Collins, Jackson Trade Fire as Maine Senate Airwaves Turn Hostile

Maine's U.S. Senate race went negative on television this week, with Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson opening fire on each other's records as the general election sprint intensifies.

Jackson, who replaced Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee in July after Platner's campaign collapsed amid misconduct allegations, is casting affordable health care as his top priority in early spots. But a Fox News poll released this month found voters remain wary of Jackson's own positioning: 43% of Maine voters said they're concerned he's too closely aligned with the democratic socialist movement, a warning sign for Democrats banking on him to consolidate the state's moderate electorate.

The exchange comes as roughly $193 million in ad spending has poured into the race, according to AdImpact estimates, with the GOP's Senate Leadership Fund launching a $42 million campaign this week and its affiliated nonprofit, One Nation, planning $30 million more.

Collins enters the fight with structural advantages Democrats have struggled to overcome before. A recent Fox News poll found her supporters far more motivated by their own candidate than Jackson's are: 71% of Collins backers say they're voting mainly for her, versus just 61% of Jackson's supporters who say they're voting mainly against Collins. Collins has also leaned on her Appropriations Committee chairmanship, this week touting that all ICE agents in Maine are now equipped with body cameras at her insistence.

Republicans note Collins faced comparable poll margins at this stage in 2020, when she trailed Democrat Sara Gideon before winning by nearly 9 points. Collins has never lost a Senate race in Maine since 1996.

With early voting still months off and $200 million-plus expected to flow into the race before November, Maine voters can expect the toughest ads are still to come.