Washington DC - A new poll has put both the Maine and Michigan races for US Senate neck and neck, with no clear leader in either state as the midterm elections creep ever closer.
Both the Michigan and Maine contests are crucial in the fight over who will control the US Senate after the midterm elections on November 3, a chamber that will be key if President Donald Trump hopes to fulfil his electoral agenda.
In each race, progressive candidates from the left of the Democratic Party are being pitted against establishment Republicans with a long history in electoral politics. Collins has served in the Senate since 1997 and Rogers sat in the House of Representatives from 2001 to 2015.
According to the latest CNN poll, both El-Sayed and Jackson are narrowly ahead of their Republican opponents, but only by a very small margin of a couple percentage points.
In Maine, Jackson leads Collins at 48% to 45% among likely voters, with 7% remaining undecided – more than enough to hand the victory to either candidate.
Things are not much different in Michigan, where El-Sayed leaders Rogers at 47% to 44%, with 9% of likely voters still unclear on who they'll vote for.
As a result, in both Maine and Michigan, CNN has established there is "no clear leader" in the race for US Senate. This is, however, due to two very different situations.
Maine and Michigan: A tale of two states
In Maine, Collins faces broadly negative opinions on her nearly 30-year reign as an incumbent senator – especially when it comes to her confirmation vote on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, who went on to support the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
She also faces backlash against President Donald Trump, who is increasingly unpopular due to (in part) his brutal and often-violent immigration policy, his war with Iran, and his failure to get a handle on the cost of living.
That being said, Jackson is facing an uphill battle having entered the race late due to the implosion of Graham Platner's campaign in July amid sexual assault allegations. Voters feel that they are still getting to know him and his policies.
Meanwhile, Michigan voters are – according to the CNN poll – mostly focused on either candidates' policy positions. Roughly 50% of voters believe El-Sayed is too progressive, while 42% say that Rogers is too conservative.
Approximately 66% believe El-Sayed would be a force for change in Washington (whether that is perceived as a good or bad thing varied among respondents), while only 20% said that about Rogers.
Support for either candidates is generally unified among voters registered to specific political parties – 97% of Republicans support Rogers, 90% of Democrats support Democrats. This means that the decision will likely come down to Independents, with whom El-Sayed leads Rogers 48% to 32%.
The potential result come November is increasingly unclear in both Michigan and Maine, but that didn't stop Jackson from touting his narrow lead, writing on X: "Another poll now shows us leading Susan Collins. And after everything I heard from folks across Maine this weekend, I'm not surprised."
"Susan Collins has become a rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extremist agenda, voting with him 96% of the time – tax cuts for billionaires while working Mainers pay the price," he said. "Now is our time."