Planned Parenthood Super PAC Launches $600,000 Ad Campaign Against Sen. Susan Collins in Maine Senate Race

Planned Parenthood Votes, the political arm of the reproductive-health organization, has begun a digital advertising effort costing more than $600,000 aimed at Republican Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). The ads criticize Collins for her votes on Supreme Court nominees and her overall abortion record as Democrats seek to flip the Maine Senate seat in the upcoming election. One video features a former Collins voter who says she “regrets” her vote after citing the senator’s support for Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

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Collins voted to confirm Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, both members of the 6-3 majority that in 2022 overturned federal abortion protections. She voted against Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who also supported the overturning. In 2022, Collins co-sponsored legislation with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that would have codified federal abortion protections, a move that diverged from the Republican caucus.

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The Democratic ticket is headed by former Maine Senate president Troy Jackson, who was appointed to replace a scandal-tainted candidate. Jackson, originally a Republican, switched parties and previously opposed same-sex marriage and abortion.

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Planned Parenthood Votes framed the campaign as a spotlight on Collins’s vote to confirm Kavanaugh, a Justice who helped dismantle Roe v. Wade protections. The organization also released ads targeting Republican Senate hopeful Mike Rogers in Michigan.

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Blake Kernen’s quoted remark is presented below.

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• “The Planned Parenthood Action Fund cares more about electing Democrats than any issue,” — Blake Kernen, collins’s campaign spokesperson

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