Poll: Majority of voters disapprove of Collins on shutdown

November 12, 2025

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The polling also finds voters disapprove of ICE’s actions.

New polling shows a majority of Mainers disapprove of how Sen. Susan Collins has handled the government shutdown and also disapprove of the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The results also show that one of Collins’ potential challengers would win if the U.S. Senate election were held today.

In the poll of 783 Maine voters conducted by the Maine People’s Resource Center, 51% say they disapprove of Collins’ “handling of the federal government shutdown and her stance on health care subsidies,” while only 28.4% approve.

Disapproval is high in both congressional districts and among voters of all genders and levels of education. Of voters who identify as ideologically moderate, 57.4% of voters say they disapprove of Collins’ actions.

The survey was conducted from Oct. 26-29, 2025, and has a margin of error of 3.5% at the 95% confidence level. The survey also asked voting intentions on Question 1 on the Nov. 4, 2025 ballot and the results compared to preliminary election results are accurate within the statistical margin of error.

Slightly more than half of Mainers (52%) say they disapprove of “the way the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, is doing its job,” with 41% approving. Those expressing disapproval include 90% of Democrats and 54% of independents. A 49% plurality of Mainers say undocumented immigrants should be given a pathway to legal status, while 42% favor deportation.

A bill to limit local police cooperation with ICE passed in the legislature earlier this year and is currently being held by Gov. Janet Mills. She will have to decide whether to veto the bill or allow it to become law when the legislature returns in January.

Mills, who is running for the U.S. Senate in a high-profile Democratic primary, is virtually tied with fellow candidate Graham Platner, with 39% of Democrats and independents who intend to vote in the primary favoring Mills and 41% favoring Platner.

The U.S. Senate primary will be decided through ranked-choice voting. When second-choice preferences for Jordan Wood (who announced today that he will no longer be a candidate in the U.S. Senate race) are allocated, Platner leads Mills 53% to 47% in the decided vote.

Mills would lose to Collins in the U.S. Senate general election if the contest were held today, garnering 42% of the vote to Collins’ 46%. Platner would do better against Collins, winning 45% to 42%. A double-digit percentage of voters are undecided in both potential match-ups.

Collins’ relative favorability has remained steady over the last four years, with 55% of Mainers saying they view her unfavorably, while 37% say they have a favorable opinion.

Mills’ favorability has decreased in recent months, falling into negative territory for the first time this year. 51% of voters currently say they have an unfavorable view of Mills while 44% have a favorable opinion.

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MPRC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to giving Maine people, especially those who are underrepresented in civic life, skills and information to participate in the decision making processes that affect them. MPRC has conducted highly-regarded public opinion polling in Maine since 2010.

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Contact: Nora Flaherty-Stanford, (207) 370-8314, [email protected]