Susan Collins and Troy Jackson clash over Trump and seniority in Maine’s first Senate debate
NBC News · LC · trust 50/100
Maine is central to Democrats’ path to the Senate majority as they try to capitalize on Trump’s unpopularity. Jackson tried to do just that Tuesday by tying Collins to Trump, name-checking him at least 20 times in one hour of debating on WGME-TV.
“It matters who you stand with,” Jackson said in his opening statement. “I don’t owe Donald Trump and the billionaires anything. I don’t fight for billionaires like she does.”
Collins, meanwhile, emphasized multiple instances when she opposed the Trump administration.
She also sought to localize the race and pitch her seniority — and her perch as chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee — as a boost to Maine. She touted $1.5 billion in federal funds that she has brought home to the state for 672 projects in the last five years, “from Madawaksa to Kittery, from Eastport to Rumford.”
“I’ve been able to bring home federal dollars to help ease the burden on our taxpayers,” Collins said.
Jackson set the tone for the debate early by connecting Collins to Trump and repeatedly saying she votes in alignment with him 96% of the time. Collins questioned the methodology of the study he cited.
In a moment that captured her tricky relationship with her party’s leader , Collins dodged two questions about whether she would stand with Trump if he visited Maine, with Trump having recently teased a visit to the Pine Tree State. Collins said only that she doesn’t expect him to come and that she’s “not exactly his favorite senator.”
Collins’ answer prompted a grin from Jackson. Trump has said Collins is “not my favorite person” but nevertheless endorsed her for re-election, and Vice President JD Vance has gone to Maine and backed her at events .
Polls show a neck-and-neck race between Collins and Jackson, often within the margin of error, as Collins seeks to defy gravity yet again and win a sixth term in the blue-leaning state. She is the only GOP senator representing a state Trump lost in 2024.
Both parties are spending tens of millions of dollars on a seat that carries major implications for control of the chamber, and a victory for Collins would constrict Democrats’ path to the Senate majority.
Jackson also highlighted Collins’ pivotal vote in 2018 to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was part of the majority that overturned Roe v. Wade, doing away with the federal right to abortion. Tuesday’s debate fell on the anniversary of Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote in the Senate.
Collins said she judges all nominees by their qualifications, and she noted that she also supported justices who voted to uphold Roe v. Wade.
“In fact, I am the only Republican senator to have voted for Justice [Sonia] Sotomayor, [Elena] Kagan and [Ketanji Brown] Jackson, who were nominated by a Democratic senator,” Collins said.
Collins also hit back against attempts to tie her to the end of Roe v. Wade, referring to Jackson’s more conservative stance on abortion earlier in his career and quipping, “There’s only one of us on this stage who has always been pro-choice, and that’s me.”
Jackson did not engage with the barb in the moment, but he noted in his closing statement that he pushed for progressive abortion policies in the Legislature.
FOR SUBSCRIBERS Locals called their town ‘Almost Heaven’. A plan to open a Buc-ee’s exposed its underbelly. FOR SUBSCRIBERS Outrage, backlash and inaction: Why can’t America stop rape on college campuses? FOR SUBSCRIBERS France shuts down nearly 900 schools as violent student protests escalate FOR SUBSCRIBERS This voting bloc holds the key to the midterms FOR SUBSCRIBERS Florida Democrats try to regain their mojo after years of Republican dominance FOR SUBSCRIBERS Justice Department tells employees to adopt Trump’s AI rebrand FOR SUBSCRIBERS U.S. housing market sets a grim record as sellers swamp buyers FOR SUBSCRIBERS Texts show worried Cornell fraternity brothers coordinating responses as accusations came to light FOR SUBSCRIBERS Former Olympic canoeist asks government watchdogs to probe ‘nightmare’ Reflecting Pool case FOR SUBSCRIBERS A psychedelic drug could soon get approved in the U.S. What should the rules be? FOR SUBSCRIBERS The Data Dive: Steve Kornacki on how Kansas became a surprise midterm battleground FOR SUBSCRIBERS Baltic nations brace for Russian attacks as border threats escalate FOR SUBSCRIBERS Latino voters feel buyer’s remorse in battleground Texas FOR SUBSCRIBERS Tips came in just minutes after Cornell alerted students to an alleged sex assault at a frat house FOR SUBSCRIBERS What’s on the Supreme Court’s docket this term? For Subscribers FOR SUBSCRIBERS Locals called their town ‘Almost Heaven’. A plan to open a Buc-ee’s exposed its underbelly. FOR SUBSCRIBERS Outrage, backlash and inaction: Why can’t America stop rape on college campuses? FOR SUBSCRIBERS France shuts down nearly 900 schools as violent student protests escalate FOR SUBSCRIBERS This voting bloc holds the key to the midterms FOR SUBSCRIBERS Florida Democrats try to regain their mojo after years of Republican dominance FOR SUBSCRIBERS Justice Department tells employees to adopt Trump’s AI rebrand FOR SUBSCRIBERS U.S. housing market sets a grim record as sellers swamp buyers FOR SUBSCRIBERS Texts show worried Cornell fraternity brothers coordinating responses as accusations came to light FOR SUBSCRIBERS Former Olympic canoeist asks government watchdogs to probe ‘nightmare’ Reflecting Pool case FOR SUBSCRIBERS A psychedelic drug could soon get approved in the U.S. What should the rules be? FOR SUBSCRIBERS The Data Dive: Steve Kornacki on how Kansas became a surprise midterm battleground FOR SUBSCRIBERS Baltic nations brace for Russian attacks as border threats escalate FOR SUBSCRIBERS Latino voters feel buyer’s remorse in battleground Texas FOR SUBSCRIBERS Tips came in just minutes after Cornell alerted students to an alleged sex assault at a frat house FOR SUBSCRIBERS What’s on the Supreme Court’s docket this term? Jackson’s…
Read the original at NBC News →
Open in TruthVane →