the most populated part of the state.

which is always going to happen for a Republican in Maine because the most populated parts of the state are Democratic strongholds.

Right.

So that I think is the issue there.

In a midterm election, there's two things that happen.

One is called surge and decline.

When a president gets elected, a good chunk of his party that elected him, they'll come back in four years.

in Maine, with that Senate race in the state of Maine, does Collins really need 70, 80 percent of independence or something north of 65 or 70? And what about New Hampshire, Andy Smith?

What is her coalition in Maine? What do we need to understand there?

Her coalition is Republicans, first of all, and I think the biggest problem that she's had this year is that Republicans were really divided over whether they wanted to support her because of her own run-ins with Donald Trump.

But they're lining up behind her.

What Republicans have to do, because they are the minority party in Maine, is to build a coalition with either conservative Democrats or the independent voters within the state to And I think that's the thing that that's kind of been her secret sauce in the state is that she's been a moderate.

She's not been somebody that has either been particularly loved by the Republicans or particularly hated by the Democrats.

So I think that that's the coalition she's trying to put together.

It's going to be difficult this year, though, for her, because 2026 will be a big Democratic year, both in Maine and across the country.

Do you have any sort of revelation about that based on polling data?