- It also suggests they don’t think the allegations in the ProPublica article — which Collins vigorously disputes — have resonated with Maine voters.
- “Susan Collins took illegal campaign money and funneled millions of dollars in government contracts to the donor,” says a narrator in the ad.
Zoom: ProPublica’s reporting focused on an FBI investigation involving Collins and Martin Kao, a former defense contractor who pleaded guilty to campaign finance and loan fraud charges.
- Kao told investigators that his defense and engineering company used political contributions to Collins and groups that supported her to help secure tens of millions of dollars in federal defense contracts, according to ProPublica.
- After pleading guilty, Kao began cooperating with the FBI in hopes of reducing his sentence. The article claims the investigation was shut down after President Trump returned to office.
The other side: Collins disputed the story’s central assertions and pointed to the Justice Department’s decision not to file charges.
- The investigation found “no wrongdoing by anyone on my campaign team, my office or myself,” she said.
- “It’s clearly a political success.”
Zoom out: In a sea of positive developments for Senate Democrats this cycle, Maine remains a persistent exception.
- Collins led Democrat Troy Jackson 49% to 46% in a New York Times/Siena poll in mid-September.
- In the final weeks of the campaign, Republicans reserved $34 million in airtime, compared to $24 million for Democrats, according to AdImpact.
- Jackson is the Democrats’ nominee after their initial choice, Graham Platner, withdrew following reports of sexual assault, which he denied.
The plot: The new ad comes as Senate Majority PAC pleads with its major donors for more money to help it compete on an expanding map.
- “Democratic groups still urgently need additional resources to remain competitive in the final days of the campaign,” the SMP wrote to its donors on Thursday, according to a memo obtained by The New York Times and confirmed by Axios.
- “The Democrats don’t have a candidate problem or a message problem. They have a paid media challenge that’s getting more expensive to solve every week because of the shortfall in outside money.”
Go further: Republicans made a similar move in Alaska last week, relying on a New York Times investigation to hammer former Rep. Mary Peltola in the Alaska Senate race.
Gn headline
