Democrat refuses to apologize for telling Republican rival to shut up

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 19 Oct, 10:43 · Archive

Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson is refusing to apologize for telling Republican Senator Susan Collins to 'shut up' during a debate.

Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson has refused to apologize for telling incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins to 'shut up' during their final campaign debate last Thursday. The confrontation occurred when a demonstrator opposing data centers began shouting during the event. Collins suggested the protester was one of Jackson's supporters, prompting his retort.

Jackson defended his response in a CNN interview aired on Sunday, saying Collins had accused him of organizing the disruption. 'She said that it was a Troy supporter. She accused me of setting that up. I have no idea who it was,' said Jackson, a former president of Maine's state Senate. The protester was identified as Henry Elgie, a 19-year-old Bowdoin College student. Elgie told the New York Times he had 'zero coordination' with Jackson and does not know him personally. The Sunrise Movement, a progressive organization advocating for renewable energy, later acknowledged one of its volunteers had taken the action.

Jackson is attempting to prevent Collins, the longest-serving Republican woman in Senate history, from winning a sixth term in the closely fought race ahead of the 3 November election.

How it is being reported

• Democrat who told Susan Collins to ‘shut up’ doubles down and refuses to apologizeSpeaking during an interview on CNN’s "State of the Union" that aired Sunday, Jackson addressed the tense moment from the closely fought raceIndependent World · 19 Oct, 10:23
• Democrat Senate candidate defends telling female GOP rival to 'shut up' on debate stageMaine's Democratic US Senate nominee Troy Jackson is refusing to apologize for telling incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins to 'shut up' during a fiery debate last week.Daily Mail · 18 Oct, 22:02

In this story: Troy Jackson · Susan Collins · Maine · Sunrise Movement · Henry Elgie · Bowdoin College

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