Maine Senate Rivals Spar Over Trump, Abortion and ICE in First Debate
AUGUSTA, Maine — Republican Sen. Susan Collins and her Democratic challenger Troy Jackson sparred over President Donald Trump, abortion rights and immigration enforcement in their first debate Tuesday night, in a Maine Senate race that could decide control of the chamber, according to CNN.
The debate, held Oct. 6 and analyzed in CNN's takeaways published Oct. 7, quickly grew heated on immigration. Jackson attacked Collins for backing a measure giving Immigration and Customs Enforcement an additional $35 billion in funding, and raised the case of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a Colombian immigrant on a work permit who was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Biddeford, Maine, earlier this year. Collins said she was "horrified" by some of the agency's actions but insisted it should not be abolished. "You cannot abolish ICE," she said. "It does need reform. But do you really want to abolish an agency that is responsible for deporting violent criminals?"
On abortion, Jackson pressed Collins over her votes to confirm Supreme Court justices who later voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, arguing she enabled the loss of federal abortion protections. Collins countered that she supports codifying Roe and pointed to her record of backing abortion rights legislation, while noting she represents a state with deeply held views on both sides.
Polling shows a tight race with enormous national stakes. A Washington Post-Schar School poll conducted Sept. 30 to Oct. 5 found Jackson leading Collins 50% to 46% among likely voters, within the 3.6-point margin of error. Collins, who first won the seat in 1996 and now chairs the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, was seen by 54% of respondents as better at bringing federal funds back to the state — an argument her campaign leans on heavily.
Jackson, the former president of the Maine Senate, entered the race in July after the previous Democratic nominee resigned amid allegations. Backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, he is running on Medicare for all, abolishing ICE and federalizing abortion rights — positions that energize progressives but that Collins argues are out of step with Maine.
The money race is intensifying too. The Hill reported that Planned Parenthood Votes, a super PAC affiliated with Planned Parenthood, announced Oct. 6 it would spend an additional $1 million on digital ads boosting Democratic Senate candidates in Maine and Michigan. With the Senate majority on the line, both parties are expected to pour tens of millions into the state in the final month. Election Day is Nov. 3.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：缅因州联邦参议员苏珊·柯林斯官方肖像。美国参议院官方照片，公有领域，来源：Wikimedia Commons
