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Sen. Susan Collins on Sunday blasted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Party over what she described as a wave of false attack ads targeting her and other Republican candidates, saying she has never seen a campaign with “so many outright lies.”
She made the remarks during an interview with Fox News on Sunday, just two days before Election Day in Maine, where she is seeking reelection in a closely watched race against Democratic rival Troy Jackson. According to the latest Fox News poll, the two candidates are tied at 49%.
Collins accused Democrats of following “Chuck Schumer’s playbook,” pointing to attack ads she said were nearly identical to those targeting other Republican lawmakers.
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FILE — Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she is more optimistic than ever despite facing a tight race and attack ads she attributed to Chuck Schumer’s political “playbook.” (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“One of the outrageous, completely false ads against me had to do with Jeffrey Epstein. And it turns out, in talking to two of my colleagues who are in tough races, that they had virtually identical ads run against them. So this is part of Chuck Schumer’s playbook,” she said.
“There are a lot of differences between my opponent and me, but I’ve never seen a campaign with so many outright lies. It’s very frustrating,” she added.
Collins further accused Democrats of trying to shift the focus away from local issues and toward divisive national political battles.
“It’s certainly an attempt by my opponent and Chuck Schumer and their allies to nationalize this race,” she said.
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FILE — Susan Collins accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, pictured, of orchestrating a campaign of “outright lies” against Republicans as she fights to hold her Maine Senate seat. (Reuters)
Turning to her own campaign, Collins portrayed herself as a bipartisan lawmaker willing to work across party lines, arguing that the Senate needs more centrists as moderates increasingly leave Washington.
“Unfortunately, a lot of them have given up and retired or decided they just didn’t want to run again. And that’s one reason I am running again,” she said.
“We need more people who are willing to work across party lines. That is really important,” she said.
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FILE — The longtime Republican senator defended her bipartisan record and independence from Trump as she seeks another term in a closely watched race against Democratic challenger Troy Jackson. (Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images; Charly Triballeau AFP via Getty Images)
She also described herself as the “most independent senator on either side of the aisle,” pointing to her voting record and saying her decisions are based on what she believes is right, rather than who occupies the White House or what President Donald Trump supports.
“There’s this phony figure out there that I voted with President Trump 95% of the time. That’s based on a sample of only 30% of the votes. If you look at a broader sample of 90% of the vote, that drops significantly to like 72%. And I voted against the president’s policies 138 times,” she said.
While Jackson previously told Fox News that he believes he has a “good shot” at defeating Collins, the longtime Republican senator touted strong voter support and said she is more optimistic than ever about her reelection chances.
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“I’m feeling very optimistic based on the great response I get in visiting communities all over the state,” she said.