Trump looms as tensions flare in final Maine Senate debate

BANGOR, Maine — The marathon of debates in the Maine Senate race has ended, but there is still one unanswered question: Just how large will President Donald Trump loom in November? That question was at the center of the clashes between Democrat Troy Jackson and longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins as they faced off in four debates over the last two weeks, including a finale on Thursday hosted by MainePublic, the Portland Press Herald and NewsCenter Maine. Jackson is betting voters’ views of Trump, who has never won Maine, will dominate their views of this Senate race, which could determine which party controls the chamber next year. He repeatedly tied Collins to Trump throughout all four debates.

Collins, meanwhile, tried to appeal Mainers who want a senator willing to break with his or her party. “I voted against my own party more often than any other senator on either side of the aisle,” Collins said during the final debate. “That is not something that Troy could ever say. He’s going to be an automatic vote for the Democratic position, no matter what. We have lost a lot of the centrists, and one reason I’m running again is we need people who will work across party lines.” “The reality is that 100% of the time, when Donald Trump needs her, Susan