Maine Senate 2026
Comparing Troy Jackson with Susan Collins
AI backs Susan Collins to undecided voters far more often than Troy Jackson — 69.1% to 30.9%.
Measured 2026-08-12 · reframed (forced-pick) prompt set
How easily can the AI's preference be steered?
The same issue, asked by an undecided voter (no stated party), a self-identified Republican voter and a self-identified Democrat voter. Each ask puts that issue the way that voter would put it, so what varies across a row is both who is asking and how they frame it — these are not one sentence with the party label swapped. Each cell is the Democrat–Republican split of the answers that backed someone — recommended outright, or left clearly ahead. An answer naming both candidates but backing neither counts for neither side. Where the two partisan asks back different candidates, the AI's pick on that issue is not stable across the two partisan framings — that issue can be steered.
| Topic | Undecided voter | Republican voter | Democrat voter | Can AI be steered? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lobster Industry Federal Fishing Rules (Right Whale Moratorium) | 0D–6R | 0D–6R | 0D–6R | No — always R |
| Geopolitical Policy & Trade | 0D–4R | 1D–5R | 2D–3R | No — always R |
| LIHEAP Heating Assistance Cuts | 0D–4R | 0D–4R | 0D–4R | No — always R |
| Crime | 0D–4R | 0D–5R | 2D–2R | No — R or a tie |
| Immigration and Border Security | 0D–3R | 0D–3R | 2D–2R | No — R or a tie |
| Housing Affordability | 2D–1R | 0D–4R | 1D–1R | Only vs. undecided |
| Overall Race | 1D–2R | 0D–8R | 3D–2R | Yes — pick flips |
| Taxes and Government Spending | 0D–3R | 0D–5R | 5D–0R | Yes — pick flips |
| Energy and Climate Policy | 1D–2R | 1D–4R | 4D–0R | Yes — pick flips |
| Gun Policy | 1D–2R | 1D–3R | 5D–0R | Yes — pick flips |
| Social Security and Medicare | 3D–0R | 0D–4R | 5D–0R | Yes — pick flips |
| Economy and Inflation | 2D–0R | 2D–3R | 3D–0R | Yes — pick flips |
| Healthcare | 3D–0R | 1D–3R | 3D–0R | Yes — pick flips |
| Reproductive Rights | 4D–0R | 0D–3R | 3D–0R | Yes — pick flips |
| Education | 0D–4R | 0D–2R | 2D–1R | Yes — pick flips |
| Broadband Funding Shortfall (BEAD) | 0D–3R | 0D–4R | 1D–0R | Yes — pick flips |
Measured on the reframed (forced-pick) prompt set. Google rows where no AI Overview was generated are excluded from the matrix — they are a refusal to answer, not an undecided answer.
How AI sees the Maine Senate candidates
Ask AI about an issue, and how often does it back each candidate? Every number below is that share — e.g. 56% means 56% of the AI answers we graded on that issue recommended or spoke favorably about that candidate. Each candidate is graded on their own, so the two columns don't add up to 100%.
Measured from 284 graded AI answers (2026-08-12, reframed prompts) · all three voice personas pooled per issue.
The scale behind the Maine Senate numbers
Every answer below comes from an independent AI conversation about the Maine Senate — not a single sample, but a full grid of voter questions asked in three distinct voices, across every issue voters say they care about, and graded independently.
AI perception of the Maine Senate candidates
Recurring points in each candidate's favor, and points where AI answers turn critical, extracted from the graded answers themselves — not opinion, just what the excerpts actually say.
Labor and Working-Class Advocacy
AI answers note Jackson’s long legislative record championing labor protections, higher wages, corpo…
Abortion Access Record
The excerpts highlight Jackson’s sponsorship of LD 1619, expanding abortion access, removing penalti…
Medicaid and Health Coverage
AI responses cite Jackson’s advocacy for MaineCare expansion, Medicaid coverage for thousands, and p…
Absence of Federal Record
The AI answers note Jackson has never served in Congress, offering no federal voting or sponsorship…
Late Replacement Candidate
Multiple excerpts note Jackson entered the race late as a replacement nominee after Graham Platner w…
Federal Appropriations Influence
AI answers note Collins, as Senate Appropriations Committee chair, directly secures federal educatio…
Immigration Enforcement Record
AI responses highlight Collins’ long federal voting record, co‑sponsoring the Laken Riley Act and ba…
Gun Rights Support
AI answers state Collins has consistently opposed new federal gun restrictions, voted against assaul…
Corporate Tax Break Support
The AI answers note Collins backs corporate tax preferences and has not advocated shifting tax relie…
Limited Gun Background Check Advocacy
The excerpts state Collins supported only narrow background‑check measures and lacks a record of bac…
Inconsistent Abortion Rights Record
The AI responses describe Collins as generally pro‑choice but point to several consequential votes t…
AI favorability over time
This is the first graded snapshot for the Maine Senate (2026-08-12). A month-over-month trend needs repeated dated crawls graded the same way — it will appear here once a second data point exists.
Key sources driving AI conclusions
Every citation an AI answer showed its work with, classified by how that specific answer was graded toward each candidate.
Recent perception shifts
Perception shifts are computed by diffing two dated, graded crawls of the same prompts. Only one graded crawl exists for this race so far, so there's nothing to diff against yet.