Troy Jackson and Susan Collins Sparred Two Final Rounds This Week
Senator Susan Collins and labor-endorsed challenger Troy Jackson sparred in two final debates this week covering a range of issues from health care and fuel prices to immigration and tariffs. Tuesday’s debate got testy at times as Collins talked down to Jackson and attempted to smear him as not understanding basic policies. However, Jackson held his ground and didn’t let Collins get away with it.
In a debate about health care, Jackson pointed out that rural birthing centers are closing because they are anticipating cuts from President Trump’s One Big Beautiful bill, which Collins voted to advance. Jackson pointed out that FMAP, the federal share of the program’s cost, is set by Congress, so Collins and her colleagues have chosen not to properly fund rural hospitals.
“Senator Collins is not going to stand there and school me on what I know and what I’ve been at,” Jackson said. “Senator Collins was not there.”
Collins denied voting for the OBBB because she voted against the final bill after she voted to advance it. She said she voted to advance Trump’s budget because it included the Rural Health Transformation Program, which she called “the biggest investment in rural healthcare in decades.” Jackson pointed out that the $190 million Maine hospitals are set to receive from the program is not nearly enough to cover the Medicaid cuts in the OBBB.
"Her own [party] members called her a team player on this issue, because she knew that once she got it out on the floor, it was going to get passed. And all the people that support her, all — I think is, what is it, 90 billionaires now that are donating to you — got another tax [cut] at $1 trillion coming out of our health care system,” said Jackson. “That is the reality, and Senator Collins could have done more to stop that. And I'm not going to give her credit for $190 million when we're losing $3 to $5 billion in the state. That's the reality.”
Collins acknowledged at Tuesday's debate that “far too many ICE officers were hired and deployed without adequate vetting and training,” but strongly opposed dismantling ICE. Collins voted to provide over $100 billion for the agency, more than the military budgets of most nations. It’s been well documented that David Brouillette, the ICE agent who killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford on July 13, had a long history of domestic violence and terrorizing, according to family members. Jackson said ICE was a “rogue agency.” He supports abolishing ICE and transferring its responsibilities to Customs and Border Protection, which used to handle that work before ICE was created in 2003.
“Sen. Collins paid for the bullets at Donald Trump’s command. Now she wants credit for not pulling the trigger,” Jackson said in his closing statement.
Collins and Jackson once again clashed over Trump’s tariffs. Collins continued to boast about getting tariffs removed on wood pulp, cement and road salt. However, Jackson said he wouldn’t give her credit for pulling a few items off the tariff list “when we should have never had a list.” He blasted Collins for using her power as appropriations chair “for one of her donors,” but not to stop the tariffs or war with Iran. He pointed out that Collins voted to confirm Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, knowing that he supported sweeping blanket tariffs on other countries.
On housing policy, Collins argued that she supported a law that bars investors that own more than 350 single-family homes from buying more. But Jackson noted that the law does nothing to protect apartment renters, condominium residents and mobile home park residents from buying up their homes and jacking up rents.
Collins, who voted against stopping the Iran War five times, said Trump should have anticipated that Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused oil prices to soar, driving heating fuel up over $6 a gallon. Collins has since voted for the War Powers Resolution, but refuses to use her power as appropriations chair to cut off funding for the war. Jackson called for the troops to be brought home so fuel prices can stabilize because farming and fishing businesses could go bankrupt if the war drags on. Collins protested that there weren’t enough votes to end the Iran war.
“That sounds like, then, we probably ought to have Democrats in charge of the U.S. Senate so that we have the votes to stop this war,” Jackson replied.
When asked if any of her votes against her party and Donald Trump changed the outcome, Susan Collins cited her effort to organize opposition against Pete Hegseth, which failed!
Collins also said at Thursday’s debate that she does not regret voting to confirm Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has come under fire for breaking his promise not to recommend reductions in childhood vaccinations and taking a wrecking ball to public health programs.