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.
Jackson is scheduled to debate Collins four times in the next two weeks, in what will be a test for the candidate and the campaign he quickly built after becoming the Democratic nominee in July. It’s unclear what topics will be debated.
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.
“Your 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. Jackson did not say anything specific about his own record, except that he’s “proud of what I’ve fought for.”
Collins’ alleged involvement in a pay-to-play donation scheme involving defense contractor Navatek, which was reported by ProPublica last month, has seen Jackson and Collins throw statements at each other. Collins has denied the allegations.
When asked about Collins telling News Center Maine, “Shame on Chuck Schumer, shame on Troy Jackson for spreading these baseless lies,” during an event yesterday, Jackson said he didn’t know the article was being reported and doesn’t know what he’s “supposed to do about it.”
“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.”
The first debate between Collins and Jackson is at 7 p.m. Tuesday on CBS 13.