Composite 7.06 / 10, weighted per the Constitutional Weight Schedule.
✓ Clears the 700 bar, Author's Verdict: supported.
Clears the bar, barely, and honestly. Her vote to convict in the 2nd Trump impeachment (oath over party at cost), the most-bipartisan record in the Senate, and a historic perfect-attendance streak carry her over 700. The STOCK Act violation and contested judgment calls keep her at Sound rather than Strong. The path higher runs through the fiduciary measures, not the political ones.
The 14 measures
Each measure is scored 0–10 against an anchored example, with a cited source. Hover/expand why? for the reasoning.
| # | Measure | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| M01 | Duty to Constitution & Rule of Law | 8 | why?PURE conduct anchor: one of 7 Republicans to vote to convict Trump for interfering with the peaceful transfer of power, oath over party at real cost, zero policy content, no constitutional theory excuses the underlying act. (The 2017 ACA skinny-repeal vote is deliberately NOT scored here: its merits turn on a contested constitutional/policy reading of the individual mandate, NFIB v. Sebelius found the mandate exceeded the Commerce Clause, and the scorecard refuses to grade policy correctness in either direction.) [source] |
| M02 | Party Over Country | 8 | why?Most-bipartisan senator 9 of 11 years; highest full-Congress Senate score in Index history. The opposite of denying the other side a win for its own sake. [source] |
| M03 | Persons of Equal Worth | 7 | why?Career-long attacks-positions-not-personhood posture; no documented dehumanization. Critics note a rhetoric-vs-record gap, holding it at upper-middle rather than anchor-high. [source] |
| M04 | Weaponization of Justice | 7 | why?No documented weaponization of state power against rivals; record shows the inverse, voted to hold her own side's president accountable for abuse of power. No criterion-class conduct. [source] |
| M05 | Incitement / Anti-Belonging | 8 | why?No documented incitement, threat, or anti-belonging rhetoric across a long career; sustained explicit civility advocacy. [source] |
| M06 | Fiduciary Conduct | 5 | why?Violated the STOCK Act, a transparency law she co-wrote, on a late spousal-bond disclosure; office acknowledged the violation. Genuine appearance-of-impropriety drag, sub-Severe (not enrichment-by-office). [source] |
| M07 | Duty to Call Out | 6 | why?Real call-out record, both directions: on the HIGH side she voted to convict Trump (J6), calling out her own side's leader at cost. On the DRAG side, the documented Maine pattern of expressing being 'concerned'/'disappointed' while ultimately voting with leadership. Holds at solid-middle. NOTE: the 2018 Kavanaugh confirmation is deliberately NOT scored here, its merits rest on uncorroborated, late-surfacing, contested allegations that do not meet the framework's evidentiary-sufficiency bar; the scorecard does not convert unproven allegations into findings, in either direction. [source] |
| M08 | The Discretion Test | 8 | why?First senator in history to cast 9,000+ consecutive roll-call votes without missing one since 1997, discretion used consistently toward the duty of the seat, not spectacle. [source] |
| M09 | The No-Camera Test | 6 | why?No documented hot-mic / private-public contempt gap. Critics allege a public-moderate / record-conservative duality; absent a documented private-conduct breach, scored at solid-middle. [source] |
| M10 | Constituent-vs-Donor Vote | 6 | why?Strong Maine-constituent record (PPP, Social Security Fairness Act), but some votes diverged from state polling; documented donor-attack fact-checks largely rebutted. Solid-middle, not anchor-high. [source] |
| M11 | Net-Worth Trajectory | 6 | why?~$3M portfolio growth over a decade, the jump tied to 2012 marriage (combined finances) and market, NOT office-driven enrichment. Pre/non-office wealth not penalized; modest disconnect drag only. Cited to the official Senate eFD record. [source] |
| M12 | Floor Decorum | 9 | why?Sustained institutional decorum across nearly three decades; honors ceremony and process. The perfect-attendance streak is decorum operationalized, the seat treated as a duty, not a stage. [source] |
| M13 | Lying & Misleading | 7 | why?No sustained documented-falsehood pattern; fact-checks are case-by-case and largely rebutted. The 'Trump learned his lesson' 2020 remark drew criticism but is opinion/prediction, not a documented lie. Above-middle. [source] |
| M14 | Knowledge Depth | 8 | why?Co-authored the 2004 intelligence-community overhaul; lead-R on DADT repeal; PPP co-author; Social Security Fairness Act 2025; Appropriations Chair. Deep substantive command, not talking points. [source] |
The Four Pillars, worthy to be followed?
A separate axis from the 14 measures. The measures ask did their conduct meet the standard; the Pillars ask is this someone worthy to be elevated and followed at all. The two can diverge, when they do, the divergence is the finding.
| # | Pillar | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Trust & Loyalty
| 7 | why?Attributes: Courage, Steadiness Under Pressure, Discipline, career-cost stands (J6 conviction, breaking leadership on process) and a historic perfect-attendance record. Drag toward the opposite where the pattern is principled-when-it-counts but hedged in between; net upper-middle, not absolute Loyalty/Courage. |
| II | Aspiration & Integrity
| 6 | why?Attributes: Discipline, Consistency, Temperance, the institutional discipline and attendance are genuinely admirable. Held at the middle by a drag toward Consistency's opposite (Hypocrisy): the STOCK Act lapse on a transparency law she co-wrote, and the rhetoric-vs-record critique. |
| III | Protection & Influence
| 7 | why?Attributes: Stewardship, Reliability, Protection, no abuse of office, no weaponization; substantive output that helped real people (PPP, Social Security Fairness). Influence used to build, not bend, no meaningful drag toward Exploitation. |
| IV | Legacy & Virtue
| 6 | why?Attributes: Integrity, Justice, Wisdom, a durable bipartisan-institutionalist legacy in an era that punishes it. Tempered by drags toward Integrity's opposite (the fiduciary lapse) and the contested confirmation votes. |
| TOTAL: Moderate | 26/40 |
Total 26/40, Moderate. The Four Pillars ask a different question than the 14 measures: not "did her conduct meet the standard" but "is she someone worthy to be followed." She scores solidly on the sacrifice and responsibility pillars; the aspiration and legacy pillars are held at the middle by the STOCK Act lapse and the contested confirmation votes.
What the Four Pillars are & the questions behind each →
In their own words
“Neither party has a monopoly on good ideas, and we must work together to put together a bipartisan bill that fixes the flaws in the ACA and works for all Americans.”
Statement on the ACA skinny-repeal vote, quoted for her process/bipartisanship framing, NOT as endorsement of the policy outcome (the underlying mandate's constitutionality is contested; scorecard does not grade policy) · Collins Senate newsroom · CONTESTED · cite
“The President's failure to obey the oath he swore... his actions to interfere with the peaceful transition of power were an abuse of power and constitute grounds for conviction.”
Vote to convict, 2nd Trump impeachment · Collins Senate newsroom · PRINCIPLED · cite
“Civility does not require us to stifle our disagreements. We still can and should vigorously debate issues and even tell unpleasant truths.”
Keynote on hyperpartisanship, University of Maine · Collins Senate newsroom · CIVIC · cite
“I do not believe that these charges rise to the level of high Crimes and Misdemeanors, and I therefore do not believe they meet the Constitutional standard for removal.”
First impeachment, vote to acquit (contested) · Collins Senate remarks · CONTESTED · cite
Full personnel file
1. Identity
Susan Margaret Collins (born December 7, 1952, Caribou, Maine). U.S. Senator from Maine 1997–present, the longest-serving U.S. Senator in Maine history. St. Lawrence University B.A. 1975 (Phi Beta Kappa). Prior career: staff for Senator William Cohen (R-ME) 1975–1987; Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation 1987–1992; New England regional administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration 1992–1993; Maine state finance commissioner under Gov. John McKernan 1994–1996. Married Thomas Daffron 2012. Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee since 2025 (first Republican woman, first Mainer in 92 years); member, Senate Intelligence Committee. Lugar Bipartisan Index #1 most-bipartisan senator across multiple cycles.
2. Voting / Legislative Profile
Lugar Bipartisan Index consistently top-quartile; #1 most-bipartisan senator in several cycles, with the highest full-Congress Senate score in the Index's history. DW-NOMINATE first-dimension placement: moderate-conservative (~+0.2 sustained), among the most-moderate Republican senators of her tenure. Center for Effective Lawmaking score above-average. Republican-caucus alignment well below the caucus average. Signature legislative work: co-author of the 2004 intelligence-community overhaul; lead Republican on the 2010 repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"; named negotiator on the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; co-author of the Paycheck Protection Program (2020) and the Social Security Fairness Act (2025); Defense Appropriations leadership. Cast a "no" on the 2017 ACA "skinny repeal" with McCain and Murkowski (scored as process/regular-order conduct, not policy) and voted to convict in the 2nd Trump impeachment, 2021 (one of seven Republicans).
3. Constitutional Moments
Voted to certify the 2020 election on January 6, 2021. Voted to convict Trump in the second impeachment trial, February 13, 2021, one of seven Republican senators; floor statement cited the oath to the Constitution as the primary duty (this is her clean M01 anchor, no policy content). The 2017 ACA "skinny repeal" no-vote is recorded as institutional/process conduct, NOT scored on the policy merits, the constitutionality of the underlying mandate is genuinely contested (NFIB v. Sebelius) and the scorecard does not grade policy in either direction. Kavanaugh confirmation (Oct 2018) and Barrett confirmation (Oct 2020) are likewise not scored on their merits, confirmation votes turn on contested judicial-philosophy and, in Kavanaugh's case, on allegations that did not meet the evidentiary bar.
4. Rhetoric & Discourse Profile
Sustained institutional-decorum posture across a nearly three-decade Senate tenure. No documented Measure 05 incitement, threat, or anti-belonging conduct on the record. Discourse style emphasizes process and bipartisan-cooperation framing, "regular order," "committee process," "reaching across the aisle." No documented hot-mic incidents. Sharp on specific policy substance but consistently substantive-disagreement rather than personal-attack framing; opponents treated as fellow citizens with differing views. Critics note a rhetoric-vs-record gap, which holds M03 at upper-middle rather than anchor-high.
5. Fiduciary Profile
Net worth roughly $1.5–3.4M, modest for a senator of her tenure; the wealth-disconnect from median Maine households is real but the largest jump tracks her 2012 marriage (combined finances) and market returns, NOT office-driven enrichment (M11 is not penalized for pre/non-office wealth). The genuine fiduciary drag is documented: she violated the disclosure provisions of the STOCK Act, a transparency law she helped write, on a late spousal-bond disclosure her office acknowledged. That is a sub-Severe appearance / self-authored-rule breach (M06 drag), not enrichment-by-office and not flag-triggering.
6. Severity-Class Conduct
No documented Severity-class conduct under any of the eight criteria. Critics characterize the Kavanaugh vote as criterion-related, but the methodology applies the eight criteria strictly to state-power-abuse conduct, not to substantive or contested vote disagreements, a confirmation vote is not Severity-class, and an unproven allegation is not scoreable. Flag count: zero. Applied symmetrically: the same standard that keeps her STOCK Act lapse a drag rather than a flag is the standard applied to everyone.
7. What The Framework Says
Collins's record is genuinely two-directional. Strong on the oath-critical and institutional measures, a documented oath-over-party vote (the J6 conviction), most-bipartisan-senator nine times over, a historic perfect-attendance streak, sustained civility and deep substantive output. Dragged by a real fiduciary blemish (the STOCK Act violation on a law she wrote) and contested judgment calls (the decisive Kavanaugh vote, the 2020 acquittal). The standard records both without letting either erase the other.
8. Sources & Where To Look Deeper
Tier 1 (primary): Collins Senate newsroom (primary statements) · Senate Appropriations Committee, Chair bio
Tier 2: Lugar Center Bipartisan Index · NOTUS, STOCK Act disclosure violation · OpenSecrets, personal finances
Research links: Official U.S. Senate site · Congress.gov member profile · Ballotpedia · Senate financial disclosures (eFD) · OpenSecrets, money & finances · Voteview / DW-NOMINATE · Wikipedia
Scores derive from the fixed Constitutional Weight Schedule. The bar does not move. Conduct, not party.