Sen. Collins reacts to Maine's 2018 election results

BELFAST (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- After last night's election, the GOP still holds senate control.

There will be some movement in the Senate chambers, though, as some members have retired and new members were elected.

Senator Susan Collins will be moving up to 12th out of the Senate's 100 members. She says seniority in the Senate is a big deal because it can help get things done, give more clout and better committee assignments.

Collins says she anticipates she'll continue serving on the committee's she's currently on including the Senate appropriations committee, the aging committee and the intelligence committee.

"I anticipate continuing my service on the intelligence committee where we are still wrapping up our investigation of the Russian attempt to influence public pinon in this country. So I’ll be very busy and will be moving up a couple of notches in seniority." She said.

While the GOP holds strong in the Senate, the house is newly democratic. Collins says there's always tension between the house and senate, even if they two are controlled by the same party. She says that's expected but she's excited that it looks like Martha McSally, who she campaigned for in Arizona, will be taking a seat in the house.

She says that she's "saddened by the fact that a lot of people who lost who lost in the house were Republican moderates who decided to either retire or were defeated."

While things are shifting in Washington, there are changes happening here in Maine as well. Including the first female governor.

"I called Janet Mills early this morning to congratulate her. We talked about the fact that she'll be first woman governor of Maine, something that is long overdue." Collins said. "I obviously was a supporter of her opponent, Shawn Moody, but I've known Janet a very long time and I know we will work very well together. In fact, we already started talking about some issues where we could collaborate to secure federal funding."