Trump looms as tensions flare in final Maine Senate debate

Maine's Senate contest closed its debate season Thursday in Bangor with the central question unchanged: how much will voters' feelings about President Donald Trump shape the outcome in November? Democrat Troy Jackson and Republican Sen. Susan Collins met four times in two weeks, and the race could help decide which party runs the chamber next year. Jackson, a former state Senate president and logger, linked Collins to Trump throughout, while Collins presented herself as an independent voice who works across party lines. She said she opposed the president's tax and spending law and voted nine times against him on the Iran war, though she did allow the tax measure to move forward on the floor, according to NBC News.

Collins defended her vote to confirm Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Jackson indicated he would side with conviction if Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced impeachment, though he stressed health care and prices as his priority. A protester interrupted the live event at Husson University, and the candidates traded barbs over whether he was Jackson's supporter. Jackson reported raising more than $20 million from July through September, versus $5.2 million for Collins.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NBC News’s reporting. Read the full story at NBC News →