NextGen America Launches $1 Million Youth Organizing Program in Maine to Defeat Senator Susan Collins and Take Back the Senate

As NextGen America’s newest program, NextGen Maine will mobilize young voters to elect progressives up and down the ballot in 2020

Portland, ME – Today, NextGen America announced its initial $1 million effort to register and mobilize young voters ahead of Maine’s elections in 2020. NextGen Maine will organize young Mainers to defeat Senator Susan Collins, secure all four of Maine’s electoral college votes for the Democratic presidential nominee, and defend Representative Jared Golden’s seat in the 2nd Congressional District. Maine will be a pivotal battleground state in 2020, and NextGen Maine is on the ground to help young voters play an instrumental role in progressive victories up and down the ballot.  

NextGen Maine will focus heavily on flipping Senator Collins’ seat. As Collins tries to court young Mainers, she will have to answer for her role as the decisive vote to confirm Justice Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual assault by three women. In the field and online, NextGen will talk to young voters about the repercussions of her Kavanaugh vote and support for Trump’s disastrous tax bill. 

“The map to take back the Senate runs through Maine, and it will be young voters who vote Susan Collins out of office,” said Ben Wessel, Executive Director of NextGen America. “Collins has repeatedly put partisan loyalty over people, and once she voted for Trump’s tax bill and Judge Kavanaugh, she lost young Mainers for good. Voters deserve bold, progressive leaders who will fight for justice rather than set it aside when convenient, and NextGen is on the ground to help them take a stand at the polls.”   

NextGen Maine plans to engage thousands of college students across the state. Initially, the group will organize students on 11 campuses, including 4 community colleges. Six of the colleges fall in Maine’s 2nd congressional district, which Trump won in 2016, and NextGen plans to help Representative Jared Golden hold this seat. Along with on-campus organizing, NextGen will also mobilize non-student young voters through grassroots organizing, digital efforts, and a mail campaign. 

NextGen Maine is the newest addition to NextGen America’s youth organizing program, which now spans 11 battleground states. In 2018, NextGen ran the largest youth vote program in American history, registering over 257,000 young people to vote and reaching over 7 million young people between ages 18 and 35. With NextGen’s help, young voters helped Democrats take back the House, win key Senate and Governor races, and flip key statewide legislative chambers across the nation.