Susan Collins to Get Hollywood Treatment at Fund-Raiser Featuring Democrats

Some of Hollywood’s most prominent Democrats are set to hold a fund-raiser next month for one of America’s most endangered Republicans.

Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who is one of the Democratic Party’s top targets in the 2026 midterm elections, will visit Los Angeles for an event on Sept. 26, according to an invitation reviewed by The New York Times.

That Ms. Collins is the toast of some liberal donors is something of an odd-bedfellows moment. But the senator has prided herself as independent, with fans among moderate Democratic voters and donors.

The fund-raiser will be held at the home of Sherry Lansing, a former Paramount Pictures chairwoman and prominent liberal donor, according to three people with knowledge of the fund-raiser. Ms. Lansing’s home in the Bel Air neighborhood is a mainstay on the philanthropy and Democratic fund-raising circuit, hosting the likes of Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis of California on her patio, which opens to sweeping views of Los Angeles.

Ms. Lansing is set to co-host the event with Casey Wasserman, the sports and entertainment mogul and chairman of the Los Angeles Olympics organizing committee, which is handling logistics for the Summer Games in 2028. Mr. Wasserman is a longtime Democratic giver as well, but he has taken steps to ingratiate himself with the right as of late, giving Olympic medals to President Trump at the White House this month and donating to some Republicans during this election cycle.

The Bel Air event has attracted some attention in Hollywood because Democrats will need to topple Republicans like Ms. Collins if they have a chance at retaking the Senate. It is unclear how strong a candidate Democrats will field in Maine. On Tuesday, a political novice, Graham Platner, announced his entry into the Democratic primary.

Mr. Wasserman and Ms. Lansing decided to participate in the Southern California fund-raiser because it was set up as a bipartisan host committee, with two Democrats and two Republicans, according to a person close to them.

One of the Republicans is Harry E. Sloan, a former chairman of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and a current member of the Lionsgate board. Mr. Sloan was once a prominent backer of moderate Republicans like John McCain, but in recent years he has also made six-figure contributions to Democrats, including to back the 2024 presidential campaigns of Joseph R. Biden Jr. and then Kamala Harris. Mr. Sloan’s wife, Florence, a filmmaker with similar giving patterns to her husband, is also listed on the invitation.

The other Republican hosting the event is Michael Burns, vice chairman of the Lionsgate film and television studio.

“I’m proud to have supported my dear friend Senator Collins for many years,” Mr. Burns said in a text message. “She remains a clear-thinking, bipartisan moderate in a world that, at least for the moment, is something far different.”

Ms. Lansing, Mr. Wasserman and Mr. Sloan did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ms. Collins’s campaign had no comment.

Tickets for the reception run from $3,500 to $10,000.

Ms. Collins is also expected to attend finance events in Northern California around the time of the Bel Air fund-raiser, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Shane Goldmacher and Shawn Hubler contributed reporting.