Marist Poll Puts Jackson 4 Points Ahead of Collins in Senate Race

A recent Marist poll gave Democrat Troy Jackson a 51% to 47% edge over Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, though 57% of those surveyed said they expected Collins to win, according to a Boston Globe column by Joan Vennochi published on Oct. 13.

Collins, 73, has represented Maine in the Senate since 1997. At a debate held the week before the column, she said she had "secured $1.5 billion for 672 projects all over the state of Maine during the past five years," and disputed Jackson's claim that she votes with President Trump 96% of the time, putting the figure at 72%.

Collins asked Jackson to apologize for alleging that she and her husband are profiting from the war in Iran. The Jackson campaign cited her husband's disclosed holdings in two aerospace companies with Pentagon contracts, though the share prices of both have fallen since the war began, The New York Times reported.

Jackson, a former Maine Senate president, entered the race after Graham Platner withdrew in July amid allegations of sexual misconduct, which Platner denied. Jackson won the replacement process later that month. At the debate, Jackson faced questions over corporate contributions to a state Senate political action committee; he denied wrongdoing and said he now rejects corporate money.

This story was first reported by The Boston Globe.