Politics
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Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Troy Jackson joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in a Waterville town hall Monday evening, marking the latest visit from a handful of leading national progressives in his bid to oust Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Coming after recent visits by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Warren’s visit came a day before Jackson was poised to welcome the more moderate Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona in Freeport.
Collins and her allies have invested heavily in ads targeting Jackson over his temper and tone during a contentious battle over the airwaves and media that has ramped up as Election Day approaches. Jackson has sought to hammer home the message that Collins is too strongly aligned with President Donald Trump, whose approval rating has sunk to 37% in Maine according to the latest Fox News poll.
Here are a few key takeaways from the event, which featured several students from Bates College and Colby College.
Warren pins higher prices on Trump and GOP
Warren said the midterm election would determine who controls our government: billionaires or Americans “slammed harder than ever and working harder than ever.” She reminded guests that two years ago on the campaign trail, Trump pledged to lower prices if sent back to the White House.
The senator then joked that it was now “day 668,000” of Trump’s second administration, and the cost of gasoline, heating oil, groceries, health care, housing and utilities are “up, up, up, up, up.”
Warren and Jackson called on Congress to blunt Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran. Warren didn’t name Collins directly in her opening, but said, “Every Republican in the Senate has had their spine surgically removed.”
Collins’ team recently accused Jackson of campaigning “with far-left progressive office holders who either don’t know or don’t care about the difficulties that he has had working with women.”
Jackson says Trump, Collins can’t be trusted on tariffs
Collins is against Trump’s tariffs, particularly against Canada, and successfully pushed for exemptions on a handful of goods, including a round from the president last week that The Wall Street Journal reported was aimed at helping her win. She has also voted in favor of war powers resolutions after previously siding with Republicans on the war, citing its impact on prices.
But Jackson told the Waterville crowd that even if Trump is trying to expand exemptions on tariffs to give Collins a last-minute boost in the race, there’s no guarantee those exemptions will hold after the election.
“What do you think is gonna happen on Nov. 4, after there’s no reason to help her out anymore?” he said. “He’s shown us time and time again, he doesn’t care about us.”
Who decides on AI?
Warren and Jackson emphasized that young people have become increasingly concerned about the impacts of AI on the workforce, safety and privacy. Warren said AI firms have incentivized a lack of safeguards and oversight from Congress.
“If that is the path of decision-making, then we are just at the mercy of … Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk,” she said.
Warren added that many across the country from all stripes are pushing back against advances of AI due to environmental, cost, privacy and safety implications. If Democrats become the majority, a potential major tech bill will focus on jobs, safety, profits, and international relationships including China and Europe, she said.
Collins has taken a cautious approach to AI and data centers, expressing support for projects at former mill sites with an energy source built in. Jackson, who cited Musk’s boost to Collins’ reelection bid, pledged to fight for stronger regulations.
“We’re not that far from ‘Terminator,’” Jackson said. “And I don’t want to be, ‘hasta la vista, baby.’”