Ms. Pigette told me she does not know who will win the House or the Senate. “That question is way above my pay grade,” said the smiling statue holding up a mailbox on Route 27 on the way off the Boothbay peninsula. She says she cares about the national polls, but says she is more interested in the Susan Collins/Troy Jackson contest.

“I know I am supposed to be the fountain of knowledge about Maine politics, but the politics of 2026 is not the politics of yesteryear,” she said. “Look, Susan Collins is a political pro. Underneath her endearing and sweet smile is a tough, driven Maine woman who has survived for years on grit, hard work and the skills to navigate the political rocks and shoals of Maine and Washington.”

A “County girl,” Collins began in 1975 as a staffer for Sen. Bill Cohen. She ran for governor in 1996, finishing third after running smack into the double whammy of Independent Angus King and Democrat Joe Brennan. She got back on her horse and, in 1996, challenged Brennan for the Senate, and won (49% to 38%). In the 2002 Senate contest, she easily beat Chellie Pingree (58%to 41%). Six years later, she rolled over Tom Allen (67%-38%). In 2014, she earned a similar victory (68%-31%) over Shenna Bellows, and six years later, she earned her fifth Senate victory with an easy win (51%-42%) over Sara Gideon.

Over the years, she has used the Washington system dubbed “earmarks,” where a Senator can stuff funding for a particular pet project into a big appropriations bill. Along the way, Collins has directed $425 million to 156 projects in Maine. For example, in 2024, she helped Southport fund water improvements with a $3.8 million grant to the Boothbay water district. The next year, she found $8 million that helped pave Route 27 from Boothbay to Edgecomb. Then there was $500,000 to the Boothbay Y child enrichment program, $12.3 million to Bigelow Lab, $1.16 million for Southport’s Hendricks Head repairs, $1.5 million to the Botanical Gardens, and $5 million to Wiscasset’s infrastructure. In earlier years, she arranged funding for a couple of Navy experimental projects for Hodgdon Yachts.

At age 73, she is still rumored to outwork her own staff while attending most community bean suppers from Kittery to Fort Kent. She is a pro.

Her opponent is another “County” resident, Democrat Troy Jackson, a logger and longtime legislator who has served in the state Senate for 13 years, including a term as a majority leader and another as president. After Graham Platner steamrolled the Democratic Party and won the May primary, only to crash and burn after he was accused of improper sexual conduct, Jackson won the nomination in a series of statewide party caucuses. While Collins is a polished political performer, he is not. His debate performances seemed to jump from topic to topic.

Collins and Jackson’s political campaigns have been overshadowed by millions in outside PAC dollars, hinting that both candidates are corrupt. Collins seems to be vulnerable for her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was the key vote to overturn Roe V. Wade, the decision that had permitted women to obtain abortions.

Latest polls from all sources say the two candidates are running even, with both polling at about 49%. But 2026 politics is not pre-2024. National polls say just 36% of the voters approve of Trump’s policies. About 61% disapprove of his presidency. Pollsters say high gas and diesel prices, the war in Iran, and the high cost of living have driven his numbers down.

In recent weeks, he has barnstormed both red and other key states, urging his supporters to pretend he is on the ballot and vote accordingly. How will this request affect the Collins-Jackson race in Maine and on our peninsula?

 I talked to a pair of local Republicans. One, a major Trump supporter, said he didn’t approve of the Iran war, thought it was wrong, but he still supported the president. Another, an academic, said he is fed up with POTUS and will vote for all Democrats as a protest.

Today’s GOP is not the party of Reagan, Bush and Bob Dole. It is the party of Donald J. Trump. But it still has elements of the old guard. Will those traditional Republicans support DJT? Or will they stay home on Election Day? Could they hold their nose and support a (gulp) Democrat?

Pollsters are number crunchers, not soothsayers. No one can foresee the future. Will Collins' long record of service and conventional politics, including bringing buckets of pork back home to Maine, overcome Jackson, the Democrats, and the unconventional (gulp?) antics of the nation’s most unconventional president? No one knows for sure.

Tune in next Tuesday evening to find out. And don’t forget to vote.