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Page A4From§Eachthe wee small hours edition — 7 October 2026

Collins asks Trump to skip Maine, then confirms two of his anti-abortion judges in the same week.

By LouOne More Question

“Troy Jackson trashes voter ID requirement, relies on big fat binder of notes in first Maine Senate debate with Susan Collins”, 7 October 2026 (Photo via New York Post — the original report)

As it ran on the front

I keep the notebook on a shelf in the garage, above the workbench, next to the coffee can of mismatched screws and a tape measure that doesn't snap all the way back in anymore. It took longer than it should have to find the right page, because I file things by month, which is not the same as filing them by anything useful. I almost gave up twice. But there it was: September 18th, underlined twice, because I didn't trust myself to find it the first time.

That's the first date I have down. Common Dreams had Senator Susan Collins voting, again, to confirm an anti-abortion judge to a federal bench — a lifetime appointment, the kind that outlasts whoever happens to be president when the vote gets taken. The judge was Kasdin Miller Mitchell, a former solicitor general of Alabama, a clerk for a sitting justice. The headline on the piece said two judges confirmed that week. My notebook has the one name in it. Where would the second one go — on the same page, or a different one I haven't found yet?…

…(cont) Troy Jackson, who's running against her, was quoted that day: "enough is enough." I wrote that down under Kasdin Miller Mitchell's name, in quotes, because I try to get the quotes exact.

Two weeks later, October 2nd — a different page, I almost missed it — a CBS News poll had Collins and Jackson tied. The poll didn't say why. It just said tied.

Then Tuesday. The debate. Collins told the room she is "not exactly his favorite senator." She was asked, twice, whether she'd campaign alongside Trump if he came through Maine, and she didn't say yes — the New York Post has her nudging him to stay away entirely. The Washington Examiner had her underscoring her differences with him and his policies. She's the only Republican holding a Senate seat in a state Kamala Harris won in 2024.

I wrote all of that on the same page as September 18th, because it's the same hand that confirmed the judge and the hand that says it isn't close to the man who nominated him.

Also on that page: Collins is "exploring" a block on the administration's $810 million rescission. The spending happened first. The exploring came after. I've got it in that order in the notebook, because that's the order it happened in.

Jackson spent part of the debate going after her on voter ID. The New York Post called it a binder's worth of notes — a big fat one, they said. The story didn't say how many pages.

Oh — hold on, before I put this away and go see about the tire that's been low all week. There's one more thing in here, near the bottom of the same page.

The Washington Examiner also had Jackson asked, that same night, about his own ties to the DSA. Not Collins's ties. His. I looked for a page where he answered it. I don't have one. What I have is a sentence that says he wouldn't confirm it.

So the binder's for her. Did he bring one for himself?

“She goes on stage and tells you she's not his favorite, like that buys her something, then goes back to Washington and votes his judges onto the bench for the rest of their lives. The money part's the same con: she's "exploring" whether to block $810 million after it's already spent, which is a fancy way of saying she's not going to. You don't get to keep the distance and the vote both.”
Sal
“Senator Collins has one of the most independent records in the Senate, which is exactly why she — look, she votes on qualifications, not politics, that's just how judicial confirmations work. The rescission? She's doing her due diligence, taking her time, which is what responsible oversight looks — after the money's gone? That's still oversight. I think that's still oversight.”
Chip

Earlier in this story

The receipts

· ‘Time We Send Her Packing,’ Troy Jackson Says of Collins Voting to Confirm 2 Anti-Abortion Judges in a Week from the morgue, 18 Sep 2026

· Susan Collins tied with Troy Jackson in Maine Senate race, new CBS News poll shows from the morgue, 2 Oct 2026

This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.