On a warm October morning in 2018, busloads of women converged on Capitol Hill and made their way to Sen. Susan Collins’ office. The Maine Republican was ostensibly on the fence about whether to vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in light of several sexual misconduct allegations against him. Dozens of sexual assault survivors and their allies lingered outside Collins’ door, hoping for a chance to explain why supporting Kavanaugh would be a monumental mistake. But Collins was busy that day, her staff said, poring through the FBI’s limited investigation into the accusations against him. The next day, Collins delivered a marathon speech from the Senate floor announcing she would vote for Kavanaugh, cementing a spot on the bench for President Donald Trump’s second Supreme Court nominee. For some of her constituents, Collins’ vote was an awakening. The most senior Republican woman in the Senate, a self-proclaimed pro-choice moderate, had just sung the praises of an accused sexual predator whose anti-abortion views could jeopardize the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

Andrew Lichtenstein via Getty Images Women's rights activists opposed to Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court occupy Senator Susan Collins of Maine's office and listen to her speech on the Senate floor explaining why she is supporting the nomination on October 5, 2018, in Washington, D.C.

Others ― those more familiar with Collins’ record — were less surprised: The four-term senator often hid behind her “moderate” cloak, but rarely broke with the Republican Party on votes where she could make a difference. In the end, Collins’ support for Kavanaugh appeared to spark a nearly universal sentiment among Mainers who opposed his confirmation, whether they were longtime political activists or speaking out for the first time: betrayal. A year later, that feeling continues to enrage and mobilize many Maine voters. Though Collins hasn’t yet formally announced her reelection campaign, she’s amassed several Democratic challengers, including Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon; Betsy Sweet, a women’s rights advocate and a former Maine gubernatorial candidate; and attorney Bre Kidman. Kidman, who uses the pronouns them and they, was one of the sexual assault survivors from Maine who traveled hundreds of miles to Washington last year in an attempt to persuade Collins not to vote for Kavanaugh. On the one-year anniversary of his confirmation, Kidman returned to Washington, where they joined hundreds of people outside the Supreme Court protesting Kavanaugh, including Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), who introduced a resolution last month calling for his impeachment. “It’s not just about sexual assault. It’s not just about a political move,” Kidman told HuffPost. “It’s about her not listening to us and I don’t think anyone is going to let her forget it.” “Last year, I was nervous to beg my senator to do the right thing,” they added. “And this year, I’m coming for her job and nerves be damned.”

Also, today @AyannaPressley told me I was very brave and to keep going and she is so intense and so powerful and I guess that means I have to keep going 🤷‍♂️#survivorsquad#ReclaimTheCourtpic.twitter.com/IdRuTFy04o — bre🏳️‍🌈kidman🇺🇸for🦞Maine🌹(D) (@BeeKay4ME) October 6, 2019

Hundreds of Collins’ critics protested in Washington and across Maine on Sunday. In Bar Harbor, more than a dozen women staged a die-in for 43 minutes ― the length of Collins’ Kavanaugh speech on the Senate floor ― in one of Maine’s most scenic parks, eliciting encouragement from tourists and local passersby. “People who weren’t really active in the last election are ready to go knock on doors,” said Gail Leiser, a member of Indivisible MDI, a local chapter of the progressive movement that organized the demonstration. “They have that sense of betrayal.” Collins has “always been a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” she added. “She’s always presented as a moderate, but would always toe the party line. A lot of people couldn’t see that. But a lot of people have been awakened. What she says and what she does are two different things.”

Jennifer Steen Booher A protester in Maine holding a cut-out of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Additional protests unfolded across Maine on Sunday, from one outside Collins’ house in Bangor, to one 130 miles southwest at Portland City Hall. Dini Merz, a co-founder of the progressive political action committee Mainers for Accountable Leadership, spoke at the Portland event. She came out as a sexual assault survivor a year ago while urging Collins to vote “no” on Kavanaugh. “Election after election, she has said she’s pro-choice, that she believes in the right of women to have integrity over their own body,” Merz told HuffPost. “Yet she was the pivotal vote in putting onto the Supreme Court someone with a known history of being restrictive of women’s bodies. Everything he does on that court that confirms that is an albatross around her neck.”

Sexual assault survivor Dini Merz of @mfalpac reminds us we are a collective of diverse, strong, powerful people. We fought for the right to vote, to criminalize rape, and will keep fighting. #mepolitics#reclaimthecourtspic.twitter.com/aziPAOqSNC — Planned Parenthood (@PPMEAF) October 6, 2019