Collins and Jackson Head Into Final Days of Close Maine Senate Race
Photo: Fox NewsRepublican Sen. Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson entered the last days of a closely watched Maine Senate race, with Election Day set for Tuesday. Collins is seeking re-election in a state that has voted against President Trump three times. A Fox News poll put the two candidates tied at 49%, while a final YouGov poll before Tuesday's midterm elections showed Jackson ahead of Collins by 5 percentage points. Democrats are trying to flip the seat, which is one of the most closely contested in the country.
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, two days before the election, Collins said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Party were running false attack ads against her and other Republican candidates. She said she had never seen a campaign with so many outright lies. She said one ad about Jeffrey Epstein was nearly identical to ads run against two Republican colleagues in tough races, and called it part of Schumer's playbook. She also defended her bipartisan record and said she was more optimistic than ever.
The New York Times, on the left, frames the race as a structural question, asking whether a Republican can win in a Democratic-leaning state. Its piece features national political correspondent Shane Goldmacher explaining how Republicans hope Collins can distance herself enough from Trump to win. It offers no Collins quotes in the excerpt and does not mention the attack-ad dispute.
On the right, Fox News leads with Collins's own voice. Its headline stresses her accusation against Schumer, and it cites the 49%-49% tie. Newsmax instead leads with polling that favors Jackson, noting his 5-point lead and the Democratic push to flip the seat. The two right-leaning outlets thus differ with each other, while all three agree the race is tight. Alternative or independent outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left- and right-leaning outlets had.
How the sides differ Left sources emphasize Collins's challenge in a state that rejected Trump; right sources split between her attack-ad complaints and a poll showing Jackson ahead.
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The New York Times frames the race around whether a Republican can win in a Democratic-leaning state, relying on national political correspondent Shane Goldmacher's explanation of Collins's need to distance herself from Trump.
Not covering this story. None of the alternative or independent outlets Crosswire tracks has reported it yet. What one side leaves out can be as telling as what the others report.
Fox News leads with Collins's accusation that Schumer is behind false attack ads, citing a 49%-49% tie; Newsmax leads with a YouGov poll showing Jackson up 5 points.