Maine Senator Collins cites 1988 assault report in Jackson Senate race
Republican Susan Collins says Democratic rival Troy Jackson 'struggles to control his temper' after police report resurfaces
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Maine Senator Collins cites 1988 assault report in Jackson Senate race
Photograph: Times of India (embedded from source)
What this story says
- A 1988 police report alleges Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson punched a man and pushed his partner during a late-night confrontation in Fort Kent.
- Republican Sen. Susan Collins said Jackson 'struggles to control his temper' and called on him to respond to the report, which was first detailed by the Bangor Daily News.
- Five right-rated outlets carried the story, all leading on Collins’ remarks. The centre-rated Economic Times included the police report details. No left-rated outlet ran the story.
- Jackson faced misdemeanor charges for the incident, though the outcome of those charges is unclear.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 15 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 16 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
62/100
Craft
51/100
Hype
41/100
16 sources · methodology
Missing from the left
None of the 15 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
A reader who follows the left would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.
A 1988 police report alleging an assault by Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson has resurfaced in the state’s U.S. Senate race. The report describes a late-night confrontation in Fort Kent, Maine, on 12 March 1988, during which Jackson is accused of punching an unnamed man and pushing his longtime partner. Jackson faced misdemeanor charges for the incident, as reported by the Bangor Daily News.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins, Jackson’s opponent in the race, commented on the report on 14 August 2026. Collins said Jackson 'struggles to control his temper' and called on him to respond to the allegations. The remarks were made during a campaign bus tour in Maine, according to the Washington Examiner. The outcome of the 1988 charges against Jackson is not mentioned in the reports.
What the coverage left out
No left-rated outlet ran the story. None of the right-rated digests or reports mentioned whether Jackson had responded to the allegations or commented on the resurfaced police report. The outcome of the 1988 misdemeanor charges against Jackson is also not addressed in any of the reports.
Coverage settled. We checked this 64 times and stopped on 19 Aug 2026, 22:16. The figures above are what it finished at.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left ran this story. We watched the coverage until it stopped changing, and none appeared.
Centre
6 rated outlets
- The three centre-rated reports agree that Republican Senator Susan Collins called on Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson to address a 1988 police report alleging assault. All note the report describes an incident in Fort Kent, Maine, involving Jackson, his longtime partner Lana Pelletier, and another man. The Economic Times and Internewscast include the date of the alleged incident, 12 March 1988.
- Internewscast and The Economic Times led on Collins’ statement that Jackson "struggles to control his temper". Internewscast quotes Collins directly: "He’s the one that needs to respond to the reports." The Economic Times report carries the Republican National Committee’s description of Jackson as "violent and unhinged". The New York Ledger digest does not mention these remarks.
- Internewscast alone reports that Jackson was 19 at the time, that Pelletier told police he "pushed her around" (a claim she now denies), and that the alleged victim required medical attention. None of the three centre-rated reports include a response from Jackson or his campaign.
Right
9 rated outlets
- All five right-rated outlets led on Collins’ statement that Jackson 'struggles to control his temper'. The Times of India and Fox News used the word 'brutal' in their headlines to describe Collins’ remarks. The Washington Examiner quoted Collins directly, reporting her call for Jackson to respond to the allegations. Conservative News Daily and ussanews.com both noted that the report had given Republicans 'fresh ammunition' in the race.
- The Times of India and the Economic Times published identical full reports, both of which framed the story around Collins’ criticism of Jackson. Neither outlet included additional context about the 1988 incident beyond the police report details. The reports did not mention whether Jackson had responded to the allegations.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Maine Senator Collins cites 1988 assault report in Jackson Senate race?
- Of the 15 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 40% are rated centre, 60% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 16. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Maine Senator Collins cites 1988 assault report in Jackson Senate race left or right?
- Neither side dominates it. Of the 15 rated outlets on this story, 0% are rated left, 40% are rated centre, 60% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
- Is the coverage of Maine Senator Collins cites 1988 assault report in Jackson Senate race biased?
- Maine Senator Collins cites 1988 assault report in Jackson Senate race is one event reported by 16 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Maine Senator Collins cites 1988 assault report in Jackson Senate race?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Maine Senator Collins cites 1988 assault report in Jackson Senate race?
- 16 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What does the 1988 police report say about Troy Jackson?
- The 1988 police report alleges Troy Jackson punched an unnamed man and pushed his longtime partner during a late-night confrontation in Fort Kent, Maine, on 12 March 1988. Jackson faced misdemeanor charges for the incident, as first detailed by the Bangor Daily News.
- What did Susan Collins say about Troy Jackson?
- Republican Sen. Susan Collins said Troy Jackson 'struggles to control his temper' and called on him to respond to the resurfaced 1988 police report. Collins made the remarks during a campaign bus tour in Maine, as reported by the Washington Examiner.
- Which outlets covered the resurfaced police report?
- Five right-rated outlets and one centre-rated outlet covered the story. The right-rated outlets led on Susan Collins’ remarks, while the centre-rated Economic Times included details of the police report. No left-rated outlet ran the story.
Read it at the source
16 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
6- Democrats need focused messaging in Maine Senate race (opens Lewiston Sun Journal in a new tab)
Lewiston Sun Journal — is Lewiston Sun Journal biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Democrats need focused messaging in Maine Senate race (opens Central Maine News in a new tab)
Central Maine News — is Central Maine News biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Democrats need focused messaging in Maine Senate race (opens Portland Press Herald in a new tab)
Portland Press Herald — is Portland Press Herald biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Top Dem operative brushes off latest scandal plaguing Maine Senate candidate as 'salacious gossip' (opens The New York Ledger in a new tab)
The New York Ledger — is The New York Ledger biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Susan Collins Highlights Assault Accusations Facing Maine Democratic Rival (opens Internewscast in a new tab)
Internewscast — is Internewscast biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ‘He needs to respond…': Collins torches Jackson over 1988 assault report (opens The Economic Times in a new tab)
The Economic Times — is The Economic Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
9- NEW ALLEGATION ROCKS MAINE SENATE RACE: Local Man Says He Saw Far-Left Democrat Troy Jackson Slap Longtime Partner with Open Hand — Comes After 1988 Police Report of Jackson Punching a Man * The Gateway Pundit * by Jim Hᴏft (opens The Gateway Pundit in a new tab)
The Gateway Pundit — is The Gateway Pundit biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Police Report Sparks 1988 Bombshell (opens The Conservative Brief in a new tab)
The Conservative Brief — is The Conservative Brief biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Top Dem operative brushes off latest scandal plaguing Maine Senate candidate as ‘salacious gossip’ (opens khbrknews in a new tab)
- Susan Collins drops brutal reminder of Maine Dem rival rocked by assault accusations (opens New York Post in a new tab)
New York Post — is New York Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Collins says Jackson 'struggles to control his temper' after resurfaced police report (opens Washington Examiner in a new tab)
Washington Examiner — is Washington Examiner biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ‘He needs to respond…': Collins torches Jackson over 1988 assault report (opens Times of India in a new tab)
Times of India — is Times of India biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Susan Collins drops brutal reminder of Dem rival rocked by accusations - NEW YORK TIMES POST (opens nytimespost.com in a new tab)
nytimespost.com — is nytimespost.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Susan Collins drops brutal reminder of Dem rival rocked by accusations (opens Fox News in a new tab)
Not rated
1How did this read?
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