Susan Collins drops brutal reminder of Maine Dem rival rocked by assault accusations
Republican Sen.Susan Collins says her Democratic challenger in Maine’s high-stakes US Senate race apparently “struggles to control his temper.”Collins broke her silence about Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson on Friday after a newly resurfaced 1988 police record detailed accusations that Jackson assaulted a man and pushed his longtime partner during a late-night confrontation in Fort Kent, Maine.Jackson, a one-time logger and a former state Senate president, was chosen a couple of weeks ago by Maine Democrats to replace embattled oysterman Graham Platner, who won the June Democratic Senate nomination in a landslide before imploding and dropping out of the race last month amid rape allegations that he denied.Jackson is challenging Collins in a crucial race that’s among a dozen that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority.Asked by Fox News Digital about recent reports regarding Jackson, Collins said, “He’s the one that needs to respond to the reports.
I’m not going to comment on them.But I will say that, based on widespread reporting, it appears that he struggles to control his temper.”Collins spoke with reporters after kicking off a statewide bus tour on Friday in Kittery, Maine.
The longtime senator is the only GOP incumbent running for re-election in a state President Trump lost in the 2024 election.A Fox News poll in Maine released on Wednesday indicated Jackson holding a slight two-point edge over Collins, which was within the survey’s sampling error.The Bangor Daily News reported this week that the police report accused Jackson of assaulting another man during a late-night brawl on March 12, 1988.The brawl was over Jackson’s longtime partner Lana Pelletier, who, according to records, is also his second cousin.Jackson and Pelletier share two adult children.The police report indicates that Pelletier told officers at the time that Jackson “pushed her around,” a statement she now denies making.According ...