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<p><span style="font-weight:400">Tensions flared Thursday during the final Maine Senate debate after Democrat Troy Jackson told incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins to “shut up.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">The </span><a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/2110878309034967549?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight:400">fiery exchange</span></a><span style="font-weight:400"> came moments after a protester interrupted the live debate, shouting at Collins about artificial intelligence and data centers.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">“AI data centers are destroying our climate,” the male protester shouted. “They are poisoning our water.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">Collins quickly responded, suggesting the protester was connected to her opponent.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">“So this is obviously one of Troy’s supporters,” she said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">Jackson fired back: “Oh, shut up … I don’t even know that kid,” he told Collins.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">“Oh, right,” Collins replied, before the debate resumed and authorities escorted the protester out of the venue.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">Maine remains a nail-biter. Jackson leads Collins by 1.3 percentage points in the RealClearPolitics average, though Collins has a history of outperforming polls quite substantially. Last weekend, Jackson</span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/11/us/politics/maine-bernie-sanders-troy-jackson-seante-democrats.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <span style="font-weight:400">campaigned</span></a><span style="font-weight:400"> alongside socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) as he sought to build enthusiasm for his campaign.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">Jackson has also faced questions about his ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, </span><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maine-dem-troy-jackson-dodges-simple-question-on-ties-to-radical-socialist-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight:400">The Daily Wire previously reported.</span></a><span style="font-weight:400"> During a previous debate, moderators pressed Jackson about his support for Medicare for All, a policy championed by the organization, and whether he was a member. Citing polling that showed nearly 40% of Mainers held an unfavorable view of socialism, moderators asked Jackson to clarify his affiliation.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">Jackson did not directly confirm or deny membership, instead pivoting to a defense of universal healthcare and criticizing pharmaceutical company profits, Collins, and President Donald Trump’s tax cuts.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">“I support Medicare for all, so that people that I know across the state have healthcare,” Jackson said, arguing that people should not have to forgo medical care because they cannot afford it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">Jackson has sought to distance himself from political labels on the campaign trail, </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/20/politics/video/democrat-aiming-to-flip-maine-sen-susan-collins-seat-faces-onslaught-of-attacks" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight:400">telling CNN’s Manu Raju</span></a><span style="font-weight:400"> that he doesn’t “consider myself anything” and telling MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” that </span><a href="https://time.com/article/2026/10/05/democrats-in-key-senate-races-embrace-capitalist-label/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight:400">he does not endorse</span></a><span style="font-weight:400"> the national platform of the Democratic Socialists of America. </span></p>
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<br /><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shut-up-dem-snaps-at-susan-collins-in-fiery-maine-senate-debate">Source link </a></p>
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Dem Snaps At Susan Collins In Fiery Maine Senate Debate
