Sen. John Ensign (R-Nevada), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, said his committee will not be expending any resources in Maine in the last two weeks of the election.

In a conference call with reporters today, he said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Bangor) will win by 10 to 15 points against her opponent, U.S. Rep. Tom Allen (D-Portland).

“We have watched Sen. Collins, she has never been under double digits (in the polls),” Ensign said. “People know her and know her record.”

On the call, Ensign addressed the necessity of preventing the Democrats from attaining 60 seats in the Senate.

One of the biggest issues, Ensign said, is the Employee Free Choice Act, or the “card-check” bill. The legislation seeks to make it easier for unions to organize by creating a process where if a majority of the prospective collective bargaining unit signs an authorization card, the union is automatically recognized.

With all those new union members, and their donations to political campaigns, it would be “40 to 50 years minimum” before the Republicans could take back the majority, Ensign said.

Other issues, Ensign said, are protecting drilling in the United States and preventing tax increases which would hurt the job market.

President Bush’s unpopularity has hurt Republicans across the country, and the Democrats have taken on the strategy of linking their opponents to him.

Ensign said this has hurt Republicans in: “Most of the other states other than Maine.”

He then added: “Maybe it has worked just a little bit. Sen. Collins would be up 30 points if it wasn’t for that.”

Ensign said the NRSC has done extensive polling in the state, which includes an open ended question asking voters what they think of the Senator.

“Everybody in Maine seems to know Susan Collins,” Ensign said. “If (someone) tries to say something false about her, they know Susan Collins is very independent, and votes against Bush a lot.”

When asked about the recent news that Collins denounced a robocall made by the National Republican Party and Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s campaign, he said: “Nobody knows Maine better than Susan Collins. You need to do what you think is best in your state.”