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Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson speaks at a town hall on September 13, 2026 in Biddeford, Maine.
(Photo by Joseph Prezioso/Getty Images)
In Senate Debate, Troy Jackson Calls Susan Collins an 'Arsonist' Who Brings a 'Cup of Water' to the Fire
"Mainers can't afford to pay their bills with a press release or a strongly worded letter," said Jackson.
Oct 07, 2026
Democratic US Senate candidate Troy Jackson took his Republican opponent, incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, to task during a Tuesday debate for her role in Maine's worsening healthcare crisis, accusing her of paving the way for the disaster while attempting to take credit for an inadequate relief fund.
"Senator Collins is like an arsonist who helped set the fire, and then she wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put it out," Jackson said after Collins touted her role in securing a $50 billion fund for rural hospitals. The fund was part of a Republican budget package that includes the largest Medicaid cuts in the program's history—roughly $900 billion over the next decade.
Collins, who is running for a sixth term, voted against final passage of the Republican budget legislation, but she played a key role in advancing the bill through the Senate.
"She could have stopped it," Jackson, the former president of Maine's Senate, said of the budget law, which is fueling hospital staffing cutbacks and closures across the US, including in Maine. "What she brought back is a pittance to what we're losing in this state. I mean, we're watching our healthcare system crash right in front of us."
Watch:
Tuesday's debate came weeks ahead of the November general election, which polling indicates is a tight race. A survey conducted at the end of September by the Maine People’s Resource Center found Jackson leading Collins 49.3% to 46.5%—an advantage that was within the poll's margin of error.
During the debate, Jackson hammered Collins over her pro-Trump voting record and repeatedly accused her of playing up minuscule or largely symbolic opposition to the president's unpopular actions, including his tariffs on Canada and his illegal war on Iran.
After Collins noted that she "got concrete, pulp, and road salt removed from the tariff list," Jackson responded: "We can't eat road salt."
"Mainers can't afford to pay their bills with a press release or a strongly worded letter," said Jackson.
Jackson also highlighted recent ProPublica reporting that placed Collins at the center of a “sprawling pay-to-play operation” involving a Hawaii-based defense contractor accused of funneling donations to lawmakers in exchange for federal contracts.
"As late as 2024, the FBI was circling around Senator Collins," Jackson noted, citing the federal investigation that ProPublica revealed. "Then, whenever President Trump came back, his administration dismantled the investigation. Now, she votes with Donald Trump 96% of the time."
"I don't owe Trump. I don't owe the billionaires nothing. In fact, I've spent my life fighting back against billionaires," Jackson added. "But I do owe the people of Maine everything. I refuse corporate PAC money, I want to ban congressional stock trading. I fight for working Mainers every day. I'm not taking money from corporations like Susan Collins does."
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Democratic US Senate candidate Troy Jackson took his Republican opponent, incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, to task during a Tuesday debate for her role in Maine's worsening healthcare crisis, accusing her of paving the way for the disaster while attempting to take credit for an inadequate relief fund.
"Senator Collins is like an arsonist who helped set the fire, and then she wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put it out," Jackson said after Collins touted her role in securing a $50 billion fund for rural hospitals. The fund was part of a Republican budget package that includes the largest Medicaid cuts in the program's history—roughly $900 billion over the next decade.
Collins, who is running for a sixth term, voted against final passage of the Republican budget legislation, but she played a key role in advancing the bill through the Senate.
"She could have stopped it," Jackson, the former president of Maine's Senate, said of the budget law, which is fueling hospital staffing cutbacks and closures across the US, including in Maine. "What she brought back is a pittance to what we're losing in this state. I mean, we're watching our healthcare system crash right in front of us."
Watch:
Tuesday's debate came weeks ahead of the November general election, which polling indicates is a tight race. A survey conducted at the end of September by the Maine People’s Resource Center found Jackson leading Collins 49.3% to 46.5%—an advantage that was within the poll's margin of error.
During the debate, Jackson hammered Collins over her pro-Trump voting record and repeatedly accused her of playing up minuscule or largely symbolic opposition to the president's unpopular actions, including his tariffs on Canada and his illegal war on Iran.
After Collins noted that she "got concrete, pulp, and road salt removed from the tariff list," Jackson responded: "We can't eat road salt."
"Mainers can't afford to pay their bills with a press release or a strongly worded letter," said Jackson.
Jackson also highlighted recent ProPublica reporting that placed Collins at the center of a “sprawling pay-to-play operation” involving a Hawaii-based defense contractor accused of funneling donations to lawmakers in exchange for federal contracts.
"As late as 2024, the FBI was circling around Senator Collins," Jackson noted, citing the federal investigation that ProPublica revealed. "Then, whenever President Trump came back, his administration dismantled the investigation. Now, she votes with Donald Trump 96% of the time."
"I don't owe Trump. I don't owe the billionaires nothing. In fact, I've spent my life fighting back against billionaires," Jackson added. "But I do owe the people of Maine everything. I refuse corporate PAC money, I want to ban congressional stock trading. I fight for working Mainers every day. I'm not taking money from corporations like Susan Collins does."
Democratic US Senate candidate Troy Jackson took his Republican opponent, incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, to task during a Tuesday debate for her role in Maine's worsening healthcare crisis, accusing her of paving the way for the disaster while attempting to take credit for an inadequate relief fund.
"Senator Collins is like an arsonist who helped set the fire, and then she wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put it out," Jackson said after Collins touted her role in securing a $50 billion fund for rural hospitals. The fund was part of a Republican budget package that includes the largest Medicaid cuts in the program's history—roughly $900 billion over the next decade.
Collins, who is running for a sixth term, voted against final passage of the Republican budget legislation, but she played a key role in advancing the bill through the Senate.
"She could have stopped it," Jackson, the former president of Maine's Senate, said of the budget law, which is fueling hospital staffing cutbacks and closures across the US, including in Maine. "What she brought back is a pittance to what we're losing in this state. I mean, we're watching our healthcare system crash right in front of us."
Watch:
Tuesday's debate came weeks ahead of the November general election, which polling indicates is a tight race. A survey conducted at the end of September by the Maine People’s Resource Center found Jackson leading Collins 49.3% to 46.5%—an advantage that was within the poll's margin of error.
During the debate, Jackson hammered Collins over her pro-Trump voting record and repeatedly accused her of playing up minuscule or largely symbolic opposition to the president's unpopular actions, including his tariffs on Canada and his illegal war on Iran.
After Collins noted that she "got concrete, pulp, and road salt removed from the tariff list," Jackson responded: "We can't eat road salt."
"Mainers can't afford to pay their bills with a press release or a strongly worded letter," said Jackson.
Jackson also highlighted recent ProPublica reporting that placed Collins at the center of a “sprawling pay-to-play operation” involving a Hawaii-based defense contractor accused of funneling donations to lawmakers in exchange for federal contracts.
"As late as 2024, the FBI was circling around Senator Collins," Jackson noted, citing the federal investigation that ProPublica revealed. "Then, whenever President Trump came back, his administration dismantled the investigation. Now, she votes with Donald Trump 96% of the time."
"I don't owe Trump. I don't owe the billionaires nothing. In fact, I've spent my life fighting back against billionaires," Jackson added. "But I do owe the people of Maine everything. I refuse corporate PAC money, I want to ban congressional stock trading. I fight for working Mainers every day. I'm not taking money from corporations like Susan Collins does."
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