Sen. Susan Collins said Monday that it’s “far too early” to tell if President Trump will be the Republican nominee in 2020.
“It’s far too early to tell now. There’s a long ways between now and that point,” Ms. Collins, Maine Republican, said on MSNBC. “It’s too difficult to say.”
Ms. Collins, who has been vocal in her opposition to Mr. Trump both during and after the election, said she did not support Mr. Trump in 2016 and instead wrote in another name.
“I didn’t support the president when he was our party’s nominee. That was a very difficult position for me to take. I’d never taken it before. Instead, I wrote in the name of [House Speaker] Paul Ryan, and that was very hard for me to do as a lifelong Republican,” she said.
Ms. Collins also said she is considering running for the state’s open governor seat in 2018, which is currently occupied by Republican Gov. Paul LePage.
“I have not made a decision. On the one hand, I have a lot of seniority in the Senate now. I’m 15th — I started out at 99th. I serve on the Appropriations Committee, which has allowed me to do a lot of good for the people of Maine. On the other hand, the governor is more hands-on. You can do more to create good jobs in the state and that matters to me. So I’m weighing where I can do the most good for the people of Maine,” she said.
If she decides to run for governor, Ms. Collins may face a divided group of support since her state split its electoral votes for the first time in history last cycle over Mr. Trump. Maine’s 1st Congressional District, which includes the remote central and northern parts of the state, voted for Mr. Trump giving him its single electoral vote. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton took the remaining three votes.
Ms. Collins is not up for re-election in the Senate until 2020.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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