Collins ad mocking Jackson's logging background draws backlash in Maine

A new attack ad from Republican Sen. Susan Collins's campaign is drawing criticism in Maine for mocking her Democratic opponent Troy Jackson's background as a logger ¹.

The ad features Bill Green, a retired News Center Maine sportscaster, who says Maine politics has gone into "the gutter" before endorsing Collins as "one of the most decent and honest people I know" ¹. Green also says he knows Jackson, but that the race is not about buying a cord of wood and that Jackson does not have the tools he needs to be effective in the U.S. Senate ¹. The ad was approved by Collins and funded by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP's campaign arm ¹.

Jackson responded in a video posted to X, calling Green and Collins "out of touch" and saying they "talk down to people like me" ¹. He said the race is about a cord of wood, and about an economy that Senator Collins has created in which people can't afford to heat their homes ¹.

The ad drew criticism from Maine political figures and labor groups. Jason Shedlock, president of the Maine Building and Construction Trades Council and a Democratic candidate for Maine House District 120, said: "Susan Collins has spent the last 30 years trying to convince us that every Mainer has a cold and she's the only one with a tissue" ¹. "We're not buying it," Shedlock told Newsweek. "And with the price of that cord of wood or gallon of oil, we couldn't afford to anyway" ¹.

From Channel GOPJackson: Collins could defund the Iran warTroy Jackson · 158 plays · captioned, with the source named

Jordan Wood, a former Democratic candidate for Congress in Maine, wrote on X: "Bill Green's latest ad for Susan Collins made my jaw drop" ¹. "A pathetic end to both of their careers. Mainers will reject these despicable attacks next Tuesday" ¹. The Maine AFL-CIO, an umbrella organization for labor unions in the state, wrote on X that "Susan Collins has spent so much time in Washington she thinks working-class Mainers are beneath her" ¹.

Sam Patten, a former staffer for Collins, wrote on Facebook that he "didn't believe this ad was real" until calling news stations across Maine ¹. "For more than 30 years, Susan Collins has carefully concealed her intrinsic arrogance because she is very smart and knows well that in Maine politics that would be fatal," he wrote. "With this ad, she gave that act up" ¹.

The ad is the latest flashpoint in a race that has already featured personal attacks. Collins has distanced herself from a Senate Leadership Fund radio ad that says of Jackson, "If he'll screw his own family, he'll screw yours, too" ². Collins campaign spokeswoman Blake Kernen said: "Senator Collins believes there have been far too many personal attacks in this campaign" and that "She called for this ad to be taken down the day it went up" ².

Jackson's campaign says Collins's call rings hollow. "Susan Collins herself spread these disgusting personal attacks on Troy's family," campaign spokesperson Dan Gottlieb said in a statement. "Now she wants Mainers to believe she's above the very attacks she helped spread" ².

The race is tight. An Echelon Insights survey of 413 likely Maine voters from October 16 to 23 gave Jackson 51 percent to Collins's 44 percent, just outside its 6.3-point margin of error ¹. A Marist University poll of 1,449 likely voters from October 22 to 25 had Jackson at 49 percent and Collins at 47 percent ¹. Republicans have spent $116.7 million on aired ads in the race plus $7.9 million in future reservations, compared with $86 million on aired ads plus $5.8 million in future reservations for Democrats, according to the tracking firm AdImpact ¹.

That matters because Democrats almost certainly need to defeat Collins to win Senate control, and the election is six days away ². Early voting is under way, with 220,814 mail-in ballots returned in Maine as of Tuesday evening, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab ¹.

The Record

1. Oct 16, 2026An Echelon Insights survey of 413 likely Maine voters began; it later gave Jackson 51 percent to Collins's 44 percent ¹.
2. Oct 22, 2026A Marist University poll of 1,449 likely voters began; it later had Jackson at 49 percent and Collins at 47 percent ¹.
3. Oct 27, 2026As of Tuesday evening, 220,814 mail-in ballots had been returned in Maine, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab ¹.

Sources

1. Newsweek, “Susan Collins Slammed for ‘Despicable’ Attack on Troy Jackson” (2026-10-28). newsweek.com/susan-collins-slammed-for-despicable-attack-on-
2. ABC17NEWS, “Republican attack ads mocking Troy Jackson’s relationship roil Maine Senate race against Susan Collins - ABC17NEWS” (2026-10-27). abc17news.com/politics/national-politics/cnn-us-politics/202

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.