Sen. Collins and Troy Jackson clash in Maine debate — The Hill
Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic candidate Troy Jackson held their final pre-election debate for Maine’s U.S. Senate seat. During the hour-long discussion, the candidates argued over President Donald Trump, campaign financing, immigration reform, their voting records and the war in Iran, The Hill reports.
Collins, who is serving her fifth term as a senator, stressed her independence from the party and Trump. She said she had tried to organize Republican opposition to Pete Hegseth’s nomination as defense secretary, but one Republican senator changed his position at the last minute and the nomination was confirmed. Collins also said an analysis of her votes found 56 instances in which her vote affected the outcome, without providing details.
Dispute over voting record
Jackson responded that, in his view, Collins breaks with Trump and Republicans only when her vote is not decisive. He also recalled her vote to advance Trump’s sweeping tax-and-spending bill, although she later opposed the final version of the document.
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Collins disagreed, saying she voted with the president 72% of the time, rather than 90–100%, as her opponents claimed. She also pointed to her votes to confirm three Supreme Court justices nominated by Democratic presidents: Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Funding and the war in Iran
During an exchange about campaign money, Collins accused Jackson of breaking his pledge not to accept money from billionaires and corporate political committees. Jackson acknowledged that his campaign had received donations from billionaires but said this would not affect his votes. He also confirmed receiving $15,000 from the oil and pharmaceutical industries and said he had donated the money to charities.
The war in Iran was a separate topic. Jackson said that Collins, as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, could help end the conflict by cutting off funding. He linked the war to rising fuel costs, which, he said, had affected Maine’s fishing and logging industries. Collins said Congress should have been involved in the decision to start the war and defended her votes to end hostilities after the initial 60-day period provided for by the War Powers Act.
