PRESS RELEASE
TROY JACKSON WINS FINAL DEBATE HOLDING COLLINS ACCOUNTABLE FOR VOTING WITH TRUMP 96% OF THE TIME
JACKSON: “What I know is 100% of the time, when Donald Trump goes to Susan Collins for a vote, he gets it.”
BANGOR, ME — Tonight, Troy Jackson, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, won the fourth and final debate, driving home that Susan Collins can’t be trusted to fight for Mainers — only for Donald Trump. Jackson showed a clear contrast between his record of lowering costs for Mainers and Susan Collins’ record increasing them.
On the first day of Medicare Open Enrollment, Troy Jackson held Susan Collins accountable for her vote to advance Trump’s health care cuts that are set to raise prices for the people of Maine. He challenged Collins over her voting with Trump 96% of the time.
Jackson also laid out his health care vision – taking on Big Pharma, passing Medicare for All, lowering prescription drug costs, keeping rural hospitals open, and ensuring that families don’t go broke from a visit to the doctor – and recommitted to his central campaign promise of fighting for working people.
Major moments of the night came as Jackson slammed Collins for voting with Trump 100% of when he needs her and held her accountable for handing out tax cuts to billionaires on the backs of Mainers’ health care.
“Tonight, Troy Jackson forced Susan Collins to take accountability for betraying Maine families and voting with Trump 96% of the time even when it meant advancing devastating cuts to Mainers’ health care and a war in Iran that’s driving up costs. Unlike Susan Collins, Troy believes that no Mainer should go bankrupt from a visit to the doctor or from filling up their heating oil tank for the winter,” said campaign manager Hilary Barrett. “Troy’s won four out of four debates by standing on the side of working people while Susan Collins tried to explain away her disastrous record that’s made life harder for families in Maine.“
TOP FIVE MOMENTS FROM TONIGHT’S DEBATE:
1) After Susan Collins tried to split hairs on percentages in a desperate attempt to seem independent, Jackson fired back that when Donald Trump asks for her vote, he gets it — 100% of the time.
Jackson: “They called her a team player for doing that. Look, if she wants to argue about percentages — 92, 95, 96 — Fine. What I know is 100% of the time, when Donald Trump goes to Susan Collins for a vote, he gets it.”
2) While Collins complains about the national deficit, Jackson reminds her the debt climbed under her watch while she gave tax breaks to billionaires.
Jackson: “I don't know what world Senator Collins is in where [when] she started out, we had 4 trillion in debt; now we have 40 trillion debt under her watch, and somehow it's my fault. In Maine we have a balanced budget. Has it grown? Yes, but it's still balanced. And Senator Collins keeps giving income tax cuts to the wealthiest people, blowing up our debt. She doesn't care about everyday working class people. She took health care away. She's taking SNAP benefits away. It's just insane to stand there and try to argue that it's my fault that she increased the debt $36 trillion, but that's the world that Senator Collins lives in.”
3) On the war in Iran, Jackson holds Collins accountable for letting Trump’s war continue when she had the power to do something to stop it.
Jackson: “I mean, we did have an agreement with Iran. President Obama had gotten an agreement, President Trump tore it up, and now we're stuck in another forever war that Senator Collins, with all her power and might of chair of appropriations, could have done more about. Could still do more about it.”
4) After Collins makes more excuses for the blank check she sent to ICE, Jackson commits to accountability and abolishing ICE.
Jackson: “Well, once again, it was Johann Sebastián Guerrero that was murdered in Bidderford. [...] Luckily, his daughter wasn't there, or she wouldn't be with us either. [...] Senator Collins just brought up once again how they're not vetted, they're not trained well. I wouldn't give them a blank check like she did. I mean, even the body cameras — they don't actually have to turn the video over if they think it's detrimental to the agency. There's no safeguards there. [...] But I mean, we're seeing a murder almost every week in this country now with ICE, and there's nothing to happen about it. Why does the delegation have to get together and ask for an inspection when something so critical has happened? I mean, a murder in our streets.”
5) While Susan Collins defends the Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade thanks to her votes, Troy Jackson calls it what it is — “the best court that money can buy.”
Jackson: “We have the best court that money can buy right now, and I think that has to be turned over.”
One for the road… When asked if she regrets her vote to confirm RFK Jr, Collins pivots, dodges, sidesteps the question … only to say “no.”
Moderator: “Do you want to say yes or no quickly on RFK? Is that a regret or not?
Susan Collins: No.
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