President Donald Trump’s administration has agreed to release 315,000 barrels of home heating oil from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, Senator Susan Collins announced on Wednesday, offering potential relief for the Maine Republican as she faces what could be her closest election yet.
As Maine becomes the center of the midterms with a battleground Senate race, voters are grappling with high heating costs ahead of the winter. Fuel prices have soared amid the Iran war, and Maine is particularly vulnerable, with a higher percentage of residents who use oil as the primary source to heat their homes.
Collins’ announcement comes as she faces a competitive race against Democrat Troy Jackson, the former president of the Maine Senate. The race is seen as a pure toss-up.
Collins urged the release of the oil in a letter, along with Maine’s other senator, independent Angus King, to the administration earlier in the fall and wrote in a statement on Wednesday that she is “pleased” with the decision to release the oil.
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“Approximately half of Maine households rely on fuel oil to heat their homes, and I have repeatedly urged the administration to use every tool to increase supply and lower energy prices. The Department anticipates this release will put downward pressure on home heating oil costs and make a real difference for Maine homeowners as they prepare for winter,” Collins wrote.
The release is also an olive branch to Collins, who has been at odds with Trump more than most other Republicans. She has campaigned on being independent from the president. The president has criticized her voting record in the past, writing in a July 2025 post to Truth Social: “Republicans, when in doubt, vote the exact opposite of Senator Susan Collins. Generally speaking, you can’t go wrong.”
Troy Jackson Responds
Jackson, in a statement on Wednesday, said Collins “cannot erase her responsibility for this crisis with a press release.”
“Donald Trump’s pointless war in Iran helped drive these prices through the roof. At the beginning of this war, when we had the best chance to shut it down, Susan Collins voted five times to let it continue. Now, two weeks before Election Day, she wants Mainers to believe she’s coming to the rescue,” he said.
Jackson described Collins as an “arsonist who sets the house on fire and then wants credit for bringing you a cup of water.”
“Susan Collins talks constantly about her power in Washington. Where was that power when Mainers needed her to stop this war before it drove up the cost of keeping their homes warm?” he wrote.
Misha Linnehan, spokesperson for the Maine Democratic Party, wrote in a statement that while Mainers will “always welcome assistance and relief,” they would not “be in this position if Susan Collins had stood up to Trump in the first place.”
Mainers Face Pressure as Oil Prices Soar
Affordability concerns have shaped the midterms, and oil heating prices have been central to that debate in Maine. More than 50 percent of Maine residents use oil as their primary heat source, according to the Northeast Gas Association.
As of October 13, heating prices averaged $5.97 per gallon statewide, up from only $3.31 per gallon one year earlier, according to the Maine Department of Energy Resources.
For a family adding around 200 gallons of oil to their tank, that would mean they are paying $1,194, up from $662 a year ago. Most residential oil tanks are 275 gallons but generally hold around 240 or 250 gallons when full.
Prices have fallen a bit since September, when prices were around $6.02 per gallon statewide. The previous high was in May 2022, when prices hit $5.92 per gallon as the nation grappled with a post-pandemic inflation wave.
A report from the Natural Resources Council of Maine released in September found that Mainers could pay up to $1,260 more for heating this winter.
"High heating oil prices are looming over Maine families as heating season approaches. Prices have spiked since the War in Iran began in late February 2026," the analysis reads. "Heating oil prices have soared since last winter due to global events, particularly the war in Iran, and hardworking Maine families will be stuck with the high cost of depending on expensive and polluting imported fuels."
Why the Maine Senate Race Is Important in Midterms
Maine’s race remains one of the most important of the midterms. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, so Democrats must flip four seats to win control of the chamber, as Vice President JD Vance serves as the tiebreaker vote.
Maine is seen as one of the top pickup opportunities for Democrats, as Trump lost it in all three of his presidential runs, including by 7 points in 2024. Democrats hope that the state’s partisan lean, as well as a difficult national environment for Republicans fueled by Trump’s declining approval rating, will give Jackson a chance to unseat the long-term incumbent.
But Collins is still a formidable opponent. She has been able to overcome the state’s partisanship in the past due to her personal popularity and moderate image. She has touted her status as the chair of the Appropriations Committee on the campaign trail, as well.
If Democrats fail to flip the seat, their path to a majority would narrow, and they would have to make up for the loss in a more conservative state.
What Latest Polls Show About the Maine Senate Race
A Suffolk University poll gave Jackson a 2-point lead, 49 percent to 47 percent. It surveyed 500 Maine voters October 8-11 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Collins also trailed by 2 points in an InsiderAdvantage survey of 1,200 likely voters October 13-14. Jackson’s support stood at 49 percent to 47 percent for Collins. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.83 percentage points.
Jackson was up 4 points among 800 likely voters in a poll from The Washington Post and George Mason University, conducted September 30-October 5. Fifty percent said they planned to vote for Jackson, compared with 46 percent for Collins. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
Polls underestimated Collins in her 2020 reelection bid. She trailed Democrat Sara Gideon in public surveys but won with more than 50 percent of the vote.
Maine Senate Race: Latest Developments
Collins and Jackson are on the campaign trail this week as they make their final pitches to voters, hoping to win over undecideds and build enthusiasm among their bases. Collins is campaigning with former Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat-turned-independent, while Jackson is set to attend a rally with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat.
The two candidates faced off last week in their final two debates.
In one viral moment, the final debate was briefly interrupted by a data center protester as Collins was speaking, about which she said: “This is obviously one of Troy’s supporters.” Jackson responded: “Oh, shut up. I don’t even know that kid.”
Jackson’s remark drew some criticism from Collins. Jackson declined to apologize during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
“I’ve had four debates with Senator Collins," he said. "I’ve shook her hand afterwards every time. What I’m not going to be is talked down to by Senator Collins, I’m not going to be accused of things like that. I’m fighting for Mainers and I just think that was another situation where she was talking down to me, so I’m not going to apologize for that.”
Last week, Jackson’s campaign filed its first financial disclosure form with the Federal Election Commission, which showed that he outraised Collins 4-to-1 in the most recent quarter, though he remains behind in overall fundraising and outside assistance.
Maine Voting: What to Know
In-person absentee voting began on October 5 and will continue until October 29. More than 70,000 Mainers had requested an absentee ballot as of October 2. Polling locations are open between 6 a.m. or 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., depending on a town’s population. Election Day is November 3.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Dave Siminoff.