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Public disputes concerning the 2026 U.S. midterm election cycle, including campaigns, candidates, conventions, advertising, endorsements, and election-related policy promises.
Counts show individual statements. They do not assign an overall position.
10 statements on this page. Dates: September 1, 2026 to November 2, 2026
10 matching statements. Dates: September 1, 2026 to November 2, 2026
10 published statements. Dates: September 1, 2026 to November 2, 2026
8 published statements. Dates: September 1, 2026 to November 2, 2026
8 statements on this page. Dates: September 1, 2026 to November 2, 2026
Role at the time: Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, speaking to reporters
Response to this claim
Chuck Schumer will be reelected majority leader when Senate Democrats choose their leader for the new Congress.
“I've already said that I told Sen. Schumer that I'm gonna support somebody else. It's no different now.”
Roll Call reports Chuck Schumer's November 4, 2026, remarks to reporters outside the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee headquarters, including his prediction that he will be reelected majority leader. The article also collects statements from incoming Democratic senators Peggy Flanagan, Troy Jackson, Chris Pappas, Adam Hamilton, Abdul El-Sayed and Juliana Stratton on whether they would support him, and says the leadership election will likely take place in early December by secret ballot.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)The reference point is Chuck Schumer remaining Senate Democratic leader in the new Congress. Jackson says he will support another candidate, which opposes Schumer continuing as leader.
Role at the time: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and former Maine Senate president
Response to this claim
Collins bears responsibility for the Medicaid cuts because she helped advance the legislation despite opposing final passage.
“You know, Sen. Collins is like an arsonist who helped set the fire and then she wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put it out”
Jackson criticizes Collins's role in advancing the bill. Collins cites her final no vote and rural-health fund and corrects his committee attribution.
He condemns her role in advancing the law, rather than disputing the existence of her final no vote.
Role at the time: Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine
Statement summary
Jackson pointed to Collins's Kavanaugh confirmation vote during their October 6 debate and asked whether she should be trusted to pick the next Supreme Court justice.
“Would you trust her to pick the next Supreme Court justice?”
AP reports the October 6 debate. Jackson criticized Collins's Kavanaugh confirmation vote. The article quotes Jackson directly; it does not provide a new direct Collins quotation about Kavanaugh.
Jackson questions trusting Collins with another Supreme Court appointment after her Kavanaugh confirmation vote.
Role at the time: Democratic U.S. Senate nominee challenging Collins in Maine
Response to this claim
Susan Collins knowingly participated in a pay-to-play arrangement in which Navatek campaign support was exchanged for her office's assistance obtaining federal contracts.
“This is corruption of the highest order. Susan Collins delivered millions in taxpayer dollars for a corrupt donor bankrolling her campaign, and then Donald Trump helped her cover it up.”
Primary statement from Collins's Democratic Senate opponent reacting to the ProPublica investigation and demanding answers about contracts and conversations involving Collins's team.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Relative to the alleged exchange of campaign support for contract assistance, Jackson expressly calls the conduct corruption and attacks Collins for it. This is substantive condemnation.
Role at the time: Former Maine Senate president and 2026 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine
Statement summary
Troy Jackson said he would vote for a ban on Flock cameras, saying Mainers want their privacy protected and do not know what else the data is used for.
“Yeah, I would. I mean, I think right now, everything I know personally and as far as for people across Maine, they do not like it. People’s privacy is something that I think they want protected. We don’t know what else they’re using the data for. I don’t like that and I would vote against it.”
Maine Newsroom audio clip and transcript of a question put to Troy Jackson in York, Maine, about a Flock camera ban.
The reference point is whether networked license-plate readers such as Flock should exist and be used. Asked whether he would vote for a Flock ban, Jackson said yes and that he would vote against the cameras, citing privacy and unknown uses of the data. We used Condemned because he supports banning the cameras.
Role at the time: Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine
Response to this claim
Collins's 2018 vote to confirm Kavanaugh remains justified despite his vote to overturn Roe and Casey in Dobbs.
“Let's put this idea that Susan Collins is pro-choice, you know, completely behind us.”
Jackson's campaign video says Collins's votes for Kavanaugh and for the new CDC director show she is not pro-choice. The post text reads: "Leaders who are actually pro-choice don't vote like this, advocate for policies like this, or try to hide their record from Mainers." The Hill quoted the same video on September 7, 2026.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)The reference point is Collins's 2018 vote to confirm Kavanaugh and whether it remains justified after Dobbs. Jackson cites the Kavanaugh vote as proof that Collins's pro-choice label no longer holds, which is a direct criticism of the vote. We used Condemned. Challenged the characterization is close because he disputes her pro-choice label, but he grounds that in the vote itself. The quote comes from his own video post, transcribed from the audio and matching The Hill's report.
Role at the time: Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Maine
Statement summary
In a WABI interview, Troy Jackson called the Iran war "ridiculous," blamed it for rising fuel and grocery prices, and said Sen. Susan Collins should use her appropriations chairmanship to cut off funding for it.
“[Collins] likes to say how powerful she is. But then she kind of, you know, wipes her hands of the whole thing, saying, nothing I can do. Well, yeah, there's something you can do. I mean, you can shut off the money. And that is what she should do as chair of appropriations. If she doesn't agree with this Iran war.”
WABI interviews with Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic nominee Troy Jackson on Iran war authorization, published September 2, 2026.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Jackson condemned the war itself as "ridiculous" and demanded Congress defund it, a clear opposition position.
Role at the time: Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine, through campaign spokesperson Maggie Amjad
Statement summary
Maggie Amjad, a spokesperson for Troy Jackson's U.S. Senate campaign, said Collins still says she does not regret her vote and will keep making excuses for her actions. She said Jackson will keep fighting to repair the damage Collins caused and to restore abortion rights nationwide.
“Even now, Collins proudly says she doesn’t regret her vote, and while she will keep making excuses for her actions, Troy will keep fighting to repair the damage she caused and restore abortion rights nationwide”
The 19th's report on Maine women over 60 who say Collins's vote for Kavanaugh cost her their trust. It quotes a spokesperson for Troy Jackson's Senate campaign.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)The case asks whether Collins's 2018 vote to confirm Kavanaugh was justified after Dobbs. Amjad, speaking for the Jackson campaign, said Collins still says she does not regret her vote and will keep making excuses, and that Jackson will keep fighting to repair the damage she caused. That rejects Collins's defense of the vote and says it did harm, so we labeled it Condemned. The article places the remark in its discussion of the campaign's emphasis on the Kavanaugh vote.
1 published statement. Dates: October 15, 2026
1 statement on this page. Dates: October 15, 2026
Role at the time: Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine
Statement summary
Jackson says he is not against adding justices and calls for ethics reform and term limits.
“we have to have real ethics reform that's accountable, that you can hold people to. I think that we should have term limits. And I'm not against putting more people on the court because this court obviously is not working.”
The full debate includes court expansion, ethics and term-limit proposals, followed by a separate exchange about campaign finance.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)The reference point is increasing the number of Supreme Court justices. Jackson says he is not against adding justices because the current Court is not working, which treats expansion as an acceptable reform. He leaves the number of seats open.
1 published statement. Dates: October 15, 2026
1 statement on this page. Dates: October 15, 2026
Role at the time: Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine and former president of the Maine Senate
Statement summary
Jackson says the ads Collins cites were made without his approval and points to ads he says Elon Musk is running for Collins.
“So those ads obviously are done without my approval, just like you know very well. I mean, Elon Musk is running ads for you.”
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. Jackson answers that the ads were done without his approval, denying that he approved the ads Collins describes. We used Denied rather than Challenged the characterization because he states as fact that he did not approve them instead of disputing how they are described.
