Sara Gideon, the Maine House speaker who is running to challenge Sen. Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsThe Hill's Campaign Report: Biden asks if public can trust vaccine from Trump ahead of Election Day | Oklahoma health officials raised red flags before Trump rally Gideon leads Collins by 12 points in Maine Senate race: poll Senate leaders quash talk of rank-and-file COVID-19 deal MORE (R-Maine) in November, said she would have voted to convict President Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE in the Senate’s impeachment trial and slammed Collins for saying she would vote for acquittal.

Gideon said she believed Trump abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rivals and that Collins was “complicit” in letting him off the hook.

“Based on the information included as part of the impeachment trial, I believe an abuse of power occurred and I would vote to remove the President,” Gideon said in a statement.

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“[Collins’s] decision to acquit despite the case against the President and without hearing more of the facts again reveals her commitment to standing with [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden asks if public can trust vaccine from Trump ahead of Election Day | Oklahoma health officials raised red flags before Trump rally MORE and Donald Trump,” she added. “This was not the process that Mainers and Americans deserved, and Senator Collins was complicit in letting that happen.”

Gideon also slammed Senate Republicans for voting down a Democratic measure to allow further witness testimony in the chamber’s impeachment trial.

Democrats had clamored to hear from current and former administration members after new evidence arose following the December House vote to impeach Trump on two articles.

“Like a lot of Mainers, I believe we needed to hear from relevant witnesses and to consider all evidence as part of this process,” said Gideon. “I also believe that if President Trump was so confident in his innocence then both he and Republicans in the Senate would have gladly allowed that testimony to occur.”

Collins and Sen. Mitt Romney Willard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyThe Memo: Warning signs flash for Trump on debates GOP votes to authorize subpoenas, depositions in Obama-era probe Overnight Defense: Trump hosts Israel, UAE, Bahrain for historic signing l Air Force reveals it secretly built and flew new fighter jet l Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to 'forever chemicals' MORE (R-Utah) were the only two Republicans to vote with Democrats to support testimony from new witnesses.

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The statement comes after Collins, widely regarded as a key swing vote, announced on the Senate floor Tuesday that she would vote to acquit Trump this week.

“I do not believe that the House has met its burden of showing that the president's conduct, however flawed, warrants the extreme step of immediate removal from office,” Collins said from the Senate floor before adding that his dealings with Ukraine were “improper” and “demonstrated very poor judgment.”

The House voted in December largely along party lines to impeach Trump for abuse of power over his pressure campaign on Kyiv and obstruction of Congress for working to hinder House probes into his actions toward Ukraine.

Democrats are likely to highlight impeachment in the race against Collins as they work to underscore her votes confirming Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael KavanaughGideon leads Collins by 12 points in Maine Senate race: poll Conservatives see glaring omission on Trump's Supreme Court shortlist Cruz says he wouldn't accept Supreme Court nomination MORE and supporting Trump’s tax plan.

The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, rates the Maine Senate race as a “toss up.”