Republicans suffered a historic rebuke Tuesday night, losing at least seven Senate seats — including red-state strongholds like Texas and Kansas — because the party has absolutely nothing to say to working Americans. The face of that failure is Susan Collins, the five-term Maine incumbent and Appropriations chair who bragged about bringing home pork while her state bled from the Iran war and tariff damage, losing to a last-minute replacement candidate who fathered children with his second cousin.
Collins lost to Democrat Troy Jackson 52.4% to 47.5%, according to NBC News. Jackson wasn't even supposed to be the nominee. The original Democratic candidate, Graham Platner, suspended his campaign in July after a former girlfriend accused him of physical abuse and another accused him of sexual assault. Platner also faced scrutiny over a skull-and-crossbones tattoo resembling the Nazi Totenkopf from his Marine Corps service, the Daily Caller reported. Jackson was selected at a party convention two weeks later — not a statewide ballot — and immediately became the nominee.
Jackson carries his own baggage. He has been with his second cousin, Lana Pelletier, for nearly 40 years and has two sons with her, the Daily Caller reported. The pair share great-grandparents and have never legally married. None of it mattered.
What mattered is that Jackson ran on economic populism and Collins ran on seniority. Collins, who chaired the powerful Appropriations Committee, touted $1.5 billion in federal projects she secured for Maine. Jackson's response was devastating:
