gives her significant influence over federal government funding decisions.
Why is Susan Collins considered vulnerable in 2026?
She is the only Republican senator running for re-election in a state that voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in both 2020 and 2024. That makes her a top target for Democrats trying to retake control of the Senate.
What is Susan Collins’ net worth?
Estimates place her net worth at roughly $7 million as of mid-2026, though different financial trackers have produced estimates ranging from about $2.5 million to $12 million based on her congressional disclosure filings.
⚠️ A note on accuracy: Net worth figures for members of Congress are estimates built from disclosure ranges, not exact numbers. Treat any specific dollar figure for Susan Collins as an approximation rather than a confirmed fact.
Wrap-Up
Susan Collins has spent nearly thirty years building a political identity around being the deal-maker in the middle, the senator willing to buck her own party when she disagrees. That reputation carried her through five previous elections in a state that doesn’t always vote Republican, but 2026 is testing it in a new way, against an opponent running an entirely different kind of campaign than she’s faced before.
Her record as Appropriations Chair gives her a concrete governing story to run on, while her opponent is betting that voters want a bigger break from Washington’s usual playbook. Whichever way Maine goes this November, the race is a genuine test of whether her brand of moderate Republicanism still has a home in a state that has drifted away from her party at the presidential level.
For now, the most reliable way to follow her next moves is through her Senate office’s own press releases and campaign filings, since so much of the coverage around her race is shaped by outside political spending rather than her own public statements.
John Wood is the founder and lead editor of Biography Region. He researches and writes accurate, engaging biographies of celebrities, entrepreneurs, influencers, and public figures, delivering well-sourced, reader-focused content that informs and inspires.