PORTLAND, Maine, The same week President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on imported steel, the domestic supplier of the wire mesh used to make lobster traps in Maine hiked prices by 20%. When diesel prices began rising amid the US war with Iran, Mark Brooks, a third-generation lobster-trap manufacturer, started paying freight surcharges and saw sales slow as lobstermen tightened their belts. And when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney retaliated with 50% tariffs on US lobster traps in September, Brooks' roughly $2 million in annual shipments to Canada dried up virtually overnight.
"It's basically the worst business climate for us that I've ever seen in 40 years," said Brooks, who runs Brooks Trap Mill and its seven locations across Maine. "We've eaten as much cost as we can to try to keep our prices down, but we just can't eat any more than we have already."
The challenges extend beyond tariffs. Home heating oil costs are spiraling in a state more dependent on it than any other. Seven in 10 likely Maine voters told a CNN poll last month that duties on Canadian goods are bad for the state; only 12% called them "a good thing." A Suffolk University poll this month found more than 90% of likely voters rate the state's economy as "fair" or "poor," and a majority said Maine is on the wrong track.
The race between Collins and Jackson is rated a toss-up, with Jackson leading by an average of two percentage points, according to polls compiled by FiftyPlusOne. Collins is the lone GOP incumbent running for reelection in a state that voted against Trump in 2024.
Both candidates opposed the Canadian tariffs. In an Oct. 13 debate, Collins pointed to her success in securing exemptions for concrete, wood pulp and road salt. "But I have been able to negotiate and get certain items removed from the tariff list — Troy would have gotten nothing," she said.
Jackson countered: "I'm not going to give Sen. Collins credit for taking things off the list, when we should have never had a list. We shouldn't be in a trade war with Canada."
Jackson's campaign spokesperson, Maggie Amjad, said: "Troy spent most of his life working along the Canadian border, so he knows how important this relationship is to Maine's economy, and he sees Trump's tariffs for what they are: a tax on Maine families and small businesses." The Collins campaign declined further comment.
Lobsterman Steve Train, who hauls 400 traps a day out of Casco Bay, said "everything we do in this business costs more money right now. These tariff wars are not helping us." He faults Trump for the tariffs but credits Collins for helping the lobster industry, calling her "a guardian angel" and saying he will split his ticket to vote for her.
The lobster industry was spared the worst after Ottawa left lobster off its retaliation list. Collins' team says her meeting with Canada's ambassador helped secure that exclusion. But Train noted that nearly everything else, diesel fuel up 67% over the past year, ropes from India, bait from Europe, is more expensive due to tariffs and higher fuel costs. Brooks said his traps now sell for $180, versus $130 two years ago.
"That's one of the big issues in this campaign: How independent is Susan Collins from Donald Trump?" said Jim Melcher, a political science professor at the University of Maine at Farmington. Across the country, Republican candidates in competitive seats have been working to distance themselves from the White House on tariffs and other issues.