- Sign up HERE to our DC Insider newsletter - your guide to what's rocking Washington, rattling the White House and setting tongues wagging on the Hill
asserted
what → sign → Hill
A Maine Senate Democratic hopeful ridiculed his veteran GOP senator rival as an 'arsonist' during a debate where she turned her back on President Donald Trump.
asserted
she → ridicule → Trump
'Senator Collins is like the arsonist who helped set the fire, and she wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put it out,' Democrat Troy Jackson said of his Republican opponent in their first face-to-face showdown of the campaign.
asserted
Jackson → help → campaign
Seeking her sixth term, Senator Susan Collins faces a tricky re-election as a conservative in a state that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024, Joe Biden in 2020 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.
asserted
that → seek → 2016
When pressed if she would warmly receive a visit from the president to Maine during the final month before the midterm elections, Collins jumped around the question, saying the president would never do such a thing.
asserted
president → press → thing
'I don’t think that President Trump is going to come to Maine,' she said.
asserted
she → think → Maine
'He’s talking about going to a lot of different states.
asserted
He → talk → states
I’ve heard nothing from his office, and I’m not exactly his favorite senator.'
asserted
I → hear → office
On Monday, Trump said: 'I think we're going to Maine too' when asked about his campaign schedule.
asserted
we → say → schedule
When Jackson said one study found Collins voted with Trump 95 percent of the time, the 73-year-old senator shot back, saying another analysis found she voted with the president just 72 percent of the time and with Biden 92 percent of the time.
asserted
she → say → time
'This study found that I voted against my party more than any other senator on either side of the aisle,' she proudly declared in an obvious move to display her independence from the unpopular Trump administration.
asserted
she → find → administration
Jackson called Collins an 'arsonist' and tried to tie her to the Trump administration while she put distance between herself and the president
Collins distanced herself from President Donald Trump and would not confirm whether she'd meet with him should he campaign in Maine
asserted
he → call → Maine
After the Democratic candidate accused Collins of helping Trump create a Supreme Court bench responsible for overturning the abortion case Roe v Wade, Collins said she's the only GOP senator to vote for three Democratic-nominated justices.
asserted
she → accuse → justices
The debate was the first of four Collins and Jackson are expected to participate in over the next two weeks.
asserted
Collins → expect → weeks
Early voting began on October 5, meaning Maine residents are already casting ballots in the toss-up race that will determine whether Trump and his Republican Party will hold onto power in Washington.
asserted
Trump → begin → Washington
Maine is just one of several toss-up Senate races for the GOP; Alaska, Iowa, Ohio and Texas are all considered competitive.
asserted
Alaska → toss → GOP
North Carolina's Republican Senate seat is nearly all but lost, and the party has stopped spending money in the race altogether.
asserted
party → lose → race
Democrats need to flip four seats to win control of the Senate and many strategists believe Maine is pivotal to the party's calculus.
asserted
Maine → need → calculus
Polling shows that voters are most concerned with the cost of living and inflation, and the Iran war, which is driving up those prices.
asserted
which → show → prices
While Trump may not be hugely popular in a state that Kamala Harris carried in the 2024 presidential contest, Collins has long distanced herself from the MAGA ringleader and his closest aides – going as far as rebuking the president at times.
uncertain
Collins → carry → times
Current surveys show that the race is a dead heat, with results so close they are mostly within their margins of error.
asserted
they → show → error
Jackson maintains a slight edge in most of the polls.
asserted
Jackson → maintain → polls
Both candidates have had scandals erupt during the contentious campaign that already saw former Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner spectacularly drop out after a slew of sexual misconduct allegations.
asserted
Platner → have → allegations
Early voting began on October 5, meaning Maine residents are already casting ballots in the toss-up race that will determine whether Trump and his Republican Party will hold onto power in Washington
Filling in as the Democratic candidate, Jackson, self-styled as a 'fifth-generation logger,' has stirred headlines after it was revealed his longtime partner and mother of his two sons is also his second cousin by blood, according to The Maine Wire.
uncertain
partner → begin → Wire
Collins, meanwhile, helped a little-known defense contractor in Hawaii win millions in contracts while the company bankrolled her re-election campaigns, according to a ProPublica investigation.
uncertain
company → help → investigation
It's a charge she's vehemently denied.
asserted
she → deny → ?
The Aporia
