Collins Faces Backlash Over Ads Targeting Troy Jackson’s Marriage

WHO:

CNN - The race is between Democratic nominee Troy Jackson and Republican Sen. Susan Collins; both are from northern Aroostook County, Maine.

CNN - Jackson’s longtime partner, Lana Pelletier, is a social worker from Allagash. She and Jackson have been together for nearly 40 years, are not married, and have two children; Pelletier describes Jackson as their father and as a grandfather to a newborn.

CNN - Collins campaign spokeswoman Blake Kernen said Collins opposed personal attacks. Jackson campaign spokesperson Dan Gottlieb accused Collins of spreading attacks on Jackson’s family.

CNN - Rebecca Millett, a former state senator who helped lead a “Women for Troy” news conference, said Collins had “unleashed” the attacks. University of Maine political science professor Mark Brewer said he had “never seen anything like that in Maine politics.”

CNN - Aroostook County Republican Party chairman Chris Lydon said voters had “a right to know” about Jackson’s relationship.

Newsweek - Former sportscaster Bill Green appears in a 30-second ad and says Jackson does not have “the tools” to serve in the Senate.

WHAT:

CNN - Republican ads have mocked Jackson’s relationship with Pelletier and claimed they are second cousins; Jackson’s campaign has not answered whether they are cousins.

CNN - Collins said she asked for a Senate Leadership Fund radio ad to be removed “the day it went up.” The ad’s lyric says, “If he’ll screw his own family, he’ll screw yours, too.”

CNN - In a Politico interview with Jonathan Martin, Collins said, “Well, I’m not going to bring up the fact that the mother of his two children is his second cousin.”

CNN - The Senate Leadership Fund later released another radio ad referencing a cell tower Jackson helped get built in 2022 on land owned by Pelletier’s parents, as well as a TV ad calling Jackson a “creep” and saying he “fathered two kids with his cousin.”

CNN - Pelletier wrote in a Bangor Daily News opinion column that she “never imagined U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and her allies would stoop this low.” She said their children had been dragged into the campaign and their relationship mocked.

CNN - Collins’ campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee released a TV ad attacking Jackson for telling Collins “shut up” during a debate. The ad says, “that’s how Troy deals with women,” and calls him a bully.

WHERE:

CNN - The Senate race is in Maine; Jackson and Collins are from northern Aroostook County, and Pelletier is from Allagash.

WHEN:

CNN - Pelletier and Jackson have been in a relationship for nearly 40 years.

CNN - Jackson helped get the cell tower built in 2022.

WHY:

CNN - The race is closely contested, with polls showing no clear leader; Democrats need to defeat Collins to win Senate control, and the candidates are competing for women voters.

HOW:

CNN - Collins and Jackson participated in four debates within 10 days. In one, Jackson told Collins to “shut up”; in another, he accused Collins and her husband of profiting from the war in Iran. Collins called that allegation “outrageous” and demanded an apology, which Jackson did not give.

CNN - Collins’ allies have run ads portraying Jackson as ill-tempered and erratic. Collins’ campaign said Jackson had not distanced himself from attacks involving Collins and her husband, whose consulting work has been targeted in Democratic ads.

(UPDATED October 28, 2026 21:01 UTC)

Republican ads in Maine’s closely contested Senate race have attacked Democratic nominee Troy Jackson over his nearly 40-year relationship with longtime partner Lana Pelletier, including claims that they are second cousins, while Jackson’s campaign has not answered whether they are related. Collins said she asked for one radio ad to be pulled, but her allies later aired ads calling Jackson a “creep” and a bully; Pelletier said the attacks mocked their relationship and dragged their children into the campaign. The candidates have clashed in a series of debates, including over Jackson telling Collins to “shut up” and accusing her and her husband of profiting from the war in Iran, while both campaigns compete for women voters.