<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sen. <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/susan-collins/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Susan Collins</a> (R-ME) highlighted her differences with President <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/donald-trump/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Donald Trump</a> during Maine’s first <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/senate/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Senate</a> debate on October 6, 2026, stating that she is “not exactly his favorite senator.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Collins, the only Republican representing a state won by former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, sought to distance herself from Trump and his policies during her debate against former state Sen. Troy Jackson. The debate included discussions on the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act policies, the Iran war, tariffs, and her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Jackson was questioned about his support for “Medicare for all,” reiterated his stance on abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and did not confirm his affiliation with the Democratic Socialists of America.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Here are the key takeaways from Maine’s first Senate debate.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-collins-tries-to-distance-herself-from-trump">1. Collins distances herself from Trump</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Collins responded to an attack from Jackson regarding her voting record aligning with Trump’s agenda, asserting that the study cited by her opponent “looked at only 30% of the votes.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“So this is greatly misleading to keep quoting the study that only looked at a third of the votes rather than 90% of the vote,” Collins stated. “This study found that I voted against my party more than any other senator on either side of the aisle.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">When asked by moderator Gregg Lagerquist if she would support Trump if he visits Maine ahead of the general election, Collins expressed doubt about the president visiting the state.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“He’s talking about going to a lot of different states,” Collins said. “I’ve heard nothing from his office, and I’m not exactly his favorite senator.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“So yes or no?” Lagerquist pressed. “Do you have a yes or no to that?”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I would say that he is not coming to Maine,” Collins replied.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-jackson-says-we-can-t-eat-road-salt-amid-affordability-concerns">2. Jackson addresses affordability concerns</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Jackson criticized Collins over the Iran war and Trump’s tariff policies, arguing that “Mainers can’t afford to pay their bills with a press release or a strongly worded letter like Sen. Collins keeps talking about.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Collins has opposed Trump’s tariffs against Canada and has voted to end them in the Senate. She has also <a href="https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/senator-collins-statement-on-her-vote-to-end-hostilities-in-iran-ahead-of-60-day-deadline" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">voted to end</a> the Iran war as gas and diesel prices remain high amid the conflict.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Canada is not China,” Collins stated. “It is our neighbor, our friend, our closest ally, and our biggest trading partner. So I have been strongly voting against the tariffs with Canada, but I’ve also been working behind the scenes.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Collins, highlighting her role as a top Republican appropriator, noted, “Troy mocked it, but I was successful in getting concrete, pulp, and road salt removed from the tariff list.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Jackson responded, saying he “didn’t mock the fact that she got road salt back,” but questioned the broader implications of her actions.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I mean, we can’t eat road salt, and the thing about it is that everything that she’s doing with the Iran war and stuff like that, there’s going to be so many less people to be able to afford to drive that I’m not even sure the road salt’s going to be worth anything either,” Jackson said.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-jackson-dodges-question-over-dsa-membership">3. Jackson does not confirm DSA membership</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Jackson did not clarify during the debate whether he is a member of the <a href="https://washingtonexaminer.com/tag/socialism" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Democratic Socialists of America</a>, instead reiterating his support for “<a href="https://washingtonexaminer.com/tag/medicare-for-all" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Medicare for all</a>.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I support Medicare for all, so that people that I know across the state have healthcare,” Jackson stated. Maine’s chapter of the DSA previously supported his campaign for governor.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">When previously asked if he sees himself as a socialist, Jackson told CNN that he doesn’t “really consider myself anything” and that he is “upset a lot at the Democratic Party.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Jackson has received endorsements from several progressive organizations, including Our Revolution, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, and the Sunrise Movement.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Jackson also reiterated his support for abolishing ICE during the debate, focusing on the death of 25-year-old Johan Guerrero, who was shot and killed by an ICE officer two months ago.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“It’s time that ICE is disbanded, and we go back to putting that money in the Customs Border Patrol,” Jackson stated. “They have training. They’re law enforcement. People respect them. We don’t respect ICE.”</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-collins-pressed-over-kavanaugh-vote-jackson-over-abortion-flip-flop">4. Candidates questioned on abortion records</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Both Senate candidates faced criticism over their records regarding abortion rights during the debate, with Collins being questioned about her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who later voted to overturn <em>Roe v. Wade</em>.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Eight years ago today, a Maine woman went to D.C. and begged Sen. Collins not to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, but she did it anyways,” Jackson stated in his opening remarks. “Even though they begged her, he helped overturn <em>Roe v. Wade</em>, and today she says she has no regrets. And I would, you know, wonder for everyone, including myself, would you trust her to pick the next Supreme Court justice?”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Jackson pressed Collins over her decision to support Kavanaugh, asking her, “What will it take for you to admit that you’re ever wrong?”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Collins defended her decision to confirm the justice, stating that her evaluation of Supreme Court nominees includes assessing their “qualifications, experience, and whether they are fit to serve.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“As Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the famous justice, said, it would be inappropriate and violate the impartiality of a judge for any nominee to predict how he or she would vote on any issue,” Collins asserted. “I clearly don’t agree with how Brett Kavanaugh voted on <em>Roe v. Wade</em>. I agree with many of the other justices whom I voted also to confirm, who did vote to uphold <em>Roe v. Wade</em>.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Collins argued that “there’s only one of us on this stage who has always been pro-choice, and that’s me,” later turning her focus to Jackson’s previous stance against abortion. <br /><br /><strong><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/live-blog/2026-midterm-elections-live-updates/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS LIVE UPDATES: LATEST NEWS, RESULTS, AND ANALYSIS</a></strong></p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“It is Troy who, until 2013, supported such extreme positions that he would not allow for exceptions for a woman to have an abortion, even if her life were at stake, or in cases of rape and incest,” Collins stated.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Jackson’s stance on abortion has changed over the years, having previously stated in response to a candidate questionnaire in 2010 that “abortion should never be legal.” Jackson now supports a federal right to abortion.</p>