KITTERY, Maine - Republican Sen. Susan Collins says her Democratic challenger in Maine's high-stakes U.S. Senate race apparently "struggles to control his temper."
Collins broke her silence about Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson on Friday after a newly resurfaced 1988 police record detailed accusations that Jackson assaulted a man and pushed his longtime partner during a late-night confrontation in Fort Kent, Maine.
Jackson, a one-time logger and a former state Senate president, was chosen a couple of weeks ago by Maine Democrats to replace embattled oysterman Graham Platner, who won the June Democratic Senate nomination in a landslide before imploding and dropping out of the race last month amid rape allegations that he denied.
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Jackson is challenging Collins in a crucial race that's among a dozen that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority.
Asked by Fox News Digital about recent reports regarding Jackson, Collins said, "He’s the one that needs to respond to the reports. I’m not going to comment on them. But I will say that based on widespread reporting it appears that he struggles to control his temper."
Collins spoke with reporters after kicking off a statewide bus tour on Friday in Kittery, Maine. The longtime senator is the only GOP incumbent running for re-election in a state President Donald Trump lost in the 2024 election. A Fox News poll in Maine released on Wednesday indicated Jackson holding a slight two-point edge over Collins, which was within the survey's sampling error.
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The Bangor Daily News reported this week that the police report accused Jackson of assaulting another man during a late-night brawl on March 12, 1988.
The brawl was over Jackson's longtime partner Lana Pelletier, who, according to records, is also his second cousin. Jackson and Pelletier share two adult children.
The police report indicates that Pelletier told officers at the time that Jackson "pushed her around," a statement she now denies making.
According to the report, the then-19-year-old Jackson went to a home in Fort Kent, Maine, around 2 a.m..
After the occupant of the house told Jackson to go away, the report says the future state lawmaker "kicked the door in" and grabbed his rival by the throat before punching him in the face, causing the victim’s glasses to leave a cut. The report added that a friend broke up the ensuing fight.
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"Troy Jackson is Graham Platner 2.0: Violent and unhinged," the Republican National Committee charged in a social media post after the initial report went viral.
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Meanwhile, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, referring to Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, wrote on X, "Is this incredibly disturbing report of violence and abuse not enough for you to drop Troy Jackson?"
Jackson said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, "Nearly forty years ago, when I was 19 years old, I got into a fight with another man. I took responsibility for it then, and I take responsibility for it now."
"But let me be clear: I have never been violent with my partner Lana, or any other woman. This happened nearly four decades ago, and I assure Mainers this incident in no way reflects the man I am today or the life I've led in the years since," the Democratic Senate nominee added.
Pelletier told Fox News Digital in a statement, "I do not remember making the statements attributed to me and they are not accurate. This is the first time I have seen this report from 40 years ago. Troy and I have built a life and family together and I know the person he has been through the decades since, both as a caring partner and father."
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"I understand Maine voters want to learn about Troy as he seeks to represent them but personal attacks on my family are unacceptable," she added. "In the 40 years since he made a mistake as a 19-year-old kid, Troy has grown to be a passionate advocate for Mainers and dedicated his life to making things better for our state while Susan Collins has been in Washington enriching herself at our expense."
Meanwhile, the Jackson campaign told Fox News Digital that Troy "acknowledges going to the residence and getting into a physical confrontation with another man. The case was resolved with a $50 fine."
On Thursday, the conservative-leaning Maine Wire reported that a man from Allagash, Maine, who says he's known Jackson for decades alleged that he witnessed Jackson strike Pelletier in a separate incident years ago.
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Jackson, who hails from the remote northern tip of Maine, is a one-time conservative Republican who became a Democrat over two decades ago.
As he quickly became the frontrunner in the abbreviated race to replace Platner, he faced a slew of reports over his alleged temper and workplace conduct, as well as reported claims of mortgage improprieties and other potential liabilities, including his past strict anti-abortion stance.
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Asked by Fox News Digital last month about any vetting concerns, Jackson said, "I think a lot of this obviously is Sen. Collins trying to make sure she win can the election on a really bad record. But, for me, I’ve been in the legislature for 20 years. I do believe I’ve been vetted, I’ve been tested. People know exactly what I’m fighting for. I have their back. And they know they can trust me."
The scrutiny and negative reports are raising concerns by some in the party that Democrats landed another unvetted nominee after the Platner implosion.
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"This is a bit of a rocket vetting process," a Democratic strategist who works on Senate races who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, told Fox News Digital. "Maine Democrats have made their choice, and they're just going to have to ride with it."
Asked about the Democrats' vetting of Jackson, Collins told reporters on Friday, "From my perspective it seems that vetting is very important. We learned the failure of vetting with Graham Platner. But that’s really up to the Democrats."
The NRSC, in a series of social media posts directed at Democratic senators and Senate nominees who have endorsed Jackson since he landed the nomination, asked if those politicians will "call on Troy Jackson to drop out?"
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Jackson, who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, campaigned alongside Platner during the primary. And he quickly made the case that he was the best equipped candidate to grab the mantle of the progressive and populist movement that had backed Platner.
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Similar to Platner, Jackson is running on a platform aimed at working-class voters. He backs raising taxes on billionaires, the universal healthcare system known as "Medicare-for-all," and abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He also opposes military aid to Israel as Democrats are increasingly divided over support for America's longtime Middle East ally.