Collins and Jackson spar over PAC money, debt in final Maine debate

Opening: Asked why their party should control Congress, Jackson said Democrats would restore federal abortion rights, roll back federal immigration enforcement efforts and step back from the Iran war, according to NEWS CENTER Maine. Collins said the border was weak under the Biden administration and the country should not return to it, and she pointed to her record of working across the aisle, citing her opposition to Pete Hegseth's confirmation as defense secretary as a time she broke with her party.

Money and the debt: In the candidate-to-candidate segment, Collins challenged Jackson's claim that he doesn't benefit from corporate PAC money, pointing to ads paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Jackson said those ads run without his approval and said more than 95% of his 250,000-plus donors gave under $100. On the national debt, Collins said Maine ran up a budget deficit of more than $1 billion on Jackson's watch as a legislator; Jackson replied, "In Maine we have a balanced budget. Has it grown? Yes, but it's still balanced," the Globe reported, and said Collins helped cut health care and SNAP benefits.

Trump's cabinet and a heckler: Collins said she disagrees with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccines and autism but agrees with him on chronic disease, and answered "No" when asked whether she regrets voting to confirm him. Jackson said Trump's picks should be held to what they promised at their hearings. When an audience member interrupted Collins to shout about AI data centers and the climate, Collins called him "obviously one of Troy's supporters"; Jackson responded "Oh, shut up" and said he didn't know the person, NEWS CENTER Maine reported.

Each side's strongest case: Collins argued that her seniority as Appropriations chair delivers for Maine and that a vote for her is not a vote for Trump, noting she voted against the final version of the One Big Beautiful Bill after helping add a $50 billion rural health fund. Jackson argued that Collins votes with Trump most of the time, that her procedural vote let that bill advance, and that she "could have done more" about the Iran war, the Globe reported.

Short timeline: The candidates debated four times in about two weeks, starting Oct. 6, with the third hosted by WABI on Tuesday, Oct. 13. The Globe said it found no other Senate race this year with four debates, and that groups backing Collins had outspent those backing Jackson on TV, $115 million to $83 million, as of Oct. 13. Jackson became the nominee in July after replacing Graham Platner.

What remains unknown: whether any of the four debates moved voters (the Globe judged that they produced few campaign-defining moments), how the ad-spending gap plays out in the last three weeks, and what late polling shows. Maine Public airs the recorded debate again on Friday, Oct. 16.

Exchanges and quotes are as NEWS CENTER Maine, a debate co-host, and The Boston Globe reported them from the Oct. 15 broadcast. TV-spending figures are AdImpact's as of Oct. 13 and the Maine approval figure is from a Suffolk University poll, both as cited by the Globe. The hero photo shows the debate venue in 2018, not Thursday's event.