Collins trails Jackson by 5 points in final Maine Senate poll ahead of Tuesday's election

Democrat Troy Jackson leads Republican Sen. Susan Collins by 5 percentage points in the final YouGov poll before Tuesday's midterm elections in Maine, as Democrats try to flip the seat. The poll shows Jackson widening his lead. Collins, a long-serving senator, has delivered millions of dollars to every corner of the state, and people in Maine say it is best not to get on her bad side. At an October 15 debate, a heckler shouted that AI data centers were destroying the climate and poisoning water. Jackson told the person to be quiet, saying he did not know them, and the heckler was escorted out. Forbes has reported that Collins' husband, Thomas Daffron, holds an estimated $300,000 to $800,000 in AI- and data center-linked investments, making the household the Senate's fifth-largest such investor. A Collins staffer did not comment on his holdings but said she invests in index funds and has never personally traded individual stocks. Mother Jones reported that 62 Republicans and 43 Democrats in Congress say their households have related investments.

Left-leaning outlets Mother Jones and The New York Times look at Collins' conduct and record rather than the polls. Mother Jones, under a headline about politicians attacking data centers while profiting from them, opens with the debate heckler, then gives the Forbes figures on Daffron, the bipartisan tally of 62 Republicans and 43 Democrats, and Brookings estimates of a $10 trillion buildout through 2032. It includes the Collins staffer's response. The Times, headlined "Susan Collins Is Always Keeping Score," portrays a senator who steers money home and whom Mainers say not to cross. Right-leaning Newsmax, headlined "Maine Poll: Jackson Widens Lead Over Susan Collins," leads with the YouGov number and the Democratic bid to flip the seat. Its excerpt does not mention her spending record or her household's investments. All three center on Collins' standing in the race; the left stresses influence and finances, the right the horse-race numbers. Alternative and independent outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left- and right-leaning outlets had.