Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson exchanged fierce accusations over foreign policy, ethics and past legislative records on Thursday night during the second televised debate of Maine’s tightly contested U.S. Senate race.
The sharpest confrontation erupted when Jackson, the former president of the Maine Senate, claimed that the incumbent was failing to use federal influence to halt military conflict in the Middle East due to personal financial interests, the New York Post reported.
“Collins and her husband are making money off this war,” Jackson charged, adding that similar profits explain why the conflict continues.
Collins forcefully rejected the claim and demanded an apology on stage.
“To say that my husband and I are making money off the war in Iran is absolutely outrageous,” Collins said, according to the New York Post.
While Jackson did not provide documentation on stage, his campaign posted on X during the debate that Collins and her husband, Tom Daffron, hold as much as $100,000 in oil and gas stock, the New York Post reported.
Disputes over military votes and domestic policy
Defending her national security record, Collins stated that she had cast votes nine times to end military involvement in Iran under the War Powers Act, the New York Post reported. She noted she had withheld support during the opening 60 days of the conflict because the statute affords broad latitude to presidential authority during that initial window. Jackson disputed her voting narrative, answering that she had voted five times previously in favor of the engagement, according to The Boston Globe.
The candidates also diverged over broad economic policy and the One Big Beautiful Bill passed in 2025. Collins emphasized that while she supported advancing the legislation through a procedural vote, she ultimately cast her vote against final passage, The Boston Globe reported.
Clashes on abortion and ethics inquiries
Collins also attacked Jackson over his past stances on reproductive rights, describing him as an “extremist” for his legislative votes between 2000 and 2014 in the Maine Legislature, the New York Post reported. She alleged that he had supported legislation that offered no exceptions even when the life of a pregnant woman was at risk.
Jackson acknowledged his past voting history during the exchange. “Was I voting the wrong way? Yeah,” Jackson said, according to the New York Post.
Both candidates faced questions about ethics that have emerged on the campaign trail, The Boston Globe reported. Collins dismissed allegations detailed in a recent ProPublica report regarding government contracts awarded to a Hawaii company whose executives donated to her campaign, maintaining she committed no wrongdoing. Jackson answered questions concerning his past acceptance of corporate political action committee donations in state politics, denying that campaign contributions ever influenced his votes.
Seniority versus party ties
Throughout the broadcast, Jackson sought to link Collins closely to former President Donald Trump, alleging she voted alongside Trump 96 percent of the time. Collins disputed the statistic, stating she voted with him 72 percent of the time, The Boston Globe reported.
Collins instead stressed the influence of her seniority as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, stating she had delivered $1.5 billion across 672 projects throughout Maine over the previous five years, according to The Boston Globe.
Jackson entered Thursday’s debate holding an edge of less than one percentage point over Collins in a RealClearPolitics polling average, the New York Post reported. The candidates are scheduled to meet for two additional debates next week before voters head to the polls in November.
