Democrat Troy Jackson and Senator Susan Collins spent an hour trading blows over President Trump, energy prices and campaign finance on Tuesday night, in the third debate of a Maine Senate contest that could help decide control of the chamber. With Election Day roughly three weeks away, neither candidate landed a knockout — but the exchanges laid out the choice facing Maine voters in unusually sharp terms.
The hour-long debate, hosted by Maine station WABI, covered the Iran war, the cost of living, tariffs on Canada and data centers. At times the two found rare common ground. More often, Jackson tried to weld Collins to an unpopular president, and Collins pushed back hard, at one point accusing her challenger of attacking her integrity all evening.
Jackson’s core argument: Collins does what Trump wants
Jackson, the former president of the Maine state Senate who served in that role until 2024, returned again and again to a single theme: that Maine’s senior senator has not used her power to restrain Trump in his second term.
On the Iran war, Jackson accused Collins of voting to support Trump’s military authorization “because she does whatever Donald Trump wants.” He argued that Collins, as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, had the leverage to stop the president and chose not to use it.
Collins countered with her own record. She noted that she broke with her party and voted nine times to end the conflict under the War Powers Act, though she did vote on five occasions against failed resolutions to rein in Trump’s war powers earlier this year. It is the kind of split record — defying her party on some votes, standing with it on others — that has defined her three decades in the Senate and five previous election wins.
The argument extended to energy costs, one of the most visceral issues in a cold-weather state. Jackson linked rising prices to the war and to Collins’ reluctance to confront the president. Collins pointed the finger elsewhere: at the state legislature in Augusta, which she blamed for high energy costs for Mainers.
Collins’ counterpunch: nearly $1.5 billion brought home
If Jackson’s pitch is about checking Trump, Collins’ pitch is about what she can deliver — and she has the receipts. As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, she has steered nearly $1.5 billion in Congressionally Directed Spending, the formal name for earmarks, to Maine since 2021. She mentioned that figure within seconds of her opening statement in the first debate with Jackson last Tuesday.
The northern city of Presque Isle shows the strategy at its most concentrated. Collins, whose hometown of Caribou sits next door, has directed more than $43 million in earmark money there since 2021 — more in total than any Maine municipality except Portland and Bangor, and, given the city’s population of roughly 9,000, the highest per-capita total of any community in the state.
The projects are the kind residents notice: $20 million for a new terminal at Presque Isle International Airport, where the 1950s-era building has no restrooms after security; $3 million for new cancer radiation therapy equipment at Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital, the largest hospital in northern Maine; and $4 million for an arts center renovation at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Statewide, her fiscal year 2026 total of $425 million was the fourth-highest among all US senators, and she has funded more than 80 wastewater improvement projects in five years.
That record gives her allies a ready-made argument. Trey Stewart, the Republican who represents Presque Isle in the state Senate, said there is “no comparing” Collins’ ability to deliver with what Jackson’s would be. “Earmarks are back. And she’s bringing home the bacon more than ever,” he said.
But the same record has become a liability in uncomfortable ways. In September, ProPublica reported that the FBI investigated allegations that ahead of the 2020 race, Navatek, a Hawaii defense contractor, made significant contributions to a super PAC supporting Collins in exchange for federal contracts. Collins has denied any wrongdoing, and her campaign has questioned the credibility of former Navatek CEO Martin Kao, who confessed details to federal investigators while negotiating a plea deal — though ProPublica independently corroborated aspects of his account.
Jackson pressed the point on the debate stage. He said he was shocked to hear Collins talk about routing out fraud at the state level, because “there’s only one person up here that’s been accused of that by the FBI.” Collins brushed off the remark, then later accused him of lying and attacking her integrity. “He claims that I do what the so-called billionaires want to do … And I just cannot continue to ignore these attacks on my integrity,” she said.
The FEC filings spat
Collins came to the debate with her own line of attack: Jackson’s money. She criticized him for not yet filing his Federal Election Commission report outlining contributors and expenditures. “He’s yet to tell us. He promised to be completely transparent, yet he has not filed a single report,” she said.
The jab matters because Jackson has run a populist campaign built in part on his public rejection of corporate PAC money. His answer on stage was quick: he would release the filing publicly Wednesday morning. “How about that? Was that enough?” he added. “Because we see yours and I know that there’s no billionaires funding me.”
The deadline for third-quarter federal campaign expenditure filings is late Thursday, and Collins has not yet released her report for the same period.
Where they actually agree: Canada tariffs and data centers
For all the friction, the third debate produced two genuine areas of overlap.
Both candidates opposed the White House’s tariffs on Canada after failed talks between the two countries. “Troy and I both would have voted against the Canadian tariffs,” Collins said, while adding that Canada maintains trade barriers on dairy products and that she has advised the Canadian ambassador to drop them. She also argued she has used her position to get certain items removed from the tariff list — the practical-delivery argument again.
Jackson was blunter about the cause. The levies, he said, are “one man’s foolishness,” and they are costing Mainers money that should not be coming out of their pockets. “Blanket tariffs are never going to be something I’ll ever support,” he said. His broader point: lawmakers in Washington had the authority to intervene and stop the tariffs, and did not.
Data centers drew a similar convergence. Collins pointed to her support for the Ratepayer Protection Act, which sought to mitigate the high energy costs associated with data center development, and said construction should “be a local decision.” Jackson agreed guardrails are needed but said the state or federal government should impose them, so that “the billionaires” are not left writing the rules. Collins’ response captured the moment: “it sounds like Troy and I, oddly enough, are not that far apart on this issue.”
Why this race matters beyond Maine
The New York Times, reporting on the race this week, framed the stakes plainly: Maine could decide Senate control, and the contest is testing whether Collins’ brand of moderation can survive a sharply polarizing presidency. The paper described the forces squeezing her from several directions — working-class anger over rising prices, a call for generational change, and voters’ desire to send a message against Trump’s second term.
There is evidence of that squeeze in individual voters. Liz McCormack, a 65-year-old retired professor and Democrat in Brunswick, told the Times she voted for Collins in 2020 but is backing Jackson this time. “I respect her,” she said, adding, “it’s important to send a message.”
At the same time, Collins’ enduring strength was on display at the Fryeburg fair, where well-wishers thanked her for her service and children flocked to her side — even as an undecided farmer told her how hard it was to make ends meet, and a young man jeered her argument that Maine voters were not hungry for change.
The two candidates will meet again on Thursday in a debate moderated by News Center Maine, their fourth face-off with the election fast approaching. By then, Jackson’s FEC filing should be public, Collins’ third-quarter report will be due, and both campaigns will be making their final argument to the voters who will settle whether Maine keeps the most senior Republican in a blue state — or hands the Senate’s balance a jolt.
FAQ
Who is Troy Jackson?
Troy Jackson is the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Maine, running against Republican incumbent Senator Susan Collins. He served as president of the Maine state Senate until 2024.
When was the third Collins-Jackson debate?
The third Maine Senate debate took place on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in an hour-long forum hosted by Maine station WABI, roughly three weeks before Election Day.
When is the next Maine Senate debate?
Collins and Jackson face off again on Thursday in a debate moderated by News Center Maine. The deadline for third-quarter federal campaign finance filings is also late Thursday.
What is Congressionally Directed Spending?
It is the current name for the earmark process, reinstated in 2021 after a decade-long moratorium imposed in 2011. One percent of annual federal discretionary spending is reserved for these requests. As Appropriations chair, Collins has directed nearly $1.5 billion to Maine since 2021.