Politics
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U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is out with a new ad capitalizing on her opponent Troy Jackson’s debate comment telling her to “shut up.”
“Troy has something to say to Maine women. Shut up,” the ad’s narrator says.
It is airing with the race a coin flip less than two weeks out. The Republican senator and Jackson were tied at 49% among likely voters in a Fox News poll released Thursday. The ad references a comment Jackson made during a debate Oct. 15, after Collins said a person disrupting the event was “obviously one of Troy’s supporters.”
Jackson responded: “Oh, shut up. I don’t even know that kid.”
He added later that he didn’t regret the statement and that he had no idea who the person interrupting the debate was. The Sunrise Movement, a progressive group, later claimed the protester as a member. He was not among the supporters Jackson invited.
Collins’ campaign has tied the remark to Jackson’s temper as Maine Senate president. She told Fox News host Sean Hannity the next day that it was telling.
“I thought about the reputation that Troy Jackson has in Augusta, particularly when he is dealing with women with whom he disagrees,” Collins said.
Jackson campaign spokesperson Maggie Amjad called the new ad part of a series of personal attacks.
“Maine women know which candidate is fighting for them, and it’s Troy Jackson,” Amjad said in a statement.
Collins, the only Republican running this year in a state Kamala Harris carried in 2024, is seeking a sixth term. Jackson, a Democrat, is a former Maine Senate president and logger.
Collins has not led a public poll since late September, but she trailed in every one in 2020 before handily beating Democrat Sara Gideon. Decision Desk HQ, the BDN’s election results partner, gives Jackson a 56% chance of winning.
BDN writer Michael Shepherd contributed to this report.