Jordan Wood, one of the Democrats vying to challenge Republican Senator Susan Collins in Maine, told Newsweek that he hears from voters across the state that it is time for new leadership in Washington, D.C.
Why It Matters
Maine’s Senate race in the 2026 midterms is likely to be among the most competitive races next year as Democrats hope to unseat the state’s longtime senator.
However, defeating Collins has proven to be difficult in the past—she has won big against other Democrats, even as the state remains predominantly Democratic in other federal races. However, Democrats are hopeful that Trump’s wavering approval rating could hurt Collins in an era of heightened polarization and declining ticket splitting, as the state backed former Vice President Kamala Harris by seven points last year.
What To Know
Wood, 35, has been in D.C. before, serving as chief of staff to former Representative Katie Porter and as political director for End Citizens United. He was born and raised in Lewiston, the second-largest city in Maine. He faces several other Democrats in the primary and is hoping his anti-corruption focus will resonate with Mainers.
Generational change is among the concerns he hears most from on the campaign trail, Wood said.
“I hear it most from older voters who watched what we went through with Joe Biden, where an elder statesman, someone who has served this country in the Senate since he was, I think, younger than me, but clinging to power and not willing to pass the torch and bring in generational change. The consequences of that we are dealing with now,” he said.
He said that having younger leaders in Congress could help legislators address more of the issues facing young Americans.
Younger Americans also see Congress as “detached” from the issues they are most concerned about—one way his campaign is “different” from others in the past that ran against Collins.
“If we had more senators who had graduated college with massive amounts of student loan debt, I think we would have solved this problem. If we had more senators who had as much exposure to gun violence as I have, and so many young people have, we would have solved that problem,” he said.
Wood said he was moved to jump into the race after he and his husband had their first child earlier this year.
“My daughter was a big part of ultimately deciding to run to and how I think about the future and the work in front of us to make sure that our children grow up in a country that respects the rule of law that embraces democracy and stands up for what’s right,” he said.
He said he believes the campaign is about two major issues: the need to end political corruption and affordability.
Issues around the cost of living have become “too much to overcome,” he said.
“The theme of this campaign, since we started, has been Maine courage, not just concern. Courage to stand up to Donald Trump in what I believe is this lawless, unconstitutional behavior coming from the White House, but also courage to stand up for working people in families like the one I grew up in,” Wood said.
When it comes to issues like health care, Maine is already facing challenges, such as the risk to rural hospitals and the closure of maternity wards across the state, he said. He said he believes Congress should work toward a single-payer system, such as Medicare-for-All, and that the first step would be to create a public option in the marketplace.
On tariffs, Wood said that the implementation has been “haphazard, chaotic, and senseless,” hitting Maine’s economy hard, particularly in coastal towns like Old Orchard Beach and Ogunquit that have seen reduced tourism from Canada.
Still, he said he believes parts of towns, including his hometown of Lewiston, have been “left behind” by trade deals.
“Truthfully, a lot of these trade deals were driven by corporate America and the wealthiest, and that’s who’s benefited from these. Growing up in Lewiston, and spending time in mill towns across the state, I know what that looks like,” he said.
Wood on Plans to End Corruption and Strengthen Democracy
Wood’s emphasis on corruption stems from his time advocating for issues like climate change or gun safety reform, he said, noting that after the Citizens United Supreme Court case, he realized how big money “is really standing in the way of our ability to deliver” on key issues.
“If you’re trying to influence a member of Congress by advocating for policy, you shouldn’t also be able to leverage money. That’s what voters want,” he said. “These reforms are essential to earning back the trust of working people, everyday people in our country to know that the policy solutions that Congress is passing are done in their best interest only, not because of donors or special interests.”
This decline in trust in democracy has played a role in fueling growing political violence in the country, which has culminated in assassinations of political leaders like Minnesota legislator Melissa Hortman and conservative activist Charlie Kirk, he said.
“Democracy is starting to be undermined when people feel like they can’t be heard and they’re resorting to violence and that there is a culture that is creating a permission for that,” he said.
He said he believes President Donald Trump “uniquely has been responsible for” the rising political temperature and that his decision to pardon those convicted of crimes related to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was the worst thing he has done as president.
Sweeping democracy reform, including anti-corruption measures and efforts to end partisan gerrymandering, would be a “first step to restoring trust for people in our democracy and its ability to solve our problems,” he said.
Wood Says 2026 Will Be Collins’ Toughest Race Yet
The 2026 race will be Collins’ most challenging race yet, Wood said. Her 2020 election was the first “concerted” effort to unseat her, as she received support from groups like the Human Rights Campaign and environmental groups in her previous reelection bids.
He said 2026 will be a “drastically different political environment” from 2020 after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that guaranteed abortion rights across the country. Abortion remains legal in Maine, but other states have moved to ban the procedure since the 2022 ruling.
“Voters now know that Donald Trump will be president the day after this midterm. It is a state that understands deeply what’s at stake with Donald Trump and the White House and the need for the Senate to be a check on that power. I think that voters think about this differently,” Wood said.
Still, he said he is also hearing from voters about an “anger at the Democratic Party for being a weak and failed opposition to Donald Trump and Republicans in Washington.”
He agrees with that anger, he said, expressing frustration with older Democrats not passing the torch to new leaders.
“There’s legislation, things we could have stopped, if we had all of our members there. There’s a real frustration that the Democratic Party is losing touch and not doing enough about it,” he said.