Democrats Take Hit In Key Senate Race As Nominee Faces New Scandal

Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson handed Republicans fresh ammunition in one of the country’s most closely watched races after calling longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins “stupid” before attempting to walk the remark back.

Jackson made the comments Monday during a reproductive rights event in Bath, Maine, with Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund President and CEO Nicole Clegg.

The Democrat was attacking Collins over her 2018 vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a decision Jackson has repeatedly tied to the Supreme Court’s later overturning of Roe v. Wade.

“She thinks we are stupid. That is what it comes down to,” Jackson told the crowd.

He then took the attack a step further.

“It is not us that are stupid, it’s her,” Jackson said.

The remark quickly threatened to become an unwanted distraction for Jackson as he prepares to face Collins on the debate stage in the closing weeks of a competitive Senate campaign.

Before the event ended, Jackson returned to the comment and tried to clarify what he meant.

“I should clarify that Sen. Collins would be stupid if she did not think we could see what’s going on,” Jackson said, according to NEWS CENTER Maine. “Not that she is stupid.”

Troy Jackson calls Senator Collins “stupid.”

He later walked back to comment. https://t.co/k37gCimMCb

— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) October 6, 2026

The clarification came after Jackson had directly used the word “stupid” while referring to Collins, giving the Republican incumbent an opening to turn the exchange back on her Democratic challenger.

Jackson has made abortion one of the central arguments of his campaign, repeatedly hammering Collins for supporting Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

Brett Kavanaugh later joined the Supreme Court majority in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the 2022 ruling that overturned Roe and returned abortion policy to the states.

Collins has criticized the Dobbs ruling and continues to describe herself as supportive of abortion rights.

She has also supported federal legislation aimed at restoring nationwide abortion protections.

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Jackson argues that Collins’ stated position on abortion does not erase her votes for conservative Supreme Court nominees.

His own record on the issue, however, has also drawn scrutiny.

Earlier in his political career, Jackson supported more restrictive abortion policies and legislation providing legal protections for unborn children.

He has since said his views changed after speaking with women, physicians and abortion-rights advocates.

Troy Jackson has publicly acknowledged that shift and said some of his previous positions were wrong.

Monday’s Planned Parenthood event was designed to reinforce his current support for abortion rights while keeping Collins’ judicial record in the spotlight.

Instead, his comments about Collins quickly became part of the story.

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The episode lands at a sensitive moment in a Senate race with major national implications.

Susan Collins is seeking another term in a state that has leaned Democratic at the presidential level, while Jackson is trying to give Democrats a pickup that could prove critical in the fight for Senate control.

Recent polling shows a highly competitive contest, with surveys differing on which candidate holds the advantage.

The race has increasingly centered on abortion, the economy, health care, taxes, President Donald Trump and control of the Senate.

Jackson’s remarks now give Collins another issue to raise as the candidates prepare to meet face-to-face.

Whether voters view the comment as a momentary slip or something more damaging could become clearer as one of the nation’s most consequential Senate races enters its final stretch.

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