PRESS RELEASE
In The Days Leading Up To The First Debate, Troy Jackson Holds Three Town Halls, Speaks To Mainers
PORTLAND, ME — Fifth-generation logger, former Maine Senate President, and Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Troy Jackson spent the days leading up to the first debate with Mainers, traveling across the state holding three town halls, two canvass launches, and a roundtable discussion. Jackson has now held seven town halls since the start of his campaign for U.S. Senate — that’s seven more than Collins has done in 25 years.
Four years after Collins cast her vote, Kavanaugh was in the court majority that overturned Roe vs. Wade and the national right to abortion in the 2022 Dobbs decision. Jackson revved up a crowd that has never forgiven or forgotten.
“She said that she doesn’t regret that vote. Well, most everyone I know does,” Jackson said. “That’s right!” shouted an audience member.
Clegg praised Jackson for his leadership as state senate president in shepherding Maine laws to protect reproductive rights and expand abortion access, including the 2023 law allowing later-in-pregnancy abortion, unlike more than 20 states that have restricted or banned abortion since Dobbs.
Clegg said, “I find it really fascinating that Susan Collins and her campaign keep saying that these aren’t problems in Maine, but the reasons they’re not problems in Maine is because of the work you did.”
Maine Democrats have also pointed to more than 50 Collins' votes, since Kavanaugh to confirm other federal judges who the party identified as opposing abortion rights, including more than 20 in Trump's second term.
WMTW: Troy Jackson rallies for reproductive rights, explains change in abortion stance
"It just became clear to me that I was wrong and that reproductive rights is healthcare and I always have thought that people should have healthcare," Jackson said.
He once again criticized Sen. Susan Collins for voting to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, saying her vote impacted women far beyond Maine after the Dobbs decision. "When she came out and said she was going to vote for him, to me it was clear that she knew what was going to happen, too," Jackson said.
"She thinks we are stupid that is what it comes down to. She thinks people don't understand the process that she did not know what he was going to do. Everyone in the country knew what she was going to do.”
WGME (CBS Portland): Troy Jackson Campaigns Across the State
Gregg Lagerquist: Maine's Democratic U.S. Senate nominee stopped in Bangor Sunday afternoon, rallying supporters and volunteers before launching a local canvass. He aims to unseat Senator Susan Collins, who is campaigning for a sixth term in office.
Stephanie Grindley: Jackson criticized Collins's voting record, claiming Collins has repeatedly aligned with Republicans to push forward President Trump's agenda.
Troy Jackson: “You can say whatever you want, but when you support Donald Trump 96% of the time, then you support the goals that he's actually putting forward. Plus, she put those people, the secretaries on there, that told us they were going to do blanket tariffs and all that. I mean, Susan Collins is fighting for people that I don't care about. I care about Mainers. I care about working-class people, and that's the people that are getting screwed in this economy, and that's who I'm going to be fighting for.
News Center Maine: Jackson brings US Senate campaign to Bangor ahead of first debate
He said his views were shaped by watching people in his community struggle to speak up for themselves. “You know, my whole life I've watched this happen. I've watched people that I cared about not being willing to stand up, and I understand why that is. It's hard. It's hard to get out of line,” Jackson said.
Jackson used the stop to lay out the issues he says the federal government should prioritize. “We deserve to have healthcare for everyone in this country," he said. "We deserve to have reproductive rights. We deserve to have prescription drugs. We deserve childcare. We deserve a government that's actually going to work."
After the event, Jackson faced questions about corruption allegations involving illegal contributions to Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins' 2020 campaign. [...] Jackson said he was not aware the report was coming. “I didn't know it was coming out,” he said. “She should worry about who she takes money from. I don't take corporate money. I don't trade votes for things like that.”
Virginia Manuel, a Jackson volunteer, said she believes his message is resonating with people facing economic challenges. “He is the right person at this time when so many people are hurting economically,” Manuel said.
Dee Clark, another supporter, said she believes Jackson would focus on the concerns of Maine residents. “We feel like the regular people of Maine have been hurting and are hurting bad,” Clark said. “I believe Troy is going to go and work for us.”
Troy Jackson drove across Maine this weekend, leading his 'Take Action with Jackson' get-out-the-vote effort. Maine's Democratic U.S. Senate nominee stopped in Bangor on Sunday, rallying supporters and volunteers before launching a local canvass.
Jackson criticized Collins' voting record, claiming Susan Collins has repeatedly aligned with Republicans to push forward President Trump's agenda. "You can say whatever you want but when you support Donald Trump 96% of the time then you support the goals that he's actually putting forth," said Jackson. "I mean Susan Collins is fighting for people I don't care about. I care about Mainers, I care about working class people and that's the people that are getting screwed in this economy and that's who I'm gonna be fighting for."
Jackson said that Collins needs to stand up and take accountability [for the ProPublica report]. “She should worry about who she takes money from. I don’t take corporate money. I don’t trade votes for things like that. That’s on her. I don’t know what else to say about it, but I’m sure she is very concerned about it,” said Jackson.
Ahead of the first televised debate Thursday, Jackson also spoke about how he is preparing ahead of time. [...] “I am very excited to be able to be on the debate stage and talk about the things that I’ve done compared to the things that she’s done. She can defend hers, and I’ll defend mine. I’m proud of what I fought for.”
Bangor Daily News: Troy Jackson says he ‘feels great’ ahead of upcoming debates with Susan Collins
Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson said he “feels great” ahead of his upcoming debates with Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
At the debates, Jackson wants to talk about Collins’ voting record and issues that aren’t being discussed in political ads, he said at a canvassing event Sunday in Bangor. “Let’s actually get in front of people and talk about, you know, the issues that are affecting Mainers instead of running attack ads about people’s families,” Jackson said.
The Allagash native said he’s been preparing for the debates in the hours after the town halls and events he’s held. Although he didn’t say exactly what talking points or campaign issues he’s been studying, he said he expected his and Collins’ voting records to be compared. “[My] record is always something I felt very strongly about. It’s your record. So I am very excited to be up on the debate stage and talk about the things that I’ve done compared to the things that she’s done,” Jackson said.
When talking about Collins’ previous votes, Jackson pointed to a Bangor Daily News article showing the Republican senator votes with her party more than 90% of the time.
“Shame on me? Shame on her for being, you know, so corrupt. I didn’t do that. That’s on her,” Jackson said. “I don’t know what else to say about it, but I’m sure she is very concerned about it. It does look very damning, and people are going to remember November 3.”
###