One of the Democratic Party’s best-known former senators is crossing party lines in one of the most important races of the 2026 midterms. Joe Manchin says he will campaign for Republican Senator Susan Collins as she fights to hold her Maine seat—and potentially help decide which party controls the U.S. Senate.

Manchin spent nearly his entire Senate career as a Democrat before registering as an independent in 2024. Now, he has offered more than a polite word of praise to Collins during a recent CNBC appearance.

“I’m gonna do everything I can to help,” Manchin said. Those words put him squarely in Collins’ corner.

Manchin’s defense of Collins was unusually personal. “You lose the Susan Collinses of the Senate, you’re losing the soul of the Senate,” he said.

He described Collins as a senator who is “always in there, always in the trenches,” and willing to work with people on the other side.

That kind of bipartisan language used to be routine in Washington. Today, backing the other party’s candidate weeks before a pivotal election lands like a political grenade.

Manchin has moved beyond complimenting an old colleague after retirement. He is choosing a side in a contest Democrats view as central to their path back to a Senate majority.

The practical substance was unmistakable: Manchin committed himself to helping Collins in public, on national television, at the point when her campaign needs prominent validators who can reach beyond the Republican base.

Manchin said he would stump for Collins, praised her character, and promised to do everything he could to help her win. He called Collins a great public servant and stated there was “not a better person,” language that left no doubt about which candidate he wants Maine voters to return to Washington.