Maine Senate: where the candidates stand

Affordability / cost of living

Says he would fight to pass Medicare for All, lower drug costs, build affordable housing, stop Wall Street from buying Maine homes, make child care affordable, strengthen unions and raise wages, and reverse tax policies he describes as giveaways to billionaires and corporations.

Jobs and economy

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

Calls for taxing billionaires and ensuring corporations pay what he calls their fair share, while delivering tax cuts for the working class and reversing what he describes as tax giveaways to billionaires and corporations.

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

Immigration / ICE

Calls for dismantling and abolishing ICE.

Immigration / ICE

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

Health care / Medicare for All

Calls for passing Medicare for All, describing health care as a human right rather than a privilege, and says he would work to guarantee comprehensive coverage without premiums, deductibles or major medical debt. He also supports letting more people choose Medicare as an interim step until then.

Prescription drug costs

Says he sponsored Maine legislation creating the state's Prescription Drug Affordability Board and a pathway to import lower-cost drugs from Canada, enacted in a 2019 reform package, and pledges to press for lower drug costs in the Senate.

Health care costs / insulin

Is working with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen on a bill to cap the price of insulin for people with workplace insurance, noting Medicare already caps it at $35 a month while the average price is often $150. Her office highlights related measures on Medicare home health fraud, insulin costs and the nursing workforce.

Trade with Canada / tariffs

A C-SPAN clip is titled with his statement that Maine depends on trading with Canada as trade talks collapsed and triggered tariffs; the reviewed file contains no transcript text beyond the clip title.

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

Climate and energy

Says solutions must bring everyone to the table so working-class people are not pitted against renewable energy, and favors federal support for a Maine biofuel/bioenergy facility. He argues Maine should retain the rights to northern Maine wind power and has called for capping the allowed rate of return for utilities.

Energy costs / home heating

Calls energy costs the top concern raised with her in Maine and says she asked the president to release oil from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, joined a request to release low-income home heating assistance funds, and wants the weatherization program expanded. She cites permitting reform as a longer-term step and criticizes the cancellation of the XL pipeline while saying the country must become energy independent.

Energy and environment

Says she has worked to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and spur clean energy jobs while retaining American manufacturing jobs, and describes Maine's economy as linked to its environment. She notes that roughly 60 percent of Maine households heat primarily with fuel oil, leaving families vulnerable to high crude oil prices.

Congressional stock trading ban

Supports banning members of Congress from trading stocks and says he would press for that ban in the Senate.

Congressional stock trading ban

Does not support the proposed ban on lawmakers, presidents and vice presidents trading stocks, with her spokesperson saying insider trading is already illegal and existing law plus financial disclosure requirements provide appropriate safeguards and should be enforced. She has attributed all of the couple's stock holdings to her husband.

Israel / Gaza

Calls for ending what he describes as genocide in Gaza and for no U.S. tax dollars going to Israel's military.

Defense and national security

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

Israel

Says she remains 'a very strong supporter of Israel,' the one democracy and a true ally in the Middle East, and told Fox News she was not reconsidering her support for AIPAC.

Iran and Russia sanctions

As an original cosponsor of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, praised Senate passage of the bill, saying it extends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 to deny Iran resources for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its support for terrorism through proxies.

Housing

Calls for investing in housing that working people can afford and for policies to stop Wall Street from buying up homes and pricing families out. He ties the housing crisis to construction-worker protections, a higher federal minimum wage and tax policy that rewards work.

Child care

Lists making child care affordable among the steps he would pursue in the Senate to lower the cost of living for working Mainers.

Wages and unions

Pledges to strengthen unions and raise wages and to support a higher federal minimum wage, along with strong employee protections for construction workers.

Abortion

Supports passing a federal right to abortion.

LGBTQ+ civil rights

Supports passing comprehensive civil rights legislation protecting the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination.

Voting rights and labor organizing

Says he would protect the right to vote and the right to organize for every American.

Campaign finance / Citizens United

Supports overturning Citizens United, requiring full disclosure and getting dark money out of politics; he notes an End Citizens United endorsement and that he rejects corporate PAC money.

Social Security

The reviewed file lists a related-article headline, 'Troy Jackson proposes plan to strengthen Social Security,' but contains no detail on the plan's contents.

Veterans

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

Affordability

Says the Senate should take up a permitting bill, arguing it would deliver more affordable housing and energy more quickly and ultimately lower costs. She also lists the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs appropriations bill and an insulin price cap as priorities.

Senior issues / retirement security

As a member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, lists improving retirement security, increasing biomedical research for diseases such as Alzheimer's and diabetes, and combating scams targeting seniors among her priorities.

Abortion

Rejected blame for the end of national abortion rights, saying the court would have ended protections regardless of Justice Kavanaugh's confirmation, and said she joined a bipartisan group of senators to codify Roe v. Wade but that then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not bring the bill up.

Federal appropriations / earmarks for Maine

Points to her seniority and chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee, citing $1.5 billion in earmarks she says she has delivered for Maine, and frames her record as one of independence and delivering results.

Education

No documented position found in reviewed sources.