Poll shows Susan Collins down 12 points, Lindsey Graham tied with Democratic challenger
16 September 2020
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) face rising odds in their high-profile re-election bids, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday.
Why it matters: Many thought Graham's Senate race was a long shot for Democrats, and the moderate Collins has served as a pivotal Republican swing vote on a number of key issues during President Trump's presidency.
- Collins, who has criticized Trump at times but voted to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and to acquit the president in his impeachment trial, is down 54%-42% to her Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, Maine's House Speaker.
- Graham is tied 48%-48% with Jaime Harrison, his Democratic challenger and the first African-American chairman of South Carolina's Democratic party.
Meanwhile: Democrat Amy McGrath, who has raised massive amounts of cash in her high-profile Kentucky Senate race, is down 53%-41% to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, according to the Quinnipiac poll.
What they're saying: "Senate control hangs in the balance as the GOP confronts a likely nail biter in South Carolina and a possible knockout in Maine, offset by a presumably solid lead in Kentucky," Quinnipiac analyst Tim Malloy said in a press release.
Methodology: 1,164 likely voters surveyed in Kentucky with a MOE of ±2.9 percentage points. 1,183 likely voters surveyed in Maine with a MOE of ±2.9 percentage points. 969 likely voters surveyed in South Carolina with a MOE of ±3.2 percentage points.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.