A staffer for Senator Susan Collins told a crowd of GOP voters on Saturday that President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would want them to support Maine’s senior senator.
“I can assure you that there’s two people that want you to vote for Senator Collins. One is the Senate Majority Leader and two is our president, President Trump,” Carol Woodcock, the director of Collin’s senate office in Bangor, told local Republicans during a Feb. 15 Maine GOP event in Washington County that was captured on video by an attendee.
Woodcock’s comments, suggesting Collins is proud to back the Trump administration’s agenda, contrast with public statements made by the senator, who declined to endorse Trump in 2016 and has often positioned herself as a centrist in the U.S. Senate.
During her remarks, Woodcock also seemed to embrace the criticism by Collins’ Democratic challengers that she is a reliable vote for President Trump.
“[Maine House Speaker and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate] Sara Gideon…is criticizing Senator Collins voting for the president 94 percent of the time. She obviously thinks that’s an effective message,” Woodcock said.
“We think that’s great,” a man in the audience said.
“Well [Gideon] thinks it’s not,” Woodcock responded to the man. “I’m glad to hear that you support that.”
The 94 percent alignment came during a period when Collins was often the swing vote in the Senate and helped to advance dozens of Trump administration policies, appointments and judicial nominations.
While Trump has continued to see record low approval ratings for a sitting president, his star has risen among Republicans with his approval hitting a high of 90 percent among GOP voters in January.
Last year, during another local meeting, Woodcock made a similar appeal to Trump’s base by saying that Collins, despite publicly distancing herself from the president, has the backing of his administration in her re-election bid.
“Our party is under siege by Hollywood,” Woodcock told the Hancock County Republicans last June. “We are working very closely with the National Republican Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Trump administration, the Maine Republican Party, trying to figure out ways to address this problem.”
Marie Follayttar, co-director of Mainers for Accountable Leadership, the organization that posted the video of Woodcock’s recent comments to YouTube, pointed out, “President Trump has endorsed Collins but she has not commented on his endorsement nor has she said she will vote for him.”
Follayttar was referring to a Dec. 23 tweet by the president in which he said he “100%” agreed with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who urged his followers to support Collins’ re-election by donating to her campaign. Follayttar added, “And here we have her staff member telling folks the President and Mitch McConnell say to vote for her!”
These meetings, where Woodcock acts as both Senate office staffer and a campaign surrogate, may violate a Senate rule, according to a legal expert familiar with the upper chamber’s ethical guidelines.
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