You Go, Girl: Susan Collins Has a 'From the Top Rope' Moment in Interview on Troy Jackson

The Senate race in Maine continues to be one to watch as we begin what will be the final two full months before midterm Election Day 2026.

All available polling data since Troy Jackson was substituted for Graham Platner as the nominee by delegates at the July Maine Democrat Party nominating convention shows the race between him and incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins neck and neck, with Jackson seemingly having a slight edge but with the numbers being well within the margin of error.

As we've reported, Jackson has been busy making campaign stops where he has tried to assure Democrat voters who are upset over scandal-plagued Platner essentially being forced out, à la Joe Biden in 2024, that he and Platner are "closely aligned." At one stop, he even went so far as to say, in so many words, that he wished Platner, who was accused of domestic abuse by one ex-girlfriend and of sexual assault by another, was still in the race.

For her part, Collins has been busy reminding voters of everything she's done for the Pine Tree State over her nearly 30 years as one of its senators, while also making sure they remember that she sometimes votes differently than Republican presidents would like her to.

Amid a high-stakes battle where pro-abortion groups are targeting her for her pivotal role in confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in 2018, Collins sat down for an interview where she had what some described as a "from the top rope" moment when talking about Jackson after being asked about the "circumstances of his personal life."

After describing what she saw as Jackson's weaknesses, like being a flip-flopper on multiple issues and going from being a conservative Republican to "essentially a Democratic Socialist," here's what Collins had to say:

Question: Should the circumstances of his personal life and the mother of his children be relevant to this campaign? Is that fair game, do you think?

Answer: I’m not going to bring up the fact that the mother of his two children is his second cousin. I don’t know whether people know that or not.

Question: I think you just mentioned it.

Answer: Well, in Aroostook County, you know it.

Question: Where you’re from, too, right?

Answer: We’re both from the county.

Watch:

Susan Collins from the top rope on Troy Jackson:

"I'm not going to bring up the fact that the mother of his two children is his second cousin" pic.twitter.com/2SEPLC03tz

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) September 2, 2026

Collins is not a flamethrower. Unlike candidates in other high-profile races, she's not going to spend much time on personality and social media wars.  She's going to let her record do most of the talking.

But she knows her territory, and Maine voters very well. The way she handled that question with the subtle reminder to voters about Jackson's... strange personal history is classic Collins, and it is a tactic she's used for many campaign cycles where she had Democrat challengers who were ahead of her in polling before Election Day but who came up well short - even in years that otherwise were good for Democrats and not so good for Republicans.

It's a variation on the Democrat/media "just asking questions" tactic, except in her case, it's "just making an observation" - and voters can decide whether the information will persuade them one way or the other.

Something else voters will need to decide? Whether a Platneresque scandal involving allegations at the time that Jackson "pushed around" his now-significant other (second cousin Lana Pelletier, who says she doesn't remember making the claim) during an admitted fight with another man in 1988, in which he punched the man in what sounded like a jealous rage, should be held against Jackson or not.

As we've also documented, for anyone thinking "well, that was probably just him being young and hot-headed," let's not forget the far more recent reports that Jackson's temper while in the state senate was such a concern that the issue was elevated to the governor's office at one point, as detailed by The Washington Post.

This follows reports that he once got so angry in a legislative meeting that he threw a water bottle and hit a female legislator.

Can Maine Democrats find a candidate who DOESN’T have a history of violently abusing women? https://t.co/2098T2wP2g

— Matt Whitlock (@MattWhitlock) August 13, 2026

As Collins noted in that interview, Platner and Jackson have some similarities, and they have some differences. It's those concerning similarities - both in terms of policy and in terms of character - that may give voters just enough pause in November to tell the former Maine state senate president "no thanks."

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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