Maine Democrat Troy Jackson Went On CNN to Defend Himself and Even Dana Bash Was Not Buying It

Troy Jackson told Susan Collins to shut up in the middle of their final Senate debate.

Dana Bash gave him a straight shot on CNN to take that moment back.

She asked him point blank if he had any apology at all and his answer came in one word.

Dana Bash Asked Troy Jackson to Apologize and He Said No

The moment happened at Thursday's fourth and final debate between Jackson and Senator Susan Collins at Husson University's Gracie Theatre in Bangor.

A protester in the crowd started yelling about AI data centers, and Collins turned it on Jackson, telling the room, "So this is obviously one of Troy's supporters."

Jackson snapped back on stage, "Oh, shut up… I don't even know that kid."

Sunday morning on CNN's State of the Union, Dana Bash gave him a direct opening to apologize, and Jackson refused it.

Instead he accused Collins of trying to pin the protester on him and said flatly that he was "not going to be talked down to by Senator Collins."

Asked whether he would leave the remark standing exactly as he said it, Jackson answered one word: "Yes."

Bash also raised Republican claims that women who served with him in the Maine legislature have described his tone as aggressive, and Jackson's answer was to complain that Republicans had spent millions attacking his family instead of addressing it.

Jackson Could Not Explain How He Would Pay for Medicare for All

The apology question was not the only place Jackson struggled on camera.

Pressed on Medicare for All, Jackson said "everyone has to get into the plan," a line Republicans immediately framed as Jackson admitting Mainers would lose the private coverage he has spent the campaign insisting they could keep.

When Bash raised independent estimates putting Senator Bernie Sanders's plan at thirty to forty trillion dollars, Jackson's answer was that the country needs "a fairer taxation system," without naming a single program, bracket, or number to back it up.

On the Strait of Hormuz and Operation Epic Fury, Jackson needed Bash to lay out the baseline facts on Iran and oil prices before he could engage with the question at all.

The Senate Leadership Fund called the whole appearance "disgusting" and labeled Jackson a "creep" for refusing to apologize, and the RNC's research arm circulated clips of the Medicare for All exchange.

Every Answer Jackson Gave Dana Bash Became a Collins Campaign Ad

Troy Jackson had one job on Sunday morning – take the easiest layup in politics, say sorry for snapping at a seventy-three-year-old colleague on a debate stage, and move on.

He could not do it.

A Democratic socialist-aligned nominee who cannot explain how he would fund his own party's health care plan just told the whole country he also cannot bring himself to apologize for being rude to a sitting United States senator.

Refusing to let go of an unforced on-camera moment has sunk winnable Senate races before – Missouri Republican Todd Akin stayed in his 2012 race after his "legitimate rape" remark instead of stepping aside, and the seat that should have been an easy pickup cost his party control of the Senate that year.

Jackson is not walking back a single word, and Maine Republicans are betting his stubbornness does to him what Akin's did a decade ago.

Collins has already been showing strength with crossover voters who would rather back an experienced moderate than a Democrat tied to the furthest-left wing of the Democratic Party, and Sunday's interview handed her campaign three more weeks of free, self-inflicted ammunition.

Maine voters do not need Collins to attack Troy Jackson anymore – all they have to do is watch him answer questions.

Sources:

• RedState, "'Creep': Troy Jackson Digs an Even Deeper Hole for Himself in Disastrous TV Interview," RedState, October 18, 2026.
• The Hill, "Troy Jackson hits Susan Collins with a 'shut up' during heated debate," The Hill, October 2026.
• The Daily Signal, "Collins Ahead in Maine Senate Showdown," The Daily Signal, September 25, 2026.
• Newsweek, "Susan Collins Fourth Polling Blow Since Jackson Launched Senate Run in Maine," Newsweek, 2026.
• CBS News, "Todd Akin, Whose 'Legitimate Rape' Comment Is Widely Blamed for His Losing a U.S. Senate Race, Has Died at 74," CBS News, October 4, 2021.