Fox News contributor Bill McGurn and host Brian Kilmeade analyze new polling data revealing a dead-heat Maine Senate race between Susan Collins and Troy Jackson. Registered voters surveyed in August rank inflation and high prices as their top issue at 32%, followed by border security.
Maine Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson acknowledged to Fox News Digital that he got into a fight with another man nearly four decades ago, and Senate Republicans reacted to a newly surfaced police report detailing the violent confrontation.
"Nearly 40 years ago, when I was 19 years old, I got into a fight with another man. I took responsibility for it then, and I take responsibility for it now," Jackson told Fox News Digital.
"But let me be clear: I have never been violent with my partner Lana, or any other woman," Jackson added. "This happened nearly four decades ago, and I assure Mainers this incident in no way reflects the man I am today or the life I’ve led in the years since."
FORMER PLATNER ALLY TROY JACKSON LOCKS DOWN DELEGATES AS TOP RIVALS FOR DEMOCRATIC SENATE NOMINATION DROP OUT
Troy Jackson speaks July 25, 2026, in Bangor, Maine, after he became the Maine Democratic Party's choice to be its U.S. Senate nominee to replace Graham Platner on the ballot in November. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is calling on Democrats to condemn Jackson over the report as he campaigns to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a race that could help determine control of the Senate.
"Disgusting and inexcusable," the NRSC wrote in a post on X. "Troy Jackson is violent, unhinged, and has no place in the Senate."
The NRSC also tagged a handful of Senate Democrats in posts specifically mentioning the 1988 incident, including Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; Chris Murphy, D-Conn.; Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.; and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
The NRSC also tagged Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper; and former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
The Bangor Daily News first obtained and reported on the 1988 Fort Kent Police Department report, which the outlet said describes Jackson breaking down a door and punching a man at a Fort Kent home.
According to the newspaper's account of the police report and a handwritten witness statement, Jackson went to the home shortly before 2 a.m. March 12, 1988. After an occupant told him to leave, Jackson allegedly "kicked the door in."
INTERNET ERUPTS OVER REPORT THAT PLATNER'S REPLACEMENT IN KEY SENATE RACE FATHERED CHILDREN WITH SECOND COUSIN
Maine Democrats picked progressive former state lawmaker Troy Jackson as their new U.S. Senate nominee, giving them another shot at the crucial race after previous pick Graham Platner dropped out. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Jackson then allegedly grabbed the man by the throat and swung at him, striking his glasses and cutting his face, according to the BDN's account of the records. The witness said Jackson warned the man to "stay away from Lana Pelletier or else."
