JACKSON WILL PUT COLLINS’ CORRUPTION AND THE COST TO MAINERS FRONT AND CENTER AT SECOND DEBATE

Jackson: “You keep telling us how powerful you are. Who is that power working for?”

Yesterday, a Maine attorney filed a Senate ethics complaint against Collins

WESTBROOK, ME — Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Troy Jackson will face Susan Collins in their second debate tonight, pressing her on the pay-to-play allegations surrounding her political operation and making the case that working Mainers deserve a senator who puts their needs before wealthy donors.

After thirty years in Washington, Collins is campaigning on her power and seniority. But mounting reporting about federal contracts and campaign contributions raises a fundamental question: Who benefits from how she uses that power?

ProPublica revealed that Collins’ office helped steer millions in federal contracts to a defense contractor whose CEO illegally funneled $150,000 to a super PAC supporting her. Collins and her team tried to lie about her involvement, but reporters debunked her excuses again and again. The reporting documented emails, financial records, and an FBI inquiry that ended after the Trump administration dismantled the investigative teams handling the case. Since then, Susan Collins has voted with Trump 96% of the time.

Now, additional reporting has raised questions about her committee funding military vehicles the Army said it did not need while donations flowed to her political committees from people connected to the manufacturer.

Then yesterday, a Maine attorney filed a complaint with the US Senate Ethics Committee against Susan Collins urging the committee to conduct an investigation into the allegations and corruption revealed in ProPublica’s bombshell story.

Tonight, Jackson will connect those questions to the stakes for Maine families: how Washington spends their tax dollars, whose priorities get heard, and why people struggling to afford groceries, medicine, and heating oil deserve more than excuses.

“Senator Collins keeps telling Mainers how powerful she is. Tonight, she needs to explain who that power is working for,” said Jackson. “Families shouldn’t have to write a campaign check to get their senator’s attention. I’ve fought to lower prescription drug costs and feed kids at school. I’ll bring that same fight to Washington, lower people’s bills, and take on the corruption that shuts working people out.”

Tonight’s debate airs on WMTW at 8:00 p.m. ET.

WHAT COLLINS MUST ANSWER FOR TONIGHT

Federal contracts, illegal contributions, and unanswered questions. Collins has been ensnared in a FBI corruption scandal for helping a defense contractor secure millions in taxpayer-funded contracts. Its CEO illegally routed $150,000 through a shell company to a super PAC supporting her. Mainers deserve a direct explanation of what Collins knew about the donation and when she knew it. Collins has poorly attempted to dismiss ProPublica’s reporting as old news, but evidence shows the investigation was being pursued into 2025 — until the Trump administration’s purge ended that work.

New reporting about spending the Army did not request. The Intercept reported that under Collins’ watch, Congress provided $345 million for military vehicles the Army said it did not need, followed by a burst of company-connected contributions to Collins’ fundraising committees. Mainers deserve answers about how those spending decisions were made.

The gap between her Washington power and Mainers’ everyday struggles. Collins voted to advance Trump’s legislation slashing Medicaid and delivering tax breaks for the wealthy, then sought credit for a rural hospital fund included in the final bill. Jackson will challenge her to explain why working families keep paying the price for Washington’s priorities.

WHAT JACKSON WILL FIGHT FOR

A fifth-generation logger, union member, and former Maine Senate President, Jackson has delivered lower prescription drug costs, universal school meals, paid family and medical leave, and collective bargaining rights for loggers.

In the U.S. Senate, he will fight to:

Lower families’ costs: Pass Medicare for All, cut prescription drug prices, lower electricity bills, expand housing, and make child care more affordable.
Clean up Washington: Ban congressional stock trading, overturn Citizens United, and get big money out of politics.
Put working people first: Cut taxes for working people, make corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share, and strengthen the right to organize.

As Jackson said on Tuesday night: “I don’t owe Donald Trump and the billionaires anything. I owe the people of Maine everything.”

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