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Troy Jackson Hits Susan Collins Over Family-Ties Remark

9/7/2026

14 3 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

U.S. Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson attacked Senator Susan Collins for mentioning his family ties.
Collins told Politico that the mother of Jackson’s two children is his second cousin.
Jackson said he holds personal information on Collins’s family but will not disclose it.
Jackson said policy, not family, should dominate the Senate race.
Pro-choice groups spent $600,000 on ads linking Collins to the 2022 abortion rollback.

History

Historical Context

The 1994 Republican Revolution, led by Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America, flipped eight Senate seats and gave the GOP its first House majority since 1952, reshaping campaign tactics toward aggressive ads. Decades later, that playbook reappears in the 2024 Maine Senate race, where Troy Jackson attacks Susan Collins with targeted advertising.

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Story summary

U.S. Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson attacked Senator Susan Collins for mentioning his family ties.
Collins told Politico that the mother of Jackson’s two children is his second cousin.
Jackson said he holds personal information on Collins’s family but will not disclose it.
Jackson said policy, not family, should dominate the Senate race.
Pro-choice groups spent $600,000 on ads linking Collins to the 2022 abortion rollback.

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