PRESS RELEASE
Jackson Wins First Debate As Collins Refuses To Take Accountability For Kavanaugh Vote
Bangor Daily News: Susan Collins won’t say Kavanaugh vote was a mistake in 1st debate with Troy Jackson
CNN: Takeaways: Trump and abortion rights take center stage in first Maine Senate debate
PORTLAND, ME — Fifth generation Mainer and Democratic Nominee Troy Jackson won last night’s debate, “relentless[ly] going after Collins’ record,” holding her accountable for her record voting with Trump 96% of the time, and confirming Brett Kavanaugh who overturned Roe v. Wade.
Major moments of the debate came as Collins refused to admit she made a mistake voting to confirm Kavanaugh and later when Troy compared Susan Collins to an “arsonist” who sets a fire and then wants credit for bringing a cup of water.
In a major misstep, Collins — a multimillionaire — claimed that once upon a time, 32 years ago, she could very briefly relate to Mainers struggling to afford health care.
What Mainers are seeing about Jackson’s stand out performance:
New Republic: “We Can’t Eat Road Salt”: Susan Collins Crashes and Burns in Debate
In the first of four televised debates, Collins struggled to defend her efforts to rein in President Donald Trump’s disastrous policies.
“I didn’t mock the fact that she got road salt back, I mocked the fact that, what about everything else? We can’t eat road salt,” Jackson said.
CNN: Takeaways: Trump and abortion rights take center stage in first Maine Senate debate
“Sen. Collins is like an arsonist who set the fire and then she wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put it out,” Jackson said.
Jackson opened before even introducing himself by noting that Maine women begged Collins to vote against Kavanaugh, who later joined the 2022 majority that overturned Roe v. Wade. He pressed further when the candidates got to question each other. “What will it take for you to admit you’re ever wrong?” Jackson said.
“I don’t owe Trump, I don’t owe billionaires nothing,” Jackson said. “But I do owe the people of Maine everything.”
WGME/FOX23: Sen. Collins refuses to say if she made a mistake in voting to confirm Justice Kavanaugh
Republican Senator Susan Collins refused to answer if she thought confirming U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was a mistake.
“Tonight is about who you stand with when it matters. Eight years ago today, Maine women went to D.C. and begged Sen. Collins not to confirm Brett Kavanaugh,” Jackson said. “But she did it anyways. Even though they begged her. He helped overturn Roe vs. Wade, and today she says she has no regrets, and I would wonder for everyone, including myself, would you trust her to pick the next Supreme Court justice?
Portland Press Herald: Live Update
To touch on the optics of the debate or the tone so far, Collins has repeatedly gotten defensive when Jackson has criticized her. It feels safe to say Jackson has been more on offense rather than defense
The Washington Sun: Collins and Jackson Trade Blame on High Costs in Maine Senate Debate
A testy point Tuesday revolved around a recent ProPublica report that said the FBI had investigated claims against Collins for a pay-to-play bribery scheme with a defense contractor based on the detailed confession of the former CEO of the company.
“[The Trump] administration dismantled the investigation,” Jackson said. “Now she votes for Donald Trump 96% of the time. I don’t owe Trump. I don’t owe the billionaires nothing.”
Daily Beast: Must-Win Republican Senator Roasted for Bonkers Debate Answer
Jackson then pointed out that Collins “has been a government employee her entire life, she’s always had healthcare, she’s always had a steady income coming in. That’s not the way it is for most of us; healthcare is a real challenge and she’s made it worse by advancing the ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’”
After his comments, Collins waved her finger to correct Jackson, saying, “First of all, I have not been insured my whole life.” She then stated, “I spent a year, when I was running for governor in 1994, where I could not afford health insurance. So Troy, you’re just out-and-out wrong on that.”
Jackson pulled a quizzical expression on his face after Collins’ remarks.
Daily Kos: Susan Collins’ debate disaster highlights GOP’s midterms crisis
Troy Jackson, Collins’ Democratic challenger, repeatedly pointed out during the debate that despite her ad campaign and political spin identifying herself as politically independent, she has frequently voted alongside Trump to push his right-wing legislation and nominees.
HuffPost: Susan Collins' Boast About Her Biggest Success Backfires Immediately
Then, she [Susan Collins] was reminded of all the things she hadn’t done, including taking a stand against Trump on the issue. Jackson replied that she hadn’t done enough.
“I didn’t mock the fact that she got road salt back. I mocked the fact that – what about everything else?” he said. “We can’t eat road salt.”
Alex Seitz-Wald: Troy Jackson did what he needed to do. He passed the threshold test. [...] He showed that he could hold his own on stage against this titan of the U.S. Senate of Maine politics and Susan Collins.
Alex Seitz-Wald: Jackson is kind of making the case, that's nice that you bring money home for Maine, but let's zoom out and look at the bigger picture and what's going on nationally. About Trump, about fuel prices up 80% over last year. Heating is a big deal in Maine as winter comes, and that's where he's focusing his argument that that's not enough. That crumbs that you're bringing back to Maine.
MS NOW: Money, Power, Politics: David Weigel on the Maine Senate Debate
Dave Weigel: He was able to bring it back to his populist message, which is that the point of getting power is to redistribute the wealth of the richest people in the country, the Elon Musk's to Mainers, and it was very effective.
Luke Broadwater: I agree with Dave that Jackson really held his own last night. [...] So three more debates. I'm thinking that you know this only helps Troy Jackson.
Ken Altshuler: Troy did a good job saying, "Wait a minute, the energy prices is because of a war in Iran. And your president, Donald Trump, the person you voted for 96 percent of the time, he's the one who started this war. He's the one driving up costs. He talked about gas prices on the Canadian border. He talked about diesel fuel. So he was very effective. He mentioned Donald Trump's name 20 times, and that's exactly what he has to do: tie Susan Collins into Donald Trump.
NBC: Decision 2026: Sahil Kapur’s takeaways from the first Maine Senate debate
Sahil Kapur: Jackson said [funding Collins brought in] was a pittance to what Maine has compared to what Maine has lost on her watch over several decades in Washington. And he noted that she has voted with President Trump more than 95% of the time. That, in his view, she's failed to stand up to him on the Iran war, on tariffs, on a fatal ice shooting in Maine earlier this year.
Sahil Kapur: [Collins] did dodge two questions about whether she would stand with the president if he visited Maine. Jackson, in the midst of all that, sought to puncture that historical strength for her, saying in his closing statement that power means nothing if you won't use it when the people may need it.
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