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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Trump called 2020 Senate candidate <keyword id="13758419" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sara-gideon" source="Orion">Sara Gideon</keyword> "very attractive," according to a new book.</li><li>"Not that I've looked at a woman that way in five years—five years at least," he added. </li></ul>President <keyword id="11914386" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="donald-trump" source="Orion">Donald Trump</keyword> called 2020 Democratic Senate candidate Sara Gideon "very attractive" in meeting, adding, "not that I've looked at a woman that way in five years," according to a forthcoming book by two New York Times reporters. Authors Jonathan Martins and Alexander Burns detail Trump's involvement in downballot races and 2020 meetings with party leaders in their forthcoming book "<keyword id="13439817" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="this-will-not-pass" source="Orion">This Will Not Pass</keyword>," which Insider obtained ahead of its May 3 release.Then-Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, they wrote, tried to avoid bringing up races where Trump disliked the Republican incumbent, like GOP Sen. <keyword id="12232369" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="susan-collins" source="Orion">Susan Collins</keyword> of Maine, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-gop-effort-repeal-obamacare-fails-n787311">who openly criticized and broke with Trump on key issues during his presidency. </a>But in "several meetings" with Senate Republicans and campaign strategists, Trump "could not resist weighing in with what he might call locker room talk" about Gideon, "the telegenic Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives," the book said. "Sara Gideon — very attractive. Very attractive," Trump said on one occasion, according to the book, before adding: "not that I've looked at a woman that way in five years—five years at least."Trump has been married to his third wife, former first lady Melania Trump, since 2005. He has denied allegations that he <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/23/596257288/former-playboy-model-spills-alleged-affair-details-trump-tried-to-pay-her">had an affair with former Playboy model Karen McDougal</a> from 2006 to 2007 and that he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stormy-daniels-said-trump-told-her-she-was-just-like-his-daughter-2018-1">had sex with adult film actress Stormy Daniels</a> in 2006. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-accused-trump-sexual-misconduct-list-2017-12">At least 26 women</a> have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, including assault, since the 1970s.In the meetings, Trump would "veer back and forth between edicts of intimidation" against Republicans he saw as disloyal and "playing the class clown to a chortling audience," the authors wrote. One frequent target of Trump's broadsides was former Arizona Sen. Martha McSally, who Trump, according to the book, called "a horrible candidate," adding, "no one likes her."Gideon ran a high-profile campaign against Collins, who has represented Maine in the Senate since 1997, hoping to capitalize on mounting liberal anger against Collins — and particularly over her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.Despite Gideon <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary?cycle=2020&amp;id=MES2">significantly outraising and outspending Collins</a>, bringing in an eye-popping $74 million for her campaign and spending over $62 million, the incumbent was decisively reelected by over eight percentage points – even as President Joe Biden easily carried the state in the presidential race. Representatives for Trump did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.

Trump called Susan Collins' 2020 Democratic challenger 'very attractive,' joking, 'not that I've looked at a woman that way in five years': book

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="4719651" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="sara-gideon">Sara Gideon</keyword>, the former <keyword id="144960" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Maine">Maine</keyword> House Speaker who ran a failed race against Maine Republican Sen. <keyword id="226593" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Susan-Collins">Susan Collins</keyword>, has more than $14 million in unused campaign funds following her loss, <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/2020/12/04/gideons-conundrum-what-to-do-with-all-that-extra-money/">CQ Roll Call</a> reported.</li><li>Gideon becomes one of a number of failed candidates who were successful in raising funds for their bids for office but were ultimately unsuccessful in winning their races.</li><li>In comparison, Jamie Harrison, who unsuccessfully challenged South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, had just $840,000 left on hand following his loss, according to the report.</li></ul>Sara Gideon, the Democrat who this year ran an unsuccessful challenge to Main Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, still has more than $14 million in unused campaign funds on hand, according to <a href="https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/494/202012049351991494/202012049351991494.pdf]">campaign finance records</a> first reported by <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/2020/12/04/gideons-conundrum-what-to-do-with-all-that-extra-money/">CQ Roll Call</a>.According to the Friday report, campaign finance expressed said the amount - $14.8 million - was atypical following a race. "That is an extremely large amount of money to have left over after a campaign, but there is only so much money you can spend in a state like Maine given the number and size of its media markets," Democratic campaign finance lawyer Brett Kappel told CQ Roll Call.While Gideon had shown promising signs during the campaign of ousting Collins, a longtime Republican senator, the incumbent ultimately <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maine-senate-race-susan-collins-vs-sara-gideon-fundraising-polls-2020-8">won her bid for reelection securing 51% of the vote to Gideon's 42%</a>.It's unclear how Gideon, the former speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, plans to use the remaining funds, according to the report. Gideon did not immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider on Sunday afternoon.In a press release last week, <a href="https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/outreach/gideon-donates-350000-to-maine-charities-with-leftover-campaign-funds/97-5bd6bfad-e769-439a-9790-3319d61b6e6a">Gideon announced she'd be donating a fraction - $350,000 - of the unspent fund to two Maine charities: Full Plates, Full Potential and Keep ME Warm.</a>"Full Plates, Full Potential and Keep ME Warm work every day to help Maine families through this difficult time, and I'm proud to support them," she said in the <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> release. "I've always believed that public service is about making a difference and improving the lives of people in your community. Helping Maine people is what inspired me to run for office and it's what continues to guide me today."Other failed 2020 hopefuls also raised record funds to lackluster results.Jamie Harrison, the Democrat who unsuccessfully challenged Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham for his South Carolina seat, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jaime-harrison-lindsey-graham-south-carolina-senate-fundraising-record-2020-10">raised a record $57 million in fundraising in the last quarter of the race</a>, as Politico reported in October.Harrison beat a record previously held by former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who raised some $38.1 million in the third quarter during his failed 2018 challenge to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, according to a previous Business Insider report. Following the election, Harrison had just $840,000 cash remaining on hand - more than 17 times less than what remained for Gideon, despite his raising more than 130 million during the course of the race.Republicans this year have also spent large sums of money to similarly disappointing results. President Donald Trump's campaign for re-election spent $3 million for a vote recount in Wisconsin's largest county as part of his continued, baseless effort to overturn the election results in his favor. Following the pricey recount, President-elect Joe Biden <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-paid-3m-for-wisconsin-recount-increased-bidens-victory-margin-2020-11">increased his lead over Trump in the county by some 132 votes. </a>Former Arizona Sen. Martha McSally, a Republican, reported having nearly $6.8 million left unspent following her loss, and John James, a Republican who ran a failed US Senate campaign in Michigan, had $2.5 million left over, according to the CQ Roll Call.According to the report, Gideon can use the remaining funds for a number of purposes, including charitable donations, transferring an unlimited number of funds to Democratic Party committees, and donations to candidates for office that fall within campaign finance limits.Gideon has already donated in the two Georgia runoff Senate races, the report said.

Susan Collins' failed challenger Sara Gideon still has more than $14 million in unused campaign funds

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="144960" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Maine">Maine</keyword> is holding congressional primary elections on Tuesday, July 14. </li><li>Three candidates are vying for the Republican nomination to face Rep. Jared Golden in Maine's second district, a top battleground district Democrats won back in 2018.</li><li>Maine uses a ranked-choice voting system, meaning that the race could go to an additional ranked-choice runoff between the top two candidates if no one earns a majority of the vote outright. </li></ul>Polls closed at 8 p.m. Eastern Time in Maine. <h2>The races:</h2><keyword id="4719651" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="sara-gideon">Sara Gideon</keyword>, the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/maine-speaker-drowns-rivals-bid-164806644.html">easily defeated her opponents</a>, lawyer Bre Kidman and activist Betsy Sweet, to clinch the Democratic nomination for US <keyword id="6355284" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="senate">Senate</keyword> to face GOP Sen. Susan Collins in the fall.The race between Collins, a four-term Senator, and Gideon, is expected one of the most competitive races of 2020 that will determine which party controls the chamber. There's also a competitive Republican primary in Maine's second congressional district to face Rep. Jared Golden, a former state legislator and US Marine veteran who defeated a Republican to flip the seat to Democratic control in the 2018 midterm elections. Maine's second district, which occupies most of the state's geographical landmass and is heavily rural and working-class, flipped from voting for former President Barack Obama by 9 percentage points in 2012 to vote for President Donald Trump by 10 points in 2016. In addition to winning the seat back for Democrats, Golden was also the first member of the House elected with Maine's relatively <a href="https://legislature.maine.gov/lawlibrary/ranked-choice-voting-in-maine/9509">new ranked-choice voting system for federal elections.</a>In most US elections, a voter only casts a vote for one candidate on their ballot, and the candidate who earns the most votes wins outright.But in Maine's system, voters rank all the candidates on the ballot based on the order of their preferences. If no candidate earns over 50% of the vote outright, the lowest-performing candidate is eliminated, and the race goes to a ranked-choice runoff. For voters whose first-choice candidates did not advance, ballots are re-tallied and those voters' second-choice selections are redistributed until a candidate earns a majority of the vote. State Senator Eric Brakey, former Maine State Representative and Lisbon, ME town councilmember Dale Crafts, and Adrienne Bennett, a realtor who previously served as press secretary to former GOP Gov. Paul LePage, <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Maine%27s_2nd_Congressional_District_election,_2020_(July_14_Republican_primary)">are the Republican candidates</a> vying for the nomination to face Golden. A <a href="https://bangordailynews.com/2020/07/08/politics/poll-gives-dale-crafts-edge-in-gop-primary-in-maines-2nd-district/">poll of the race conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of FairVote</a> showed Crafts in the lead over his opponents, with 37% of likely Republican primary voters indicating they would pick Crafts as their first choice followed by Bennett at 25%, Brakey at 19%, and 19% undecided. The race between Golden and the eventual Republican nominee will be a hotly-contested one. Election handicappers including <a href="https://cookpolitical.com/ratings/house-race-ratings">the Cook Political Report</a> and <a href="http://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/2020-house/">Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia</a> have rated the race as a tossup <a href="https://insideelections.com/ratings/house">while Inside Elections</a> rates it as leaning Democratic.Maine's second district <a href="http://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/the-electoral-college-maine-and-nebraskas-crucial-battleground-votes/">also plays an important role in the electoral college</a>, and will receive a significant amount of attention in the presidential race. Maine, along with Nebraska, allocates its electoral college votes proportionally, with two allocated based on the statewide results and each congressional district accounting for one electoral college vote.In the electoral college, Maine's second district is rated as a tossup by <a href="https://cookpolitical.com/sites/default/files/2020-07/EC%20070720.pdf">the Cook Political Report,</a> tilt Republican by <a href="https://insideelections.com/ratings/president">Inside Elections,</a> and lean Republican by <a href="http://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/2020-president/">Sabato's Crystal Ball.</a>

LIVE UPDATES: Sara Gideon secures the Democratic nomination to face Sen. Susan Collins in Maine

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Republican Sen. Susan Collins is projected to defeat state House Speaker Sara Gideon, according to Insider and Decision Desk HQ.</li><li>For decades Collins has cultivated a unique political brand as an independent, moderate, New England Republican.</li><li>See the live coverage and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-senate-election-results">full results from the US Senate elections</a>.</li></ul>Republican Sen. Susan Collins fended off a tough reelection challenge from state House Speaker Sara Gideon, according to projections from Insider and Decision Desk HQ.Collins led Gideon with 50.9% of the vote on Wednesday. Gideon called Collins to concede early Wednesday afternoon.<h2>The candidates</h2>For decades Collins has cultivated a unique political brand as an independent, moderate, New England Republican who was supportive of abortion access and LGBTQ rights. In 2019, the <a href="https://www.thelugarcenter.org/ourwork-Bipartisan-Index.html">Lugar Center at Georgetown University</a> rated her the most bipartisan senator in the 116th Congress.For most of her career, Collins enjoyed high approval ratings from her constituents for her strong bipartisan record in the Senate, and she was easily reelected in 2002, 2008, and 2014.But <keyword id="3828720" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="President-Donald-Trump">President Donald Trump</keyword>'s winning in 2016 and taking over the GOP mantle made it much more difficult for Collins to thread the needle between being a member of the Republican Party and maintaining her highly specialized brand of bipartisan <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword>.While Collins broke with the party to vote against repealing the Affordable Care Act in 2017, she infuriated some Democrats by voting to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.Gideon, a four-term state representative, easily consolidated the Democratic field and proved to be a prolific fundraiser, substantially outraising Collins in 2020's most recent fundraising quarter. When she formally clinched the nomination on July 14, she received a $4 million windfall that activists had raised to support Collins' eventual Democratic opponent.Two independent candidates, Lisa Savage and Max Linn, were also running in the Senate race.Maine uses a ranked-choice voting system, where voters rank all the candidates in order of preference. Voters' second choices can be counted in a ranked-choice runoff if no candidate earns over 50% of the vote outright and their first choice was not one of the top two vote-getters.<h2>The stakes</h2>In addition to winning back the White House, regaining control of the Senate for the first time since 2015 is a top priority for Democrats and would help deliver on Joe Biden's policy goals or thwart Trump's second-term agenda.The Senate is made up of 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and two independents who caucus with Democrats, meaning Democrats need to win back a net total of four seats to have a 51-seat majority. (If Biden wins, his vice president would also serve as president of the Senate and would be a tie-breaking vote.)The Senate also recently underwent a high-stakes confirmation battle to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died at age 87 from pancreatic cancer on September 18, with Judge Amy Coney Barrett.Ginsburg's death threw a stick of dynamite into an already supercharged election shaped by a pandemic that has killed over 230,000 Americans.The Supreme Court opening put Collins in a bind after the immense political hit she took from voting to confirm Kavanaugh. She ended up being the sole Republican <a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-senate-elections-susan-collins-9876f49d447741e282a4d965f3652f80">to vote against confirming Barrett</a>.In mid-October, Trump attacked her in a tweet for expressing a belief that the Senate shouldn't confirm a Supreme Court nominee before an election, calling her "not worth the work."Collins is no stranger to winning split-ticket crossover votes. In the past two general elections where she was also up f0r reelection, 1996 and 2008, she won her election by double digits, though Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama carried Maine in the Electoral College.But 2020 was the biggest test yet of whether Collins could separate herself from Trump's increasingly toxic brand and worsening ratings of his handling of the COVID-19 crisis — not to mention some of her own most controversial votes.Collins emphasized that she hadn't changed her approach to legislating or become a far-right partisan but rather the political world around her had gotten substantially more toxic and divisive. But she still found herself in between a rock and a hard place by trying to appeal to both sides.A poll conducted by <a href="https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/az-me-nc-0920-crosstabs/72d074246b272695/full.pdf">The New York Times and Siena College</a> in mid-September found that voters overwhelmingly disapproved of her votes to confirm Kavanaugh and not to impeach Trump but largely approved of her vote against repealing the ACA. In the poll, 49% of voters said they thought she supported Trump too much, while 38% said she supported Trump "about the right amount."<h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-senate-election-results">See Insider's full guide to the race for the US Senate here »</a></h3><h2>The money race</h2>Gideon both massively outraised and outspent Collins, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary?cycle=2020&amp;id=MES2&amp;spec=Np;spec=N">according to the Center for Responsive Politics</a>, with the candidates raising a combined $93.6 million.Gideon raised an eye-popping $69.5 million, spent $48.8 million, and had $20.6 million in cash on hand, <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S0ME00111/?cycle=2020&amp;election_full=falsealse">campaign-finance records showed</a>. Meanwhile, Collins raised $24.1 million, spent $22.3 million, and had $4.4 million in cash on hand by the end of 2020's third quarter on September 30.In 2020's third fundraising quarter, Gideon <a href="https://bangordailynews.com/2020/10/17/politics/maines-us-senate-race-has-attracted-so-much-money-that-its-hard-to-spend-it/">brought in a $39.4 million haul</a> compared with just $8.3 million raised for Collins. Gideon's fundraising performance made her one of three Democratic Senate candidates — along with Mark Kelly in Arizona and Jaime Harrison in South Carolina — to break the quarterly fundraising record for Senate campaigns set by Texas' Beto O'Rourke in 2018.<h2>What the polling said</h2>Gideon led Collins in all but one public poll released this year, <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/senate/maine/">according to FiveThirtyEight's polling tracker</a>.The most recent poll, <a href="https://bangordailynews.com/2020/10/29/politics/sara-gideon-susan-collins-nearly-tied-in-poll-finding-ranked-choice-voting-helps-democrats/">conducted by SurveyUSA</a>, found Gideon leading Collins by 2 points in a head-to-head matchup, 51% to 49%, among likely voters. A recent survey <a href="http://www.colby.edu/government/2020-polling/">conducted by Colby College</a> found Gideon leading Collins by 4 points, 45% to 41%, among likely voters.A <a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/7214149/MaineCrosstabs.pdf">Suffolk University poll</a> conducted from September 17 to 20 found Gideon leading Collins by 7 points, 49% to 42%. And a <a href="https://twitter.com/Nate_Cohn/status/1306901222843187200">New York Times/Siena College poll</a> conducted from September 11 to 16 found Gideon ahead by 5 points, 49% to 45%.<h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-election-results">See the live coverage and full results from the US presidential election »</a></h3>

GOP Sen. Susan Collins wins reelection against Democrat Sara Gideon in Maine

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6354862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trump" source="Orion">Trump</keyword> called Collins "absolutely atrocious," while claiming responsibility for her 2020 victory.</li><li>He said she "didn't help the fisherman" or "the lumberjacks" in <keyword id="11916587" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="maine" source="Orion">Maine</keyword>.</li></ul><keyword id="12095641" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="former-president-donald-trump" source="Orion">Former President Donald Trump</keyword> tore into Republican Sen. <keyword id="12232369" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="susan-collins" source="Orion">Susan Collins</keyword> on Monday after The New York Times reported the Maine lawmaker was helping to recruit anti-Trump Republican candidates to run for Senate."Funny thing about Susan Collins, who is absolutely atrocious, and has been for a long time," Trump said at the start of his statement.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/13/us/politics/mcconnell-trump-primaries-midterms.html">The Times reported on Sunday</a> that Collins was working with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to woo candidates like Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, a prominent anti-Trump figure in the party who <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hogan-republicans-still-trying-to-re-litigate-the-last-election-2022-2">recently declined to challenge</a> Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen."No one should be afraid of President Trump, period," Collins told The Times. She won in 2020 without endorsing Trump and has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2021/05/02/sotu-collins-trump-vote.cnn">declined to say whom she voted for</a>. Trump, for his part, endorsed Collins, <a href="https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/politics/despite-recent-opposition-trump-hopes-collins-does-well-in-senate-race/97-b699ca29-907b-4299-9a8c-48be48452066">telling reporters in September 2020</a>: "I hope she does well."More broadly, The Times reported McConnell hoped to diminish Trump's influence in the party, in part to avoid what he called "goofballs" from costing Republicans otherwise winnable Senate races.The former president pointed out that he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maine-presidential-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020">won Maine's 2nd Congressional District</a>, earning him one of the state's four Electoral College votes. Trump also said he remained silent on "the fisherman" and "the lumberjacks," saying Collins would have lost if he'd raised these issues."Just one word about her and the fact that she didn't help the fisherman, as their rights were taken from them from the federal government, and the lumberjacks, she would have had no chance to win," Trump said in his statement. "But I remained silent and positive and allowed her to have her victory."Trump added: "She would have lost in a landslide. Gee, aren't I nice?"It wasn't clear what Trump was referring to, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/594130-trump-says-he-could-have-ousted-atrocious-susan-collins-in-2020">though The Hill reported</a> that the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule to give Maine's fishing industry more time to adopt cleaner engines while Trump was president. He also issued a memo to the Department of Agriculture directing it to review financial aid to lobstermen who were financially affected by his trade war with China. Collins supported both measures, according to The Hill.Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment and clarification.The former president's comments on Collins' performance in 2020 are belied by the fact that she <a href="https://www.politico.com/2020-election/results/maine/">outperformed him statewide by over 56,000 votes</a>, winning her Senate race against Sara Gideon, a well-funded challenger, by over 8.5 percentage points, while Trump lost to President Joe Biden by over 9 percentage points.Reached for comment, Annie Clark, Collins' communications director, pointed out that the lawmaker won in Maine even though her party's presidential nominee lost the state. That's "something she has done three times, the only sitting senator to do so," Clark said.

Trump calls Sen. Susan Collins 'absolutely atrocious' after she says 'no one should be afraid' of him

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A former US <keyword id="11896866" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="senate" source="Orion">Senate</keyword> candidate was accused of pointing a <keyword id="12025368" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gun" source="Orion">gun</keyword> at an ex-staffer, The <a href="https://bangordailynews.com/2021/10/07/politics/former-maine-us-senate-candidate-accused-of-pointing-gun-at-man-over-crypto-dispute-nl5mxicv54/">Bangor Daily News</a> reported.</li><li>Matt McDonald alleged in an application for a protection order that <keyword id="12266450" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="max-linn" source="Orion">Max Linn</keyword> threatened him during an argument about cryptocurrency.</li></ul>Max Linn, a former US Senate candidate from <keyword id="11916587" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="maine" source="Orion">Maine</keyword>, has been accused of pointing a gun at a former campaign staffer during an argument over buying bogus COVID-19 drugs from Indonesia with cryptocurrency. The <a href="https://bangordailynews.com/2021/10/07/politics/former-maine-us-senate-candidate-accused-of-pointing-gun-at-man-over-crypto-dispute-nl5mxicv54/">Bangor Daily News</a> reported that Matt McDonald, a former assistant on Linn's 2018 and 2020 Senate campaigns, filed an application Wednesday in Hancock County District Court for a protection-from-harassment order against Linn.According to the report, the complaint states that Linn gave McDonald money in the middle of 2021 to invest in cryptocurrency. After Linn returned from a trip to Indonesia with his wife, the complaint says, he told McDonald that he wanted to use the cryptocurrency to buy drugs from that country that falsely claim to treat COVID-19.McDonald alleges in the complaint that Linn pointed a gun at him when they met up to resolve the dispute, The Daily <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">News</keyword> reported. McDonald told the court that he spent weeks making sure his family was safe after the altercation with Linn, and applied for the protection order on the advice of police. A judge granted an order of protection to McDonald on Wednesday and ordered Linn not to contact him, according to the Daily News. The next hearing on the order is scheduled for November 17."I went to court because I believe my family could be in danger," McDonald told the newspaper.Insider's attempts to reach McDonald were unsuccessful. Linn ran a failed campaign against Republican Sen. Susan Collins in 2020. Linn ran as an independent and finished last in the race behind Collins, Democrat Sara Gideon, and another independent, Lisa Savage. Linn gained notoriety during the race for his antics at a debate where moderators repeatedly asked him to stick to the topic.In an interview with Insider, Linn's attorney, Steve Juskewich, denied that the former candidate ever pointed a gun at McDonald.When asked about McDonald's allegation that Linn wanted to buy Indonesian drugs, Juskewich said, "I can confirm that's not true."Juskewich said Linn initially lent $225,000 to McDonald for him to invest in cryptocurrency. The value of the cryptocurrency has grown to $400,000 since McDonald invested it, Juskewich added, further alleging that McDonald used the application for a protection order to distract people from the cryptocurrency dispute."Mr. McDonald's intention to steal Mr. Linn's money is becoming clearer by the moment," he said. Juskewich says that he is still in communication with McDonald about transferring access to the cryptocurrency to Linn, but they haven't come to an agreement.

Failed Susan Collins challenger accused of pointing a gun at a campaign staffer during argument over buying bogus COVID-19 drugs with crypto

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="6355946" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="fbi">FBI</keyword> is investigating whether Sen. <keyword id="226593" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Susan-Collins">Susan Collins</keyword>' 2020 reelection received illegal funding.</li><li>Prosecutors accused a naval contractor of funneling cash into a pro-Collins super PAC.</li><li>Regulations make it illegal for government contractors to donate to <keyword id="921298" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Super-PACs">super PACs</keyword>.</li></ul>The FBI is looking into possible illegal donations funneled into a 2020 reelection fund for Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.Prosecutors are accusing the naval contractor Martin Kao - who Collins once helped - of illegally funding her 2020 reelection campaign.According to a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20744899-navatek-search-warrant">warrant</a> seen by Insider that was filed in April, FBI investigators accused Kao of moving $150,000 into the 1820 PAC, a Collins-linked super PAC, through illicit means.Super PACs are a type of political action committee that can raise and spend unlimited sums of money on political candidates. By law, <a href="https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/taking-receipts-political-party/who-can-and-cant-contribute-party-committee/#:~:text=Federal%20government%20contractors%20are%20prohibited,government%20contract%20would%20be%20prohibited.">government contractors cannot donate to super PACs</a>.<a href="https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2021/05/13/former-ceo-hawaii-company-accused-virus-loan-fraud-pleads-not-guilty/">Until November</a>, Kao was the head of Navatek, a research-and-development company that works with the Department of Defense and other government agencies and has since changed its name to <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/09/25/2099383/0/en/Navatek-Unveils-New-Vision-and-New-Name-Martin-Defense-Group.html"></a><a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/09/25/2099383/0/en/Navatek-Unveils-New-Vision-and-New-Name-Martin-Defense-Group.html">Martin Defense Group</a>.According to Axios, Collins once helped Navatek <a href="https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/senator-collins-joins-celebration-8-million-navy-contract-awarded-navatek-portland">clinch an $8 million naval research contract</a> to develop technology for faster, safer boats. This took place in July 2019, before most of the donations were made.<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-18/fbi-probes-campaign-donations-to-u-s-senator-susan-collins?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=bd&amp;cmpId=googled=google">Bloomberg</a> reports that Martin Defense Group has offices in Maine, where Collins <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maine-senate-race-susan-collins-vs-sara-gideon-fundraising-polls-2020-8">won reelection</a> last year for the fifth time, against the Democrat <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sara-gideon-14-million-in-unused-campaign-funds-2020-12">Sara Gideon</a>.The FBI affidavit says Kao and his wife, Tiffany Jennifer Lam, set up a company called the Society for Young Women Scientists and Engineers - a shell company thought to have been used to funnel money into the 1820 PAC. Kao is said to have done so by having Navatek write the shell company a $150,000 check, which was then given to the super PAC.The FBI further alleged in documents appended to the search warrant that between June and September 2019, Kao's bank records indicate he reimbursed family members who made donations to Collins' reelection campaign. At the same time, Navatek is also said to have refunded any of Kao's colleagues who made financial contributions to Collins.Known as <a href="https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/what-are-straw-donor-schemes-81817/">straw donations</a>, these are illegal means that some donors use to circumvent campaign contribution limits by sending in funds on behalf of other people.The warrant application quoted an email exchange between Kao and the senator's finance director, which said: "If you have friends or family members that would be willing to donate please don't hesitate to send them my way."Annie Clark, a spokeswoman for Collins, told Axios over email: "The Collins for Senator campaign had absolutely no knowledge of anything alleged in the warrant."Kao is facing other legal issues; the US Department of Justice in September charged him with <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/hawaii-ceo-charged-covid-relief-fraud">coronavirus-relief fraud</a>. Prosecutors alleged then that Kao received more than $12.8 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans by filing false claims. He was charged with two counts of bank fraud, and five counts of money laundering.

The FBI is investigating a possible scheme to illegally fund Sen. Susan Collins' 2020 reelection in Maine

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Democrats' chances of taking back the US <keyword id="6355284" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="senate">Senate</keyword>, in Republican hands since 2015, now look slim. </li><li>Their path to the majority now hinges on winning two runoff elections in Georgia on January 5, 2021. </li><li>Democrats flipped seats in Colorado and Arizona, but failed to make gains in Alaska, Iowa, Montana, Maine, North Carolina, and Texas.</li><li>As of November 11, Decision Desk HQ projects Republicans control 50 seats and Democrats, 48.</li><li>The Senate is made up of 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and two Independents who caucus with Democrats, meaning Democrats needed to win back four to five seats.</li><li>Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the presidential election, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-wins-general-election-against-donald-trump-2020-11">Insider and Decision Desk HQ projected on November 6</a>.</li></ul>President-elect <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-wins-general-election-against-donald-trump-2020-11">Joe Biden won the 2020 election</a> thanks to a big victory in Pennsylvania, Insider and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-ddhq-and-business-insider-called-the-election-for-biden-2020-11">Decision Desk HQ</a> projected on November 6.But Democrats' chances of regaining the majority in the Senate — held by the GOP for the past five years — now hinge on a pair of races in Georgia. In order to resume control of the Senate, Democrats must win two runoff elections in the state on January 5, 2021.As of November 11, Republicans control 50 Senate seats, and Democrats control 48, according to Insider and Decision Desk HQ projections. Democrats have retained Sen. Gary Peters' seat in Michigan and flipped the Senate seat in Colorado currently held by Republican Cory Gardner. Democrat Mark Kelly has also won the special election in Arizona for the late Sen. John McCain's seat, defeating Sen. Martha McSally. He will serve the rest of McCain's term until 2022. But Democrats failed to oust incumbents in Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Montana, North Carolina, and Texas, and lost Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama to the Republicans.With the odds of Democrats winning an outright majority in the chamber looking increasingly slim, their most likely path to reach a 50-vote tie with Republicans is to flip both Senate seats in Georgia. Then, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who would preside over the Senate, could cast a tie-breaker vote.<h2>Both Georgia Senate races go to January 2021 runoffs</h2>According to Georgia state law, an election goes to a runoff between the top two vote-getters, if neither candidate wins over 50% of the vote. This year, none of the candidates received a majority in the regularly-scheduled Senate election between first-term Republican David Perdue and Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff. The same thing happened in a special jungle election for Georgia's other Senate seat, which is currently held by Republican appointee Kelly Loeffler. Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Loeffler to her Senate seat in late 2019 to replace Sen. Jonny Isakson.The wealthy businesswoman competed with a slew of other candidates on November 3, and will now face off against Democratic Pastor Raphael Warnock to serve out the rest of Isakson's term until 2022, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kelly-loeffler-vs-doug-collins-georgia-senate-election-polls-fundraising-2020-8">Decision Desk HQ projected.</a>Set to take place on the first Tuesday in January, the Georgia runoff elections will determine control of the Senate for years to come and are likely to draw millions in outside spending. The presidential race in Georgia between President Donald Trump and Biden is currently too close to call, with Biden ahead of Trump <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-election-results">as of November 10</a>.Here are some highlights of the results:<h2>Sen. Dan Sullivan kept his seat in Alaska</h2>Sullivan fended off a challenge from Independent candidate Al Gross, who would have caucused with Democrats.<h2>Sen. Gary Peters won reelection in Michigan</h2>Peters defeated Republican challenger John James, who also unsuccessfully ran against Michigan's senior Senator Debbie Stabenow to keep Democratic hopes in the Senate alive. <h2>Susan Collins held on to her longtime seat in Maine</h2>Following state House Speaker Sara Gideon's <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesArkin/status/1324051536620720132?s=20">concession</a>, Collins is projected to have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maine-senate-race-susan-collins-vs-sara-gideon-fundraising-polls-2020-8">won reelection for a fifth term</a>, the closest election of her entire career. <h2>Former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock failed to unseat Republican incumbent Steve Daines</h2>Bullock forced a highly competitive race in Montana — a reliably red state at the presidential level — but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-bullock-vs-steve-daines-montana-election-polls-fundraising-2020-8">could not overtake Daines</a> for the Senate seat.<h2>Joni Ernst fended off Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield in Iowa</h2>Ernst, an Army veteran, was first elected to the Senate in 2014 as part of a GOP wave. She faced a much tougher race against Democratic nominee Greenfield to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joni-ernst-vs-theresa-greenfield-election-polls-fundraising-2020-7">secure a second term</a>.<h2>Trump ally Lindsey Graham held on despite a tough race </h2>Democrat Jaime Harrison put up a formidable fight in South Carolina, narrowly outpacing Graham in fundraising and tying polls leading up to the election. But as one of the most high-profile Republican Senators in the chamber, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lindsey-graham-vs-jaime-harrison-south-carolina-senate-polls-fundraising-2020">Graham managed to pull out the win</a> in this historically Republican state.<h2>Republican incumbent John Cornyn won in a close call </h2>Cornyn was first elected in 2002 and has served in a number of positions in Senate leadership on behalf of a historically deep-red state. He <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/john-cornyn-vs-mj-hegar-texas-senate-election-fundraising-polls-2020">secured a fourth term in the Senate</a> by a narrow margin against Democratic challenger MJ Hegar.<h2>Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper defeated Republican Cory Gardner in Colorado</h2>Hickenlooper, a former two-term governor and Denver mayor, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/colorado-senate-cory-gardner-vs-john-hickenlooper-polls-fundraising-2020-8">unseated Gardner in Democrats' first flip</a> of a Senate seat and the only one to be called on election night. <h2>Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell defeated Democrat Amy McGrath in Kentucky</h2>McConnell is one of the most high-profile politicians in the country and one of the most reviled among Democrats, helping McGrath raise an eye-popping $90 million for her campaign. However, despite McConnell's unpopularity among Democrats and her own strong fundraising, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mitch-mcconnell-vs-amy-mcgrath-kentucky-senate-election-2020">McGrath was unable to topple the majority leader</a>, who has held his Senate seat since 1986.Democrats taking back the Senate majority would be a significant achievement toward delivering on Biden's ambitious policy goals.For Republicans, controlling the chamber for the past five years has allowed the party to confirm hundreds of conservative judges, including many younger ones, to lifetime appointments on the federal judiciary.<h2>Here are the key Senate races of 2020</h2><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alabama-senate-race-doug-jones-vs-tommy-tuberville-polls-fundraising-2020-8">Alabama Senate:</a> Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, who won a 2017 special election in a major upset, lost in his tough reelection fight against former college football coach Tommy Tuberville.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alaska-us-senate-election-preview-dan-sullivan-vs-al-gross-2020-9"></a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alaska-us-senate-election-preview-dan-sullivan-vs-al-gross-2020-9">Alaska Senate:</a> First-term Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan is facing a more competitive than expected reelection challenge from Al Gross, an Independent who would caucus with Democrats if elected.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-senate-race-martha-mcsally-vs-mark-kelly-polls-fundraising-2020-8">Arizona Senate special</a>: Republican Martha McSally, who was appointed to the seat in late 2018, lost in a competitive special election against Democrat Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, and gun-violence-prevention advocate. This was her second Senate election loss in two years. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arkansas-senate-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020">Arkansas Senate</a>: First-term Republican Sen. Tom Cotton was elected to a second term without any Democratic opposition.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/colorado-senate-cory-gardner-vs-john-hickenlooper-polls-fundraising-2020-8">Colorado Senate</a>: Republican Cory Gardner lost his bid for a second term against former two-term Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper. Colorado has trended from a purple state to a reliably Democratic one in recent years, making this seat one of the most likely to flip.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/delaware-senate-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020">Delaware Senate</a>: Democrat Chris Coons defeated Republican challenger Lauren Witzke.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/georgia-senate-race-david-perdue-vs-jon-ossoff-polls-fundraising-2020-8">Georgia Senate, regular</a>: Republican David Perdue is headed to a January 5, 2021 runoff to earn a second term against Democrat Jon Ossoff, who is mounting a formidable campaign in a state trending toward Democrats.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kelly-loeffler-vs-doug-collins-georgia-senate-election-polls-fundraising-2020-8">Georgia Senate, special</a>: Republican Kelly Loeffler was appointed to replace Sen. Jonny Isakson, who retired in late 2019 because of health concerns. She ran in a jungle special election with candidates of all parties on the ballot and will face Democrat Raphael Warnock also in a January 5, 2021 runoff. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/idaho-senate-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020">Idaho Senate:</a> Republican Sen. Jim Risch won a third term against Democratic challenger Paulette Jordan.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/illinois-us-senate-preview-dick-durbin-vs-mark-curran-2020-9">Illinois Senate</a>: Democrat Dick Durbin won a fifth term against Republican Mark Curran.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joni-ernst-vs-theresa-greenfield-election-polls-fundraising-2020-7">Iowa Senate</a>: First-term Republican Sen. Joni Ernst won her competitive fight for a second term against Democrat Theresa Greenfield.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/roger-marshall-vs-barbara-boiler-kansas-senate-race-polls-fundraising-2020-8">Kansas Senate</a>: Republican Rep. Roger Marshall defeated Democratic state Sen. Barbara Bollier for the open Kansas Senate seat vacated by retiring Sen. Pat Roberts.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mitch-mcconnell-vs-amy-mcgrath-kentucky-senate-election-2020">Kentucky Senate:</a> Democrat Amy McGrath lost her bid to challenge Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, a race that attracted millions in outside spending but stayed in Republican hands.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisiana-senate-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020">Louisiana Senate:</a> First-term Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy won a second term against a bevy of challengers in both parties.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maine-senate-race-susan-collins-vs-sara-gideon-fundraising-polls-2020-8">Maine Senate</a>: Longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins won her tough reelection fight against Democrat Sara Gideon, the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/massachusetts-senate-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020">Massachusetts Senate</a>: First-term Democratic Sen. Ed Markey won a second term against Republican Kevin O'Connor.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gary-peters-vs-john-james-michigan-senate-polls-fundraising-2020-8">Michigan Senate</a>: First-term Democratic Sen. Gary Peters won a second term, defeating Republican John James in a competitive race. Peters, along with Jones, is one of just two Democratic senators who ran for reelection in a state won by Trump in 2016.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mississippi-senate-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020">Mississippi Senate</a>: First-term Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith defeated Democrat Mike Espy in a rematch of the 2018 special runoff election that she won by 7.2 percentage points.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-bullock-vs-steve-daines-montana-election-polls-fundraising-2020-8">Montana Senate</a>: First-term Republican Steve Daines staved off a tough challenge for a second term from former Montana attorney general and two-term Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nebraska-senate-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020">Nebraska Senate:</a> First-term Republican Sen. Ben Sasse defended his seat against Democratic challenger Chris Janicek.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-jersey-senate-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020-10">New Jersey Senate</a>: Former Democratic presidential candidate and current Sen. Cory Booker won a third term against political newcomer Rik Mehta.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/thom-tillis-vs-cal-cunningham-north-carolina-election-polls-fundraising-2020-7">North Carolina Senate</a>: First-term Republican Sen. Thom Tillis faced off against former state Sen. Cal Cunningham and was reelected in one of the most competitive and expensive Senate races in the country. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oklahoma-senate-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020">Oklahoma Senate:</a> Longtime Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe defended his seat against Democrat Abby Broyles.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oregon-senate-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020">Oregon Senate</a>: Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley won a third term in the Senate against Jo Rae Perkins.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rhode-island-senate-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020">Rhode Island Senate</a>: Longtime Democratic Sen. Jack Reed defended his seat against challenger Allen Waters.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lindsey-graham-vs-jaime-harrison-south-carolina-senate-polls-fundraising-2020">South Carolina Senate</a>: Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham won one of the most difficult reelection battles of his political career against fundraising juggernaut Democrat Jaime Harrison.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/south-dakota-senate-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020">South Dakota Senate:</a> First-term Republican Sen. Mike Rounds won reelection against Democrat Dan Ahlers.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tennessee-us-senate-preview-bill-hagerty-vs-marquita-bradshaw-2020-9">Tennessee Senate:</a> Republican Bill Hagerty defeated Democrat Marquita Bradshaw after incumbent Sen. Lamar Alexander did not run for reelection.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/virginia-senate-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020">Virginia Senate:</a> Democratic Sen. Mark Warner won a third term against Daniel Gade. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/west-virginia-senate-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020-10">West Virginia Senate:</a> Republican Shelley Moore-Capito won reelection against Democrat Paula Jean Swearengin. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wyoming-senate-election-2020-live-vote-counts-results-2020">Wyoming Senate:</a> Republican Cynthia Lummis defeated Democrat Merav Ben-David for the seat held by GOP Sen. Mike Enzi, did not run for reelection.</li></ul>

LIVE RESULTS: Republicans hold onto Alaska's Senate seat so Democrats' hopes to control the chamber hinge on Georgia runoffs

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Democrat Mark Kelly has won a special election for the US <keyword id="6355284" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="senate">Senate</keyword> in <keyword id="57493" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Arizona">Arizona</keyword> against GOP incumbent Sen. Martha McSally, according to Decision Desk HQ.</li><li>McSally was appointed to serve in the Senate seat held by Sen. John McCain.</li><li>Kelly, a gun-control advocate and former astronaut, has pulled ahead in one of the most competitive Senate races for Democrats.</li><li>See the live coverage and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-senate-election-results">full results from the US Senate elections</a>.</li></ul>Democrat Mark Kelly has won the election for the US Senate in Arizona against GOP incumbent Sen. Martha McSally, according to Decision Desk HQ. The race was a special election, so the winner will likely be sworn in on November 30.<h2>The candidates</h2>McSally, a former House Representative, ran for an open Senate seat to replace Sen. Jeff Flake in 2018 but lost to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.Gov. Doug Ducey then appointed McSally to serve in the Senate seat held by Sen. John McCain, who died in office in 2018.Shortly after McSally took office in January 2019, Kelly — a gun-control advocate and a former Navy captain and astronaut — announced that he would challenge her in 2020 as a Democrat.Kelly cofounded the organization now known as the Giffords Foundation with his wife, former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot and seriously injured while meeting with constituents in Tucson, in January 2011.His <a href="https://markkelly.com/issues/">campaign platform</a> emphasized expanding access to affordable healthcare, building up Arizona's economy, immigration reform, and protecting Social Security benefits for seniors.McSally was one of the most talented fundraisers among the Republicans running for reelection this year, but she faced a climb to catch up to Kelly.Kelly proved himself to be a formidable fundraiser right out of the gate, bringing in several million dollars per quarter. He raised an eye-popping $38.8 million in 2020's second quarter, <a href="https://tucson.com/news/local/kelly-raises-39-million-mcsally-23-million-in-3rd-quarter-for-arizona-senate-race/article_af042085-b63d-5500-ae89-4d8093043cab.html">compared to $23 million for McSally</a>.<h2>The stakes</h2>Arizona's special election represented one of the most competitive Senate races for Democrats, who hoped to regain control of the upper chamber for the first time since 2015.Thanks to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's strong performance among white, suburban, and senior voters, Arizona — once considered a Republican bastion — has become a toss-up state in the Electoral College.After previously being rejected by the voters in 2018, McSally was in an increasingly precarious position vying for a full term in a year in which the electorate <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/20/arizona-trump-republicans-white-house-democrats-senate">was expected to be far friendlier to Democrats</a>.In her short time in the Senate, McSally aligned herself closely with President Donald Trump. She voted with Trump 95% of the time, <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/martha-mcsally/">according to FiveThirtyEight</a>.<h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-senate-election-results">See Insider's full guide to the race for the US Senate here.</a></h3><h2>The money race</h2>Both candidates were prolific fundraisers, making Arizona one of the most expensive Senate contests this year. Kelly and McSally raised a combined total of more than $144 million for their campaigns, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/races/outside-spending?cycle=2020&amp;id=AZS1&amp;spec=Np;spec=N">not to mention the significant amount of outside spending in the race</a>.In 2020's third fundraising quarter between June and September, Kelly brought in a stunning $38.7 million and is set to report nearly $19 million in cash on hand, <a href="https://twitter.com/JacobNPeters1/status/1316741195670777857">his campaign announced</a>, while McSally raised $23 million. Kelly — along with Jaime Harrison in South Carolina and Sara Gideon in Maine — was one of three Democratic Senate candidates to break a senatorial quarterly fundraising record previously set at $38.1 million by Texas Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke in 2018.In total, Kelly raised $89.7 million, spent $78.7 million, and had $11 million in cash on hand, <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S0AZ00350/?cycle=2020&amp;election_full=falsealse">according to Federal Election Commission records</a>. McSally <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S8AZ00221/?cycle=2020&amp;election_full=falsealse">raised $56.8 million</a> this cycle, spent $48.6 million, and had $9 million in cash on hand.Earlier in the fall, McSally was criticized for joking at an event that supporters should "fast a meal" to give money to her campaign. <h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-election-results">See the live coverage and full results from the US presidential election.</a></h3><h2>What the polls said</h2>Kelly led McSally by a margin of 4 percentage points or more in almost every nonpartisan poll conducted in 2020, <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/senate/arizona/">according to FiveThirtyEight</a>.A poll <a href="https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/az-fl-pa-wi/bc6b622f38350414/full.pdf">from The New York Times and Siena College</a> conducted October 26-30 found Kelly leading McSally by 7 points, 50% to 43%, among likely voters. A <a href="http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2020/images/10/31/rel2_az.pdf">CNN/SSRS poll</a> conducted October 23-30 found Kelly also ahead by 7 points, 52% to 45%, among Arizona likely voters.A <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2020-10/topline_reuters_arizona_state_poll_w3_10_14_2020_1.pdf">Reuters/Ipsos poll</a> conducted October 14-21 similarly found Kelly leading McSally by 8 points, 51% to 43%.<h2>What the experts said</h2>The <a href="https://cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate-race-ratings">Cook Political Report</a> and <a href="http://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/2020-senate/">Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics</a> both rated the race as "leans Democratic," and <a href="https://insideelections.com/ratings/senate">Inside Elections</a> rated it "tilts Democratic."According to <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-election-forecast/senate/arizona-special/">FiveThirtyEight's</a> Senate forecast, Kelly had a 77% chance at defeating McSally in the November election. The forecast showed that Kelly was poised to receive 53% of the popular vote, 6% more than McSally.

Democrat Mark Kelly flips a Senate seat in Arizona, ousting Republican incumbent Martha McSally

<ul class="summary-list"><li>GOP Sen. <keyword id="257375" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Lindsey-Graham">Lindsey Graham</keyword> is projected to defeat Jaime Harrison, a former state legislator, in the race for a US Senate seat in <keyword id="52532" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="south-carolina">South Carolina</keyword>.</li><li>Polls in South Carolina closed at 7 p.m. ET.</li><li>Graham, one of the highest-profile Republican senators and a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, sought a fourth term.</li><li>Harrison put up a formidable fight in deep-red South Carolina, narrowly outpacing Graham in fundraising and tying in polls leading up to the election.</li><li>See the live coverage and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-senate-election-results">full results from the US Senate elections</a>.</li></ul>GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham defeated Jaime Harrison, a former state legislator, in the race for a US Senate seat in South Carolina.Decision Desk HQ and Insider projected that the incumbent would hold the state three hours after polls in South Carolina closed at 7 p.m. ET.<h2>The candidates</h2>Graham, one of the highest-profile Republican senators and a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, sought his fourth term in 2020.Graham holds a powerful position as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, giving him a vantage point to help execute much of Trump's agenda. His staunch defenses of Trump and sometimes bombastic style have also made Graham one of the most deeply despised Republican senators among Democrats.Some Republicans accused Graham of not being sufficiently loyal to Trump. The Fox News host Tucker Carlson, one of the most powerful voices in conservative media, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/10/us/elections/tucker-carlson-blames-trumps-18-interviews-with-bob-woodward-on-lindsey-graham.html">recently blamed Graham for encouraging Trump</a> to agree to several incriminating interviews with the journalist Bob Woodward.Harrison, a former state senator and former chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, launched his campaign in February 2019 with a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jaime-harrison-lindsey-graham-south-carolina-senate-election-polls-2020-10">platform</a> centered on expanding access to affordable healthcare, building up the middle class, defeating poverty, and protecting older residents.His Senate bid gained national attention and attracted lots of funding thanks to Harrison's unique campaign ads, his charismatic campaign style, and the widespread dislike of Graham among Democrats. <a href="https://twitter.com/harrisonjaime/status/1191464056500166656?lang=en">One of his widely viewed ads</a> illustrated the story of him approaching a Black man in South Carolina who said he had never had a candidate knock on his door and felt ignored and left behind.Harrison outraised Graham in three fundraising quarters in a row, <a href="https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/democrat-jaime-harrison-again-outraises-gop-incumbent-lindsey-graham-in-sc-senate-race/article_c9de3928-c6fc-11ea-bcd2-03cefe02fa46.html">according to The Post and Courier</a>. He raised a stunning $57 million in the second quarter, compared with <a href="https://www.axios.com/senate-q3-fundraising-democrats-republicans-2fae41bf-d5cf-4c71-99cd-6bb5452b8088.html">$28 million for Graham</a>.<h2>The stakes</h2>In addition to winning back the White House, Democrats hoped to regain control of the Senate for the first time since 2015.The Senate just conducted a high-stakes confirmation battle — led by Graham — to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died at age 87 from pancreatic cancer on September 18, with Judge Amy Coney Barrett.Ginsburg's death threw a stick of dynamite into an already supercharged election shaped by a pandemic that has killed over 230,000 Americans.Trump's and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's posturing on the issue excited conservatives enthusiastic about Trump getting to appoint a third justice but infuriated liberals <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/2020-elections/2020/09/mcconnell-hypocrisy-supreme-court-confirmation-ruth-bader-ginsburg/">who accused McConnell of hypocrisy</a> after he refused to hold confirmation hearings for Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, in 2016.Graham's role as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the process of confirming federal judges, emerged as a flashpoint in the race.<h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-senate-election-results">See Insider's full guide to the race for the US Senate here »</a></h3>Like the Kentucky Senate race between McConnell and Amy McGrath — which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mitch-mcconnell-vs-amy-mcgrath-kentucky-senate-election-2020">McConnell won</a> — this race pitted a nationally known Republican reviled by Democrats against an upstart Democrat whose campaign brought in tens of millions of dollars.South Carolina has been solidly Republican at the federal level in recent years. In 2016, Trump carried South Carolina <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/president">by nearly 15 points</a>, while GOP Sen. Tim Scott won reelection by nearly 24 points over his Democratic opponent.But despite South Carolina's traditional role as a GOP bastion, <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/senate/south-carolina/">polls in the weeks leading up to the election</a> suggested an extremely close race between Graham and Harrison.<h2>The money race</h2>Both candidates were prolific fundraisers, making South Carolina the home of one of the most expensive Senate contests this year, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary?cycle=2020&amp;id=SCS2SCS2">according to the Center for Responsive Politics</a>.<a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary?cycle=2020&amp;id=SCS2SCS2">Harrison raised</a> nearly $108 million, spent $105.5 million, and had $3.4 million in cash on hand, while <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S0SC00149/?cycle=2020&amp;election_full=falsealse">Graham raised</a> nearly $73 million, spent nearly $60 million, and had $13.1 million in cash on hand.After asking for campaign donations multiple times on Fox News and in the US Capitol (which experts said was <a href="https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/graham-broke-senate-rules-by-soliciting-campaign-funds-in-federal-building-expert-says/article_972f72bc-0efa-11eb-aac1-c3caab88b9f4.html">likely a violation of Senate ethics rules</a> barring members from fundraising in official government buildings), Graham brought in a sizeable $28 million fundraising haul in 2020's third fundraising quarter. But Graham's haul was dwarfed by Harrison's <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/11/politics/jaime-harrison-fundraising-record-south-carolina-senate-race/index.html">$57 million</a>.That made Harrison one of three Democratic Senate candidates — along with Mark Kelly in Arizona and Sara Gideon in Maine — to break the quarterly fundraising record for a Senate campaign set at $38.1 million by Texas' Beto O'Rourke in 2018.<h2>What the polling said</h2>Polls at the beginning of 2020 found Graham leading Harrison by double digits, but more recent surveys suggested a more competitive race.A Quinnipiac University poll conducted from September 23 to 27 found Graham and Harris <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/kentucky/release-detail?ReleaseID=3673">tied at 48% support</a> among likely South Carolina voters. In that poll, 44% of likely voters said they viewed Graham favorably, while 49% said they viewed him unfavorably.A <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-biden-opinion-poll-georgia-north-carolina-supreme-court-09-27-2020/">CBS/YouGov poll</a> conducted from September 22 to 25 found Graham leading Harrison by just 1 point, 45% to 44%, among likely voters.But Graham appeared to make up some ground in the polls, possibly thanks to the publicity he received from Barrett's confirmation. A <a href="https://morningconsult.com/form/2020-u-s-election-tracker/">Morning Consult poll</a> conducted from October 2 to 11 found Graham leading Harrison by 6 points, 48% to 42%, among likely voters.A New York Times/Siena College poll conducted from October 9 to 14 also found Graham ahead by 6 points, 46% to 40%.The two most recent surveys, conducted by <a href="https://surveyresearch-ecu.reportablenews.com/pr/ecu-poll-of-south-carolina-graham-with-a-narrow-lead-over-harrison-among-likely-voters-trump-ahead-of-biden-as-election-day-nears">East Carolina University</a> and <a href="https://morningconsult.com/form/2020-u-s-election-tracker/">Morning Consult</a>, both found Graham leading Harrison by 2 points among likely South Carolina voters.<h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-election-results">See the live coverage and full results from the US presidential election »</a></h3><h2>What experts said</h2><a href="https://cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate-race-ratings">The Cook Political Report</a> rated the race as a "toss-up." <a href="https://insideelections.com/ratings/senate">Inside Elections</a> rated it as "tilts Republican." And <a href="http://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/2020-senate/">Sabato's Crystal Ball</a> at the University of Virginia Center for <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">Politics</keyword> rated it as "leans Republican."<a href="https://insideelections.com/ratings/senate"></a>

You Searched For "sara gideon" and got 11 results

Trump called Susan Collins' 2020 Democratic challenger 'very attractive,' joking, 'not that I've looked at a woman that way in five years': book

Oma Seddiq,Grace Panetta

Susan Collins' failed challenger Sara Gideon still has more than $14 million in unused campaign funds

Connor Perrett

LIVE UPDATES: Sara Gideon secures the Democratic nomination to face Sen. Susan Collins in Maine

Grace Panetta

GOP Sen. Susan Collins wins reelection against Democrat Sara Gideon in Maine

Grace Panetta

Trump calls Sen. Susan Collins 'absolutely atrocious' after she says 'no one should be afraid' of him

Bryan Metzger

Failed Susan Collins challenger accused of pointing a gun at a campaign staffer during argument over buying bogus COVID-19 drugs with crypto

Kenneth Niemeyer

The FBI is investigating a possible scheme to illegally fund Sen. Susan Collins' 2020 reelection in Maine

Cheryl Teh

LIVE RESULTS: Republicans hold onto Alaska's Senate seat so Democrats' hopes to control the chamber hinge on Georgia runoffs

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Democrat Mark Kelly flips a Senate seat in Arizona, ousting Republican incumbent Martha McSally

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Lindsey Graham wins US Senate seat in South Carolina in race against Jaime Harrison

Grace Panetta

An hour-by-hour guide to election night and when to expect results in the days and weeks following

Eliza Relman,Oma Seddiq

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