After weeks of squaring off over ads, social media and the press, Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson are just a few days away from facing each other on the debate stage.
Debate prep has been underway in recent days, according to Democratic and Republican sources. Neither campaign wanted to discuss preparations in detail. Coming as both candidates have held events across the state and after Collins wrapped up the Senate session in Washington until after the midterms, the pair is poised for the first two of four in-studio debates starting Tuesday on CBS News 13 and Thursday on WMTW.
The first televised clashes will give Mainers a fresh take on a five-term incumbent with a record of defying polls and winning crucial moderates, and a progressive former Maine Senate president and logger from Allagash, who admittedly lacks polish but has a record of winning over voters in conservative regions, including in and around Collins’ hometown of Caribou.
Experts this week said the debate marked an opportunity for both candidates to re-introduce themselves beyond the tens of millions of dollars in advertising dominating the airwaves. Another key goal is to bring thousands of undecided and unenrolled voters into the fold.
Both campaigns are likely practicing with stand-ins for their opponents, and campaign teams and surrogates are poised to capture and share clips of “debate moments that can live forever” for better or worse, Emily Cain, a Democratic strategist, said.
“You don’t want to say anything that’s going to upset your base too much, and at the same time you want to find a way to reach those people, who may or may not be watching, who haven’t made up their minds yet,” she said.
Cain, who has participated in several congressional debates, including against Jackson in 2014, said the average debate isn’t a game-changer. But it’s an opportunity “to have a really big moment or a really bad moment,” she said.
She added that the race largely hinged on whether voters think Collins should serve a historic sixth term. Collins must use the debates to explain “why she deserves and is ready to continue,” while Jackson’s challenge is convincing voters she shouldn’t and that he’s a solid replacement, Cain said.
Lance Dutson, a Republican strategist and former Collins staffer, said the senator and Jackson are “both tough in their own ways.” He said it’s likely the candidates have a few “solid sessions” before each debate, but not as many as there would be if fewer than four debates were scheduled.
Dutson expects a firm yet polite tone from both candidates as opposed to an exchange as testy or negative as some of the ads from the outside groups backing the campaigns.
“They’ve both been in public service for a long time, and have had high intensity with people from time to time,” he said. “But the debate is like a job interview for a very serious position. Neither of these [candidates] are built for that Trumpesque political performance.”
Debates can often let down candidates’ bases on both sides of the aisle, Dutson said. And with progressives hungry to target Trump “and so amped up from former Democratic nominee Graham Platner’s rhetoric,” they may be left wanting if Jackson seeks to appeal to more middle-ground voters without a “knockout punch,” he said.
“Susan Collins doesn’t get knocked off balance,” he said. “I don’t see a scenario where anybody would really trip her up.”
This year’s debates are head to head. The pair will be able to focus on their own track records and each other without other candidates, whereas in 2020 Collins and Democratic former Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon also contended with independents Max Linn and Lisa Savage. Linn derailed two debates, once by deliberately not responding to moderator questions and another time by cutting up face masks with a pair of scissors. He died in 2021.
Jackson, who has hammered Collins for not holding public town halls, unsuccessfully pressed for at least two of the debates to be town-hall style with unscreened questions from the audience.
The pair’s contrasting styles could make for an interesting debate, Dutson said. With Collins, there are fewer concerns “that there’s a gaffe or viral moment of the day” because “she’s so disciplined and has a strong grasp of the facts,” he argued.
Cain said there’s “no question” Collins has “an extensive vocabulary and experiences to bring” to the debate stage. But Jackson, who just this week apologized for remarks on the Israeli-Gaza conflict and Maine’s Jewish community, is an authentic and experienced debater, Cain said.
He’s also fresher than Collins, who hasn’t debated in six years. Jackson participated in several public forums and debates during his third-place gubernatorial run, and also debated fellow Democrats who sought to replace Platner.
“It’s just important to be yourself, tell the truth and talk to voters,” Cain said.