Dems target Susan Collins with $2M ICE ad blitz
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Sen. Susan Collins questions Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd during his confirmation hearing to lead the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command on Capitol Hill on Jan. 29. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Democrats are launching a $2 million ad campaign targeting Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) over her support for funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Axios has learned, as public backlash against the agency's operations mounts.
Why it matters: The attack ads — from a group associated with the Chuck Schumer-linked Senate Majority PAC — signal the massive resources both parties are planning to funnel into Maine as Democrats work to oust their top 2026 Senate GOP target.
- The ad, from the SMP-aligned group Duty and Honor, highlights Collins' role as the Senate's top GOP government funding negotiator, accusing her of "trying to give ICE even more power," and saying she "wrote the bill to increase ICE funding with no restrictions."
- It comes on the heels of the Trump administration's decision last week to end an ICE enforcement surge in Maine following a request from Collins.
By the numbers: Maine, a state with fewer than 1.5 million people, is set to hold one of the most expensive Senate races later this year.
- Collins' campaign had more than $8 million cash on hand at the end of 2025, per federal filings. A major GOP super PAC has announced an over $40 million investment in the state to protect her.
- On the Democratic side, progressive Graham Platner is so far out-raising Gov. Janet Mills. Platner raised nearly $8 million last year, while Mills, who only launched her campaign in October, raised $2.6 million.
Driving the news: The killing of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minnesota has Democrats turning up the election-year heat on Republicans over their support of the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.
- Collins negotiated a bipartisan DHS spending bill that would have increased funding for the department by billions without significant new restraints on ICE (although it did include funding for resources like body cameras).
- That measure was tabled last week when senators opted instead to pass a two-week extension of DHS funding as part of a deal between the White House and Democrats to avert a government shutdown.
- Under the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Senate, ICE's funding levels have skyrocketed.
Between the lines: Collins has pushed back against ICE operations in Maine, which holds the only competitive Republican-held Senate seat in a state that Kamala Harris won in the 2024 presidential election.
- Collins cited a conversation with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in announcing on X last week that ICE had ended its enforcement surge in Maine after federal authorities arrested 200 people there.
- She also called for an independent investigation into the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and rejected Noem's characterization of Pretti as engaging in "domestic terrorism."
- And last week, Collins supported an amendment by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to strip billions in ICE funding from Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" and divert it to Medicaid. The amendment ended up failing.
The other side: A memo from the Collins campaign on Sunday derided the attacks on Collins regarding ICE funding as "false" and "intentionally misleading."
- The ad "misrepresents what the bipartisan Homeland Security funding bill would have done, how ICE is funded, and the facts about how Senator Collins worked with her Democratic colleagues to draft new provisions to hold ICE accountable," the memo said.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
