Collins' only hope is to either go full-on MAGA or full-on Never Trumper (lol), because being a fake moderate certainly isn't cutting it anymore.
I think she’s damned no matter what she does. Going full on MAGA isn’t really viable in a state like Maine; Trump is not going to win the state, and if she does that there won’t be enough Biden/Collins voters for her to win. But there are enough Trump voters in the state that going full on Never Trumper isn’t viable either; then for every Biden voter she picks up, she likely loses several Republican Trump voters. Oh, and neither side would fully trust her if she pivoted hard in one direction or the other at this point. So all she really can do is continue this ridiculous tightrope walk act, trying desperately to pretend there’s still any viable way to run as a “moderate Republican” anymore if your name isn’t Mitt Romney or Charlie Baker. And they can only do it because of the unique positions their states are in. Collins doesn’t have the luxury of running in a state full of Republicans who don’t really like Trump (Utah) or Democrats who are happy to vote for a RINO (Massachusetts). Or independents who are happy to split tickets, as Maine once was. Her state is as polarized as any now.
I fully agree. I think she could have done a great service to herself to switch to Independent in 2018 and caucus with the Democrats, saying that she didn't leave her party, the party, now a Trump cult, left her. Afterwards, she could have voted against Kavanaugh and for impeachment, while supporting some Republican policies on taxes or deregulation. The Democrats might still have fielded a (lackluster) candidate, while the rest plays out similar to Angus King.
