BANGOR, Maine — Republican Sen. Susan Collins is warning that Maine could lose crucial federal funding if voters replace her with Democrat Troy Jackson, as a new poll shows the candidates statistically tied ahead of their final debate Thursday.

Jackson, a one-time logger and former Maine Senate president, edged Collins 49%-47% in a Suffolk University poll conducted Oct. 8-11 and released on the eve of the final debate. Jackson’s two-point edge over Collins among likely voters was well within the survey’s margin of error, and the poll was the latest to indicate an extremely close contest.

The face-off between Collins and Jackson in the blue-leaning Northern New England state is a top flip opportunity for the Democrats as they try to win back the Senate majority from the Republicans in the midterm elections.

The Power Rankings rate the race in Maine as a toss up, as do leading nonpartisan political handicappers the Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball.

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«Maine voters lose out big time if Troy Jackson were to be elected,» Collins said in an exclusive Digital interview on Wednesday.

Collins, who is running for a sixth six-year term in the Senate, has showcased her nearly three decades of Senate experience and her leadership role as Senate Appropriations Committee chair as integral to her ability «to get so much done for the people of Maine.» She warned that if Jackson replaced her, «he’ll be 100 in seniority, and all of that essential federal funding targeted for the state of Maine, virtually all of it will go away.»

Jackson has argued that Collins has not used her Senate power to protect Maine families from soaring energy, food, and housing costs. «Sen. Collins has told us how powerful she is,» Jackson said during their first debate. «But power means nothing if you won’t use it when the people may need it.»

Jackson and Democrats have also repeatedly aimed to anchor Collins to President Donald Trump, whose approval ratings in Maine and across the country are cratering ahead of the midterms.

«That’s the choice on this stage — a senator who helps Donald Trump hurt Maine then tells us how concerned she is, or somebody who will stand up against him before another family in Maine has to pay the price,» Jackson said during Tuesday’s third debate.

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Collins is known as a moderate Republican who at times has voted against the president. But Jackson and Democrats are targeting the senator over her comments that she didn’t regret her 2018 vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose crucial vote four years later helped overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion ruling.

And following the fatal shooting in Maine this summer involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, Democrats heavily criticized Collins for her support for ICE funding.

But Collins has broken with Trump numerous times in recent months, criticizing his tariff war with neighboring Canada and voting against Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation.

«Troy and Chuck Schumer and their allies run ads saying that I’m somehow a puppet of the president. Believe me, that would come as a huge surprise to President Trump,» Collins told Digital.

Collins noted, «I opposed the deal that he made with Vladimir Putin to get a small amount of diesel, and in return lift the sanctions that we just passed into law, and the president is not following the law. I signed a bipartisan letter that urges the president to reconsider that. I opposed the president’s signature legislative accomplishment, the One Big Beautiful Bill, because it contained cuts in Medicaid that… I know would be harmful to Maine.»

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The senator was interviewed in Bangor after landing the endorsement of the Maine chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police.

«I’ve secured funding for projects throughout Maine, $46 million to help our police and sheriff’s departments upgrade their equipment, facilities, and communications,» Collins told Digital.

And she took aim at Jackson, who won a special nominating convention in late July to fill the party’s Senate nomination, which was left vacant after primary winner Graham Platner ended his campaign following an explosive report containing an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated. Platner denied the report but dropped out.

Jackson, who earlier this year unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, had campaigned alongside Platner during the primary campaign.

«Troy was Graham Platner’s biggest supporter and stayed with him to the very end of Graham’s campaign, and Graham repeatedly denigrated law enforcement,» Collins said. «I never heard Troy publicly condemn those disrespectful and horrible comments.»

Collins added, «During his gubernatorial campaign, Troy was endorsed and welcomed the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America. One of the key parts of the DSA platform is to defund the police.»

The Jackson campaign, responding, pointed out that «Jackson is not a Democratic Socialist» and has repeatedly said he does not support defunding the police. The campaign added that Jackson called on Platner to drop out and «has been clear he will not accept a Platner endorsement.»

«Susan Collins is lying about Troy’s record because she knows that Mainers are ready to retire her after she’s voted with Donald Trump 96% of the time to cut their healthcare, confirmed Brett Kavanaugh who overturned Roe v. Wade, enabled Trump’s war in Iran that’s raising energy costs, and failed to stop his reckless tariffs that are causing costs to skyrocket,» the Jackson campaign told Digital.

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But Collins disputed the 96% figure, saying that it came from a study that only covered a third of her Senate votes.

«A study that looked at 90% of the votes showed that I supported the president 72% of the time,» she added. «The bottom line is, I support him when I think he’s right. I don’t when I think he’s wrong.»

Collins, who is the only GOP senator seeking re-election in a state Trump lost in the 2024 election, has a history of surviving Democratic efforts to unseat her.

Six years ago, she trailed Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, the then-Maine House speaker, but the senator ended up winning re-election by nearly nine points while former President Joe Biden carried the state by a similar margin.

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Clashes between police and protesters who are against Albania’s Socialist government erupted in the country’s capital for the third consecutive day Thursday as Prime Minister Edi Rama vowed he will not resign.

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Rioters in Tirana were seen throwing rocks at a police cordon outside Albania’s Education Ministry, prompting law enforcement to respond with tear gas and water cannons, according to The Associated Press.

The clashes followed riots on Wednesday when protesters attacked government buildings, banks and businesses, leaving 89 people injured, including 61 police officers.

«As for calls for my resignation, governments are changed through democratic elections. We had elections last year, not a revolution,» Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama told Reuters on Thursday.

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ALBANIAN PROTESTERS FLOOD STREETS DEMANDING PRIME MINISTER’S RESIGNATION AMID CORRUPTION ACCUSATIONS

Riot police officers detain a hooded protester during clashes near the Ministry of Education in Tirana, Albania, on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (Hameraldi Agolli/AP)

«My responsibility is to listen, address legitimate concerns and keep Albania moving forward,» he added. «The alternative would be a betrayal of the Albanians who gave me a strong mandate to complete negotiations on European Union membership.»

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Thursday’s protests included student groups seeking education reforms, as well as others staging a broader anti-government movement opposed to a major development project linked to President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the AP reported.

A protester pushes a riot police officer’s shield during an anti-government demonstration in Tirana, Albania, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (Hameraldi Agolli/AP)

The so-called flamingo movement is calling for the resignation of Rama over allegations of widespread corruption. The movement earned the name after protesters used signs depicting the pink bird.

«The message from the streets is clear: Albanians have had enough. Public patience with Edi Rama’s socialist government has come to an end,» Agim Nesho, former Albanian ambassador to the United States, told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

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«The wheels are coming off Edi Rama’s socialist government. After 13 years in power, his administration faces mounting accusations of corruption, misuse of public funds, and political favoritism,» Nesho said. «Meanwhile, poverty, unemployment, inadequate public services, and the mass exodus of young Albanians seeking better opportunities in Europe have fueled widespread anger. Critics argue that, as with other failed socialist governments, the political elite has benefited while ordinary citizens have been left struggling to make ends meet.»

An EU delegation in Albania called late Wednesday for a proportionate response from authorities, expressing concern at «the violent escalation at the protest in Tirana.»

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Protesters set fire to a barricade during clashes near the Education Ministry in Tirana, Albania, on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (Hameraldi Agolli/AP)

Rama won his fourth term as prime minister last year, running on a platform centered around Albania joining the EU, which it hopes to achieve as early as 2028, according to Reuters.

Student organizers told Reuters that the protests are over higher education costs, a lack of financial support, conditions at universities and job prospects after graduating.

The prime minister said to the news agency that he is ready to discuss the cost of education, but added, «Attacking institutions, destroying public property and threatening public safety have nothing to do with the legitimate demands of students.»

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Hooded protesters smash a storefront window during clashes in Tirana, Albania, on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. (Hameraldi Agolli/AP)

«Corruption must be confronted and, as the EU itself has recently reaffirmed, Albania is tackling it as never before,» Rama also said. «Perhaps some forces, at home and abroad, do not want Albania to succeed as a forerunner for EU membership. But I will not allow violence to derail Albania’s European future.»

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

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A former pastor and candidate running to make history in deep-red Kansas once suggested that people should repent for their White privilege as protests against the death of George Floyd rippled through the country.

During the tumultuous summer of 2020, just days after Floyd’s killing in Minnesota, Adam Hamilton called on his congregation at the Church of the Resurrection to recognize their White privilege and repent.

«Like part of what I know is that, is that I grew up in a way that I’m blind to certain things in our society,» Hamilton said during a sermon dubbed «Jesus, Protests and Repentance.» «I just am. And I have certain benefits by virtue of being educated, White and male, right?»

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«And we don’t like to hear that, especially White folks don’t like to hear that. But there are benefits that come along with that,» he continued.

Hamilton is running against Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., in what has become one of the tightest races of this midterm cycle, despite Kansas’ near-century-long history of not sending a Democratic candidate to the Senate.

«Roger Marshall wants to talk about anything other than his history of suing and jailing mothers and protecting predators by voting against releasing the Epstein Files,» Tyson Brody, a spokesperson for Hamilton’s campaign, told Digital. «Once again, he’s attacking Adam for something Roger said himself. Roger’s own pastor called Adam ‘middle of the road.’ Kansans are tired of high gas and grocery prices and ready for a senator who won’t divide us by race, religion, income, or ability to pay a medical bill at 18% interest.»

Republicans acknowledge that they are facing headwinds going into November’s election, but until recently, the contest between Marshall and Hamilton wasn’t of much concern for the GOP.

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Now, the race has taken a turn and been rated a toss-up by the Cook Political Report as voters fume over the cost of fuel, groceries and other economic pain. In response, national Republicans are beginning to dump more resources into the contest to ensure that they maintain the seat.

Throughout the race, Marshall has largely aligned himself with President Donald Trump, only rarely breaking from the administration on certain decisions — last month he called for more advance notice and cooperation between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Kansas government after federal immigration agents descended on the southern part of the state.

Marshall has painted Hamilton as a «woke» megachurch pastor, delivering left-leaning ideals from the pulpit.

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So has an outside group based in Massachusetts, the Main Street Fund, which ran an ad in Kansas that spliced portions of two different sermons and charged that Hamilton was «way too woke for Kansas,» shortly after Hamilton won his primary, The Kansas City Star reported.

During the sermon from June 2020 amid the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, Hamilton pushed back against rioting and looting, and argued that while the BLM movement was the focal point at the time, all lives matters. 

«Of course all lives matter,» Hamilton said. «Everybody understands white lives matter, blue lives matter.» 

Hamilton continued in his sermon posted on the church’s YouTube page in June 2020 amid the Black Lives Matter protests, «When I’m stopped by the police, I’m never afraid that they’re gonna pull a gun on me.»

«But every African American man that I know is worried about what might happen when a police pull him over,» Hamilton said at the time. «It’s not that all the police are bad, they’re gonna do something like that, but there’s this fear underneath there. And so the hands go on the steering wheel at 10 and 2. They’ve been taught that from the time they were children. Right?»

«I wasn’t taught that, because I don’t have to be afraid of that. Right? And there’s a whole host of other things that are just a part of life. You know, I can … well, you get the idea. There are benefits and privileges to my place in life. I have to recognize that,» he continued. «To see that. And then I have to listen. I have to listen and understand, and finally be able to see the brokenness in myself, and my indifference. Before I can do anything to help anyone else, I have to have a conversion. I have to repent.»

And Marshall, who was running for his first term in the Senate at the time, struck a similar somber tone as Hamilton six years ago. 

In various posts to social media and interviews with local outlets, Marshall condemned Floyd’s slaying and pushed for reforms that would ensure what happened in Minnesota and to federal Protective Services Officer Patrick Underwood, who was killed in a drive-by shooting just days after Floyd’s death. 

«Additionally, Republicans called on Congressional Democrats to work across the aisle to make sure that what happened to George Floyd and Patrick Underwood never happens again, and significant bipartisan reform can be passed,» Marshall said on Facebook following a House Judiciary hearing on police practices and law enforcement accountability. 

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