In Maine Senate debate, Collins says she

In an often-testy Tuesday night debate, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine touted her three-decade-long record in Congress and took aim at some Trump policies — while Democrat Troy Jackson argued Collins has failed to push back against the Trump administration.

Collins highlighted her "knowledge, experience, seniority and relationships," including her ability to score funding for projects in Maine as chair of the influential Senate Appropriations Committee.

Collins also has a history of breaking with President Trump, criticizing his trade war with Canada and strategy in Iran, and voting against the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year — themes that frequently emerged in Tuesday's debate.

"I've heard nothing from his office, and I'm not exactly his favorite senator," she said.

But Jackson — a former state Senate president who hails from the same largely rural northern Maine county as Collins — argued that Collins has not used her power effectively to push back against Trump administration policies, and accused her of siding with the president too often.

"Would you trust her to pick the next Supreme Court justice?" asked Jackson.

While Collins voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut Medicaid and food stamp spending and extended a set of tax cuts from the first Trump term, Jackson repeatedly criticized the senator for voting yes on an earlier procedural measure to advance the bill, arguing she should've tried to block the legislative package.

Jackson responded: "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."

Both candidates were critical of Mr. Trump's tariffs on Canada, which have sparked a tit-for-tat trade war with Maine's neighbor. Collins said she is opposed to the trade war but has been "working behind the scenes" to get exemptions for goods that are key to Maine's economy or to the operations of municipal governments, like road salt.

Jackson mocked Collins' approach as writing a "strongly worded letter."

"What about everything else?" he asked. "I mean, we can't eat road salt."

Collins took aim at Jackson's record in state politics. She argued many of the affordability challenges that have animated voters — including on energy prices and Medicaid reimbursement rates — are the result of failings by politicians in the state capital of Augusta.