CNN Notes Collins “Didn’t Directly Answer” When Previously Asked If She’s Supporting Trump
In another effort to get Senator Susan Collins to answer the question Mainers have been asking, CNN’s Manu Raju asked Collins yesterday whether she voted for President Trump in Tuesday’s election, to which she said “I already answered that question” despite never actually answering the question.
In an interview last weekend with News Center Maine, Collins refused to answer whether she voted for Trump in Maine’s presidential primary. Collins admitted that she has already voted by absentee ballot, but declined to say who she voted for. Her refusal to say whether she voted for Trump has made headlines in Maine and across the country.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
CNN: Susan Collins declines to say whether she'll support Trump
By Manu Raju and Alex Rogers
March 3, 2020
Key Points:
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GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who is up for reelection in Maine, would not say on Tuesday if she voted for President Donald Trump in her state's primary.
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She twice declined to answer the question.
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"I already answered that question," Collins told CNN when asked if she supported Trump's reelection bid.
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Collins' spokesperson referred CNN to comments the senator made last Friday when she was asked if she is supporting Trump. But in that interview, she didn't directly answer when asked if she backed the President's 2020 bid.
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"I have voted by absentee ballot, just to make sure that I voted," Collins told WCSH in Portland, Maine. "And I would note that it's on the Democratic side that there are eight candidates, and my likely opponent as well as the governor and many other Democratic officials have not said who they are going to choose in what is a contested Democratic ballot. I'm focused on my job and also on my own campaign, and I'm just not going to get involved in presidential politics."
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While Collins has a close connection to her state -- and overwhelmingly won her last race in 2014 -- Democrats are hopeful that they can finally beat the four-term senator in 2020.
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Collins is running for reelection in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. In 2016, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton beat Trump statewide in Maine by three points, though Trump carried the state's northern 2nd District by double digits in 2016, and was awarded an electoral college vote as the state splits its electoral college votes. Trump is expected to try to compete in the state again this year.
Read the full story here.
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