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President Donald Trump’s escalating tariff threats against Canada are running headlong into one of his party’s top priorities: retaining Senate control.
The new levies could have an outsized effect in three states that could determine the Senate majority next year: Maine, Michigan, and New Hampshire.
Americans and Canadians who live on the border have “a unique relationship. They cross the border. They work together. They have families together,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., warned on Monday. “You create that tension, and the party that owns that tension is the party that probably suffers the consequences in November.”
Former Republican Sen. Scott Brown, a New Hampshire Senate candidate, told Semafor that “there’s gotta be a better way to negotiate or negotiate an agreement with our neighbor,” noting the US intelligence partnership with Canada and the countries’ “very strong” alliance and economic ties.
“I do not agree with this approach,” Brown added.
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Incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has already voted with her colleagues to block Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods. She warned over the weekend that “imposing new tariffs on Canada was a mistake.”
Her performance in her reelection bid against Democrat Troy Jackson will hinge on both the president’s popularity and cost of living, the latter of which Collins warned could rise in her state. That’s because Maine’s goods — including lumber, blueberries, lobster, and potatoes — are often processed on the other side of the border.
“If it comes back with a huge tariff on it — perhaps as much as 50% — that increases the cost of eating, building homes, and our best-known products,” Collins said.
Vice President JD Vance, who was campaigning for Republicans in Maine on Monday, defended the levies and said that Canada must “stop taking advantage of the people of Maine.” He also praised Collins, who did not attend his event due to a scheduling conflict.
Tillis, who is retiring at the end of his term, argued the administration should be listening to Collins — not vice-versa. “Instead of people who are advising the president telling her how to win in Maine, they should probably learn from her how to win in Maine, and follow policies to that end,” he said.
“People that live in Maine have a lot of sympathy for their friends in Canada. And so if you look like you’re turning a blind eye towards the circumstances there, it’s not gonna age well. And you can say the same thing for other states,” Tillis said.
A spokesperson for Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers pointed Semafor to previous comments he made about negotiating with Canada and preventing Chinese auto imports. A spokesperson for former GOP Sen. John Sununu, who is running against Brown in New Hampshire, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Americans are paying more for everything because GOP Senate candidates have served as a rubber stamp for Trump’s chaotic tariffs at the expense of their states,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Tommy Garcia said in a statement. “Come November, voters will hold them accountable for making life more expensive.”