Two days before Maine voters head to the polls, Sen. Susan Collins has accused Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, of waging a campaign built on falsehoods, insisting that the attacks against her are part of a repeated national playbook rather than a local argument. In a race where a Fox News poll finds her and challenger Troy Jackson level at 49 percent, she casts herself as a centrist who votes on conscience, and she disputes the widely repeated claim that she sides with Donald Trump 95 percent of the time. How the contest resolves will tell whether voters weigh the charges of distortion or the
Collins Accuses Schumer of Driving 'Outright Lies' in Tight Maine Senate Race
She had never seen a campaign with so many outright lies.
Mark
Why did this interview land so close to Election Day?
Mimi
It's the final weekend, and the poll has Collins and Jackson tied at 49%. Every message counts, and hers was that the attacks against her are false and coordinated.
Mark
What exactly is she alleging about the ads?
Mimi
That one ad tied her to Jeffrey Epstein and was completely false, and that two colleagues in tough races told her they faced nearly identical ads.
Luke
To be clear, that's her account. The reporting doesn't show the ads themselves or any fact-check, and we don't have a response from Schumer or Jackson.
Mark
And the point about nationalizing the race?
Mimi
She says Democrats want voters thinking about national fights instead of Maine. It's a familiar framing for an incumbent in a tight race.
Luke
It's also a characterization of motive. Whether the ads are coordinated is something she asserts, not something established here.
Mark
What about the 95% figure on voting with Trump?
Mimi
She calls it phony, says it comes from a sample of 30% of votes, and says a 90% sample gives about 72%. She also cites 138 votes against the president's policies.
Luke
Those numbers are hers. The piece doesn't say who calculated the 72% or the 138, so I'd treat them as her claims until checked.
Mark
So what do we actually know?
Mimi
The poll is tied at 49%, the election is Tuesday, and Collins is making a case about independence and honesty. Voters decide the rest.
Le Pouls
- A Fox News poll has Collins and Jackson tied at 49 percent, with the vote only days away.
- Collins says ads against her and other Republicans are nearly identical and include false claims tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
- She accuses Schumer and Democrats of nationalizing a Maine race and pulling it away from local concerns.
- Collins challenges the 95 percent Trump-vote figure, arguing a narrow sample yields a rate closer to 72 percent.
- With no independent check on the ad claims and no response from Jackson or Schumer, the outcome hangs on voters at the polls.
Two days before Maine voters head to the polls, Sen. Susan Collins has accused Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, of waging a campaign built on falsehoods, insisting that the attacks against her are part of a repeated national playbook rather than a local argument. In a race where a Fox News poll finds her and challenger Troy Jackson level at 49 percent, she casts herself as a centrist who votes on conscience, and she disputes the widely repeated claim that she sides with Donald Trump 95 percent of the time. How the contest resolves will tell whether voters weigh the charges of distortion or the question of who truly speaks for Maine.
Two days before Election Day, Sen. Susan Collins sat down with Fox News and said she had never seen a campaign with so many outright lies. The latest poll had her and Democrat Troy Jackson tied at 49 percent each, and she aimed her frustration at Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Party, describing a wave of nearly identical attack ads run against her and other Republicans.
Her sharpest example involved Jeffrey Epstein. She called one ad against her outrageous and false, and said two Senate colleagues in tough races had faced nearly the same message. She argued Democrats were trying to turn a Maine contest into a national fight, drawing attention away from issues at home. The interview offered no independent verification of these claims, and no response from Jackson or Schumer was included.
Collins framed herself as a lawmaker who works across party lines, arguing the Senate needs more centrists as many moderates have retired or stepped aside. She called herself the most independent senator in the chamber and said her votes follow her convictions, not the White House. She rejected the figure that she votes with Trump 95 percent of the time, saying it covers only 30 percent of votes and that a broader sample puts it near 72 percent, and noted she has opposed the president's policies 138 times.
Jackson has said he believes he can beat the longtime senator, while Collins said she feels more optimistic than ever after warm receptions across Maine. With the race a dead heat and voting set for Tuesday, the ballots will settle both the dispute over the ads and the debate over her record.
Two days before Election Day, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine sat for an interview with Fox News and said something she claimed she had never said about a campaign before: that she had never seen one with so many outright lies. The remarks came on Sunday, as the latest Fox News poll put her and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson at 49% each.
Collins directed her criticism at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Party more broadly. She described a wave of attack ads aimed at her and at other Republican candidates, and said the ads were strikingly similar from race to race. In her telling, this was not a coincidence but a strategy, which she called "Chuck Schumer's playbook."
Her main example involved Jeffrey Epstein. One ad against her, she said, was outrageous and completely false, and it dealt with the late financier. After speaking with two Senate colleagues in tough races of their own, she said, she learned that virtually identical ads had been run against them. "It's very frustrating," she said, adding that there are plenty of differences between her and her opponent but that the volume of falsehoods in this race was unlike anything she had seen.
She also accused her opponent, Schumer and their allies of trying to nationalize the race, pulling attention away from Maine issues and toward divisive national fights. The interview offered no independent verification of her claims about the ads, and the source material does not include a response from Jackson or Schumer on that charge.
Turning to her own record, Collins presented herself as a lawmaker who works across party lines. She argued the Senate needs more centrists, and said many moderates have given up, retired or chosen not to run again. That, she said, is one reason she is seeking another term. She went further, calling herself the "most independent senator on either side of the aisle," and saying her votes follow what she believes is right rather than who holds the White House or what President Donald Trump wants.
She took on a specific number that has followed her: the claim that she voted with Trump 95% of the time. Collins called that figure phony, saying it rests on a sample covering only 30% of votes. Measured against a broader sample of 90% of votes, she said, the rate falls to roughly 72%. She also said she has voted against the president's policies 138 times.
Jackson, for his part, had previously told Fox News he believes he has a good shot at beating the longtime Republican senator. Collins, asked about her own prospects, said she feels more optimistic than ever, citing the strong response she gets while visiting communities across Maine.
With the Fox News poll showing a dead heat and voters heading to the polls on Tuesday, the outcome in Maine remains uncertain, and the dispute over the ads and her voting record will be tested by the ballots themselves.
Citations marquantes
I've never seen a campaign with so many outright lies. It's very frustrating.— Sen. Susan Collins
It's certainly an attempt by my opponent and Chuck Schumer and their allies to nationalize this race.— Sen. Susan Collins
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