Republican PAC airs Troy Jackson attack ad; Susan Collins’ campaign calls for it to be taken down
Maine Political Roundup: Attack Ad Targeting Troy Jackson Sparks Calls for Removal
AUGUSTA, Maine – A Republican‑aligned political action committee has aired a controversial 60‑second radio spot aimed at Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Troy Jackson, prompting immediate condemnation from Senator Susan Collins’ campaign and a demand for an apology from Jackson’s team.
The advertisement, described as a musical piece that opens with a piano riff and transitions into country music, has been circulating on social media since Tuesday. Its chorus delivers a provocative line: “If he’ll screw his own family, he’ll screw yours, too.” The spot is funded by the Senate Leadership Fund PAC, a group that supports Republican candidates. According to AdImpact, the organization’s radio expenditures for October alone have surpassed $405,000 as of Tuesday.
Jackson’s personal life is the focal point of the ad. He and his partner are second cousins, sharing a great‑grandparent, a relationship that is legal throughout the United States. The couple is not married. The ad’s creators argue that this familial connection reflects poorly on Jackson’s character, a claim that both candidates’ campaigns reject.
Shawn Roderick, a spokesperson for Senator Collins, issued a written statement on Tuesday urging the advertisement’s removal. “Senator Collins believes there have been far too many personal attacks in this campaign,” Roderick said. “This ad has nothing to do with Troy Jackson’s qualifications for the job and should be taken down immediately.”
Jackson’s campaign responded by calling on Collins to apologize for the attack. “If Collins believes these attacks are wrong, she owes Troy’s family an apology for spreading them herself and must take responsibility for her allies pushing the same personal attack on his family on TV right now,” said campaign spokesman Dan Gottlieb in an email late Tuesday. “Mainers deserve a debate about their futures, not a campaign dragging a family through the mud.”
The controversy follows a September interview in which Collins addressed Jackson’s personal circumstances. In a Politico story released on September 2, reporter Jonathan Martin asked whether Jackson’s “personal life and the mother of his children” should be relevant to the campaign. Collins replied, “Well, I’m not going to bring up the fact that the mother of his two children is his second cousin. I don’t know whether people know that or not. … It’s not something I’m going to be emphasizing.”
Legal experts note that no state in the U.S. prohibits marriage between second cousins, and Jackson’s relationship with his partner is lawful. Despite the ad’s focus, spokespeople for the Senate Leadership Fund PAC did not respond to requests for comment on either the advertisement or the calls for its removal.
As the 2026 election cycle accelerates, the incident highlights a growing trend of negative campaigning that blurs the line between policy discussion and personal scrutiny. Both the Collins and Jackson campaigns say they remain focused on issues they believe matter most to Maine voters, while the broader political community watches to see whether the ad will be retracted or continue to run on the airwaves.
