Sen. Susan Collins on Friday emphasized themes of freedom and unity during an address at the Maine Republican State Convention.

“If you believe in freedom, this would be a good year to vote Republican,” Collins told hundreds gathered in the Augusta Civic Center.

Collins received a warm reception from the crowd, most of whom stood and clapped as she made her way to the stage. The party is hoping the mid-term elections in November will be their chance to take back key levers of power, including the governor’s office, state Legislature and two congressional seats.

Collins criticized Democrats for higher gas prices, inflation and for calling to defund the police at a time when crime rates are rising.

“They claim to have new ideas, but their ideas are really just the same old failed approach of ever-expanding and intrusive government,” she said. “The same old blame shifting and finger pointing.”

Earlier in the day, the GOP delegates voted to add new amendments to the party’s platform to encourage lawmakers to prohibit public schools from presenting “sexually-based material of any kind to students prior to grade 12.” A similar amendment called for a statewide Code of Ethics for teachers to ban “racial profiling, racial stereotyping and racial scapegoating” and prohibit “school sponsored items that hyper-sexualize elementary and middle school students.”

Collins, now serving her fifth term as senator, addressed delegates on the convention’s first day. On Saturday, former Gov. Paul LePage will speak, as will the GOP’s two candidates for the 2nd Congressional District, Bruce Poliquin and Liz Caruso and the nominee for the 1st District, Ed Thelander.

Collins recalled her 2020 victory in a high-priced campaign against former Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, thanking the crowd for helping her win by 9 points. She said Republicans should unite behind their fall election nominees, even if they didn’t support them in the primary.

“In six months and 10 days, people throughout Maine and across America will make choices that will have profound effects upon the future of our great state and our great nation,” she said.

Collins also reminded the crowd to thank veterans for protecting American freedoms and spoke briefly about her recent trip to Poland, near the Ukraine border. She said a conversation with a woman fleeing the violence highlighted courage “that inspired the world and shocked the Russians.”

She said Americans should remember that our freedoms allow us to disagree in the political arena.

“Freedom is our responsibility to cherish and protect now and in the future,” she said.