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Public disputes concerning political fundraising, campaign spending, PAC and dark-money activity, disclosure requirements, and claims about who is financing political campaigns and for what purpose.
Counts show individual statements. They do not assign an overall position.
4 statements on this page. Dates: September 23, 2026 to October 15, 2026
4 matching statements. Dates: September 23, 2026 to October 15, 2026
4 published statements. Dates: September 23, 2026 to October 15, 2026
1 published statement. Dates: October 15, 2026
1 statement on this page. Dates: October 15, 2026
Role at the time: U.S. senator from Maine and Republican candidate for reelection
Statement summary
Collins says Jackson's hybrid ads with the DSCC, which she says has taken money from 28 billionaires and more than 190 corporate PACs, violate his promise to reject corporate-PAC money.
“They are hybrid ads with the DSCC. The DSCC has received funding from 28 billionaires and more than 190 corporate PACs. That totally violates the promise that Troy made.”
Maine Public's full recording of the final Collins-Jackson debate at Husson University in Bangor, hosted with NEWS CENTER Maine and the Portland Press Herald. At 20:23 Collins asks Jackson about ads financed in part by the DSCC that carry his approval line. Jackson answers at 21:45, Collins replies at 22:50 and Jackson rebuts at 23:31. At 14:31 Jackson says he does not accept corporate PACs.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reference point: whether the ads paid for by Women for Troy, the DSCC and Jackson's campaign break his pledge to reject corporate-PAC money. Collins says they do and calls the arrangement a violation of his promise. We used Condemned rather than Challenged the characterization because she criticizes the arrangement itself, rather than Jackson's description of it.
3 published statements. Dates: September 23, 2026 to October 15, 2026
3 statements on this page. Dates: September 23, 2026 to October 15, 2026
Role at the time: U.S. senator from Maine and Republican candidate for reelection
Statement summary
Asked about the Senate ethics complaint, Collins says the allegations are completely false and were rejected by the Justice Department, the FBI and the Federal Election Commission. She says a photo shows Kao met her months before he made any contribution and that he revived the story hoping for leniency.
“The allegations are completely false ... We have a picture of his meeting with me and with other people in my office that is many months before he ever made a single contribution ... He spun this story up again in the hopes that the judge would be lenient, or the prosecutor would be.”
Guardian report on Collins's answer to a reporter's question about the Senate ethics complaint over the Navatek allegations.
The case asks whether Collins traded support for Navatek's federal contracts for campaign donations. Collins rejects the allegation outright and disputes the account's timeline, so we used the denies label.
Role at the time: Republican U.S. senator from Maine, through campaign spokesperson Blake Kernen
Statement summary
Asked by the Portland Press Herald whether Susan Collins called Navatek CEO Martin Kao to thank him for a 2019 super PAC donation, her campaign spokesperson said there is no record of the call and that neither Collins nor anyone who worked for her believes she made it.
“Neither Susan Collins nor anyone who worked for her believes that she made a call”
Role at the time: U.S. Senator for Maine, the senator whose conduct is at issue
Statement summary
Collins personally denies the pay-to-play allegations, citing a 2021 Biden Justice Department finding of no wrongdoing by her, her office, or her campaign, and calls the ProPublica report a political hit job driven by Democratic tactics; she also calls Kao a liar with multiple federal convictions.
“In 2021, the Biden Justice Department found there was no wrongdoing by anyone on my campaign staff, my office or me. This is absolutely outrageous. It's clearly a political hit job.”
Punchbowl News reporting on Sen. Susan Collins on-the-record remarks to reporters just off the Senate floor responding to the ProPublica investigation, including her denial of wrongdoing, her characterization of the story as a political hit job tied to Schumer/Democratic tactics, and her description of Martin Kao as a liar with multiple federal convictions.
Press Herald explainer on the campaign-finance and contracting laws tied to the Navatek allegations. It includes the Collins campaign's answer, through spokesperson Blake Kernen, to whether Collins called Martin Kao to thank him for the shell-company donation that ProPublica reported, and comments from campaign-finance experts.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)The case asks whether Collins traded federal contract support for Navatek campaign donations. ProPublica reported that a Reed aide sought Kao's number because Collins "would like to call Martin to thank him." The campaign denies the call took place, so we labeled it Denies.
On whether she traded federal contract support for Navatek campaign donations, Collins says the Biden Justice Department already investigated and found no wrongdoing by her, her staff, or her campaign. That is a direct denial that the alleged conduct occurred, not merely a dispute over how the story is framed.
