Original sentence: Collins was considered one of the most vulnerable Republican senators due to her decreased polling numbers and perceived harm to her reputation but was reelected by an unexpectedly large 8.6% margin, with 51% of the vote to Gideon's 42.4% (still the closest election for this Senate seat since 1996)
Edited sentence: Collins was considered one of the most vulnerable Republican senators due to her decreased polling numbers and perceived harm to her reputation but was reelected by an unexpectedly large 8.6% margin.Despite winning by about 9 points however, Collin's 51% share of the vote was down 17 points compared to her landslide win in 2014 and is the lowest share of the vote since her first election in 1996