U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic opponent Troy Jackson meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday for their first debate of Maine’s U.S. Senate race, hosted by CBS News 13 at its Portland studio.
Jackson, a former Maine Senate president from Allagash, is the slightest of favorites. Decision Desk HQ, the BDN’s election results partner, gives him a 53% chance of winning. A Marist poll released this week had him up 51-47, while a CBS News/YouGov poll had the race tied.
Collins, a Republican seeking a sixth term, has pitched her back channels to President Donald Trump’s Cabinet while sharpening her criticism of the unpopular president’s tariffs. Jackson, who became the Democratic nominee in late July after Graham Platner withdrew, has worked hard to tie her to those tariffs, Trump’s tax law and the Iran war.
Maine is central to control of the Senate as the only top battleground won by Kamala Harris in 2024. Tonight is the first of four debates in 10 days, and it comes one day after early voting began and eight years to the day after Collins’ vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, which turned her from a broadly supported politician to one more reliant on her base.
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