For the second time in three days and with two more debates to go next week, Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson faced off Thursday over abortion, the Iran war, tariffs, energy and their track records in Washington and Augusta.
The five-term incumbent again touted her experience and legislative wins while critiquing Jackson’s record and blasting several of his statements as false. The former Maine Senate president continued to press Collins on illegal donations her PAC received during her 2020 bid that led to an FBI investigation, while seeking to tie her to President Donald Trump.
Here are a few fact-checks as the candidates prepare for debates Tuesday hosted by WABI and WAGM, and Thursday by News Center Maine, Portland Press Herald and Maine Public. The last debate will be held with a live audience at Gracie Theater in Bangor.
‘Making money’ off Iran war
Jackson accused Collins and her husband, former lobbyist Tom Daffron, of profiting from the war in Iran. He suggested the senator and others weren’t doing more to stop the unpopular conflict because they were making money off it.
Collins immediately called the claim “absolutely outrageous,” demanding an apology.
A liberal outlet promoted by the Maine Democrats in September highlighted her husband’s stock holdings, including in Boeing and RTX stock. Both companies make weapons used in the war, but the report did not show the couple making money because of her votes.
RTX is down 10% since the war began, and Boeing has been sluggish. The war helps bring Boeing federal contracts, but it disrupts supply chains.
Collins initially voted against nine war powers resolutions, but since the conflict hit the 60-day deadline for congressional approval under the War Powers Act, she joined Democrats five times in voting to end the war.
The couple’s assets total between $4 million and $10 million, mostly in mutual funds and stocks. Collins’ team has said a third-party adviser manages her husband’s investments and no individual stocks had been bought or sold from his account in more than three years.
‘Big Tobacco’ and a Jackson deflection
Seeking to contrast with Jackson and a PAC he previously led while in the State Legislature, Collins said she has “never accepted any donations from Big Tobacco. Troy has.” But her 2020 campaign took almost $12,000 from tobacco industry PACs and employees, according to OpenSecrets. That put her at 18th among senators during the cycle.
Like many Democrats, Jackson has rejected corporate PAC money during his campaign. Looking to push back on Jackson’s pledges of transparency and critique on her wealthy donors, Collins has put the spotlight on a recent Washington Post analysis finding that the Maine Senate’s Democratic campaign arm under Jackson’s leadership took money from tobacco, gambling and pharmaceutical companies.
Jackson’s explanation on the matter Thursday changed from what he told reporters in August, when he said he was one of “a number of people that made those decisions, what we took and what we didn’t.”
Jackson said during the debate that he was not the final decider on which donors the committee took money from. However, he was listed as the group’s principal officer from 2017 to 2024.
Jackson also said in August that the group “didn’t take pharma money.” But state campaign finance reports show the PAC received thousands of dollars from drug companies, including Merck and Johnson & Johnson. The group also received $12,000 from tobacco giant Altria, $3,000 from DraftKings and more than $4,000 from FanDuel.
Collins ignores part of ProPublica report
Collins said again Thursday that allegations of a pay-to-play scheme reported by ProPublica involving her or her staff were false and had been settled under former President Joe Biden.
“These allegations are absolutely false, and they’ve been proven false,” Collins said. “But Troy and [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer keep running false ads to try to convince you otherwise.”
That doesn’t address the central point of ProPublica’s piece. By late 2024, agents had asked supervisors to OK a broader bribery investigation that could have involved Collins and other lawmakers, the outlet reported.
Collins and campaign manager Steve Abbott note Kao’s corruption claims came after he pleaded guilty in 2022 to the illegal donations and fraud tied to a pandemic loan program. Abbott said investigators never came back to Collins’ team after that.
“We did not hear a word in 2024 or 2025,” Abbott said.