Does Collins already have a challenger in Maine? 'Me,' says former Obama official

October 05, 2018
Washington

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said Friday she will vote to confirm Brett Kavanaughâ€™s Supreme Court nomination, all but ensuring the Senate will elevate the conservative jurist to the nationâ€™s highest court. (Oct. 5)
AP

Will RepublicanÂ Susan Collins of MaineÂ face pushbackÂ after the swing vote senator saidÂ she’llÂ support Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court? Looks like she may already have a Senate challenger.

“Me,” Susan Rice, former President Barack Obama’s National Security Adviser and United Nations Ambassador, tweeted Friday in response to a former White House colleague asking who might challenge Collins in a Senate race.

Collins, who would face re-election in 2020, received criticism from many liberals soon after she announced on the Senate floor that she plans to backÂ Kavanaugh during Saturday’s final vote.

Jen Psaki, former Obama White House communications director, posed the question on social media after Collins’ announcement: “who wants to run for Senate in Maine? there will be an army of supporters with you.”

Rice was quick with her one-word reply.

The post picked up on Twitter, with thousands of shares and likes. Shortly after, the former diplomat tweeted again, clearing up that she wasn’t making an announcement just yet, but left the door open for a run.

Rice said she was “deeply disappointed” with Collins’Â vote, adding “Maine and America deserve better.”

Collins was one of four wavering senators who will be the deciding votes on Kavanaugh’s nomination. Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, andÂ Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, both said Friday they’d back Kavanaugh.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was the only Republican to vote against a procedural vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination Friday, and she later said, “it just may be that in my view heâ€™s not the right man for the court at this time.”

Kavanaugh faces sexual assault accusations from multiple women, all of which he denies.

Follow Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller

Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

9/28/18 12:13:06 PM -- Washington, DC, U.S.A -- Protesters gather at the United States Supreme Court steps while the Senate Judiciary Committee moves to vote on Brett Kavanaugh for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on Sept. 28, 2018 in Washington. -- Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff ORG XMIT: JG 137505 Kavanaugh Protes 9/28 (Via OlyDrop) 9/28/18 9:59:14 AM -- Washington, DC, U.S.A -- Protesters are arrested as they sit and block the 2nd floor Dirksen Senate Office Building hallway on the same floor of the Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Brett Kavanaugh for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on Sept. 28, 2018 in Washington. A woman who said she is a survivor of a sexual assault, right, confronts Republican Senator from Arizona Jeff Flake, left, in an elevator after Flake announced that he vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, DC. Protesters are arrested as they sit and block the 2nd floor Dirksen Senate Office Building hallway on the same floor of the Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Brett Kavanaugh for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on Sept. 28, 2018 in Washington. 9/28/18 9:59:14 AM -- Washington, DC, U.S.A -- Capitol Police block the 2nd floor of the Dirksen Senate Office Building hallway allowing only select individuals into the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room prior to the vote on Brett Kavanaugh for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on Sept. 28, 2018 in Washington. 9/28/18 9:59:14 AM -- Washington, DC, U.S.A -- Protesters are arrested as they sit and block the 2nd floor Dirksen Senate Office Building hallway on the same floor of the Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Brett Kavanaugh for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on Sept. 28, 2018 in Washington.