Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson squared off Tuesday night in the first of four scheduled debates in one of the most closely watched Senate races of the 2026 midterms, and both candidates spent much of the hour trying to out-distance themselves from President Trump — just in very different ways.

According to a CBS News recap of the debate, Collins, who is seeking a sixth term, leaned on her three decades in Washington and her chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee, arguing she has delivered federal funding for Maine while quietly breaking with the president on tariffs, the Iran war and his sweeping tax-and-spending package. Asked whether Trump might campaign for her, Collins didn't hedge: "I'm not exactly his favorite senator."

An "arsonist" accusation

Jackson, a former Maine Senate president who entered the race after original nominee Graham Platner dropped out amid misconduct allegations he denies, argued Collins' breaks with Trump are too selective and too late. He hammered her procedural vote advancing what Republicans call the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" before she ultimately voted against the final version over Medicaid cuts, telling her she was an "arsonist" who helped start the fire and now wants credit for putting it out.

"WE CAN'T EAT ROAD SALT," Jackson quipped, mocking Collins' claim that she's lobbying behind the scenes for tariff exemptions on Canadian goods.

The two also clashed over Collins' vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh, immigration enforcement after the fatal shooting of a Maine man by an ICE officer during a traffic stop, and Jackson's own legislative record as state Senate president. Collins called the shooting "horrific" and said ICE needs reform; Jackson said the man was "murdered" and called for the agency to be disbanded entirely.

An Associated Press account carried by PBS NewsHour likewise centered on Collins' effort to carve out independence from the president, describing her repeated emphasis on votes against his agenda as a central theme of the night.

The race is considered one of a handful nationally that could determine control of the Senate, with early polling showing it razor-thin despite Maine's traditionally independent streak. Three more debates are scheduled before Election Day. Collins, first elected in 1996, has cultivated a reputation as one of the Senate's most bipartisan members; Jackson, a logger-turned-lawmaker from Aroostook County, is betting that working-class economic frustration and anger over Trump-era policies can overcome Maine's history of rewarding Collins' independence with reelection.