Collins insists socialist rival won't beat her as Maine's money machine: 'You'll lose big time'

BANGOR, Maine — Republican Sen. Susan Collins is warning that Maine could lose crucial federal funding if voters replace her with Democrat Troy Jackson, as a new poll shows the candidates statistically tied ahead of their final debate Thursday.

Jackson, a one-time logger and former Maine Senate president, edged Collins 49%-47% in a Suffolk University poll conducted Oct. 8-11 and released on the eve of the final debate. Jackson's two-point edge over Collins among likely voters was well within the survey's margin of error, and the poll was the latest to indicate an extremely close contest.

The face-off between Collins and Jackson in the blue-leaning Northern New England state is a top flip opportunity for the Democrats as they try to win back the from the Republicans in the midterm elections.

The rate the race in Maine as a toss up, as do leading nonpartisan political handicappers the Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato's Crystal Ball.

"Maine voters lose out big time if Troy Jackson were to be elected," Collins said in an exclusive Fox News Digital interview on Wednesday.

Collins, who is running for a sixth six-year term in the Senate, has showcased her nearly three decades of Senate experience and her leadership role as Senate Appropriations Committee chair as integral to her ability "to get so much done for the people of Maine." She warned that if Jackson replaced her, "he'll be 100 in seniority, and all of that essential federal funding targeted for the , virtually all of it will go away."

Jackson has argued that Collins has not used her Senate power to protect Maine families from soaring energy, food, and housing costs. "Sen. Collins has told us how powerful she is," Jackson said during their first debate. "But power means nothing if you won't use it when the people may need it."

Jackson and Democrats have also repeatedly aimed to anchor Collins to President Donald Trump, whose approval ratings in Maine and across the country are cratering ahead of the midterms.

"That's the choice on this stage — a senator who helps hurt Maine then tells us how concerned she is, or somebody who will stand up against him before another family in Maine has to pay the price," Jackson said during Tuesday's third debate.

Collins is known as a moderate Republican who at times has voted against the president. But Jackson and Democrats are targeting the senator over her comments that she didn't regret her 2018 vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose crucial vote four years later helped overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion ruling.

And following the fatal shooting in Maine this summer involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, Democrats heavily criticized Collins for her support for ICE funding.

But Collins has broken with Trump numerous times in recent months, criticizing his tariff war with neighboring Canada and voting against Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation.

"Troy and Chuck Schumer and their allies run ads saying that I'm somehow a puppet of the president. Believe me, that would come as a huge surprise to President Trump," Collins told Fox News Digital.

Collins noted, "I opposed the deal that he made with Vladimir Putin to get a small amount of diesel, and in return lift the sanctions that we just passed into law, and the president is not following the law. I signed a bipartisan letter that urges the president to reconsider that. I opposed the president's signature legislative accomplishment, the One Big Beautiful Bill, because it contained cuts in Medicaid that... I know would be harmful to Maine."

The senator was inte