The paper's editorial board came after a ProPublica investigation published last week claimed the Trump administration gutted the FBI division investigating possible bribery claims against Collins. Collins, 73, has drawn criticism for what the Press Herald called a "complacent response to open allegations of bribery."
The editorial didn't mince words, saying her handling of the matter "sends voters a very clear and disrespectful message." For a senator running in a state where local papers still carry weight, getting torched by your hometown editorial board is the kind of headline campaign staffers dread. She now has to answer the allegations directly or risk more coverage painting her as dismissive.
The timing lands hard. Midterms are approaching, the FBI probe into her got dismantled under a Trump-run Justice Department, and now the paper she's answered to for decades is publicly asking why she isn't more bothered by any of it.