缅因州波特兰——民主党晚入局的候选人特洛伊·杰克逊于周三凌晨赢得缅因州联邦参议员席位，击败了长期任职的共和党参议员苏珊·柯林斯，他借助总统唐纳德·特朗普的极度不受欢迎，扳倒了一位过去曾挺过艰难挑战的在任者。“对于每一个竭尽全力、却不知道什么时候才会有人为他们做点什么的家庭来说，是你们把我推上了这条路，而你们将在华盛顿特区拥有一位为你们而战的人，”杰克逊在波特兰一场选举夜派对上对人群说。
PORTLAND, Maine — Late Democratic entry Troy Jackson won Maine’s U.S. Senate seat early Wednesday, defeating longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins, taking advantage of President Donald Trump’s deep unpopularity to dislodge an incumbent who had survived tough challenges in the past.“For every family doing everything they can and wondering when somebody is going to do something for them, you have gotten me into this and you’re going to have someone who is fighting for you in Washington, D.C.,” Jackson told the crowd at an election night party in Portland.
58岁的杰克逊是第五代伐木工，曾任州参议院议长。他在7月接替格雷厄姆·普拉特纳成为该党提名人后，只有略多于100天的时间向缅因州选民推销自己。他赢得了一场仓促召开的提名大会，随后开始在全州奔走造势，重点聚焦住房和医疗成本高昂等经济议题。作为佛蒙特州独立参议员伯尼·桑德斯的前竞选代理人，他为该州许多进步派人士所熟知，但缺乏柯林斯那样的广泛知名度。
Jackson, 58, a fifth-generation logger and former president of the state Senate, had a little more than 100 days to sell himself to Maine voters after he replaced Graham Platner as the party’s nominee in July. He won a hastily convened nominating convention and began barnstorming the state, focusing heavily on economic issues such as the high costs of housing and healthcare. As a former campaign surrogate of independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, he was known to many progressives in the state but lacked the widespread name recognition of Collins.
73岁的柯林斯被普遍视为今年选举年最脆弱的共和党参议员。她在进入选举日时是国会中唯一来自新英格兰地区的共和党议员，正寻求第六个任期，代表这个自1992年以来一直投票支持民主党总统候选人的州。“能在美国参议院为缅因州人民服务，是我一生中的荣幸。
Collins, 73, was widely perceived as the most vulnerable Senate Republican this election year. She entered Election Day as the only Republican lawmaker in Congress from New England and was seeking her sixth term representing a state that has voted for the Democratic candidate for president since 1992.“It has been the honor of my life to serve the people of Maine in the United States Senate. I’m proud of all I have been able to accomplish for our state and for our country in the past 30 years,” Collins said in a statement after calling Jackson to concede.US midterm election results: Why some US states take longer than others to count the votesJackson took over the nomination during a time of crisis for DemocratsJackson hails from rural Aroostook County, among the poorest in the state, where he went to work as a lumberjack at 19.
“过去30年里，我为我们的州和国家所能取得的一切成就感到自豪，”柯林斯在致电杰克逊承认败选后发表的一份声明中说。美国中期选举结果：为什么有些美国州计票时间比其他州更长杰克逊在民主党陷入危机之际接过了提名杰克逊来自该州最贫困的地区之一——农村的阿鲁斯图克县，他19岁时就在那里当伐木工。他首次进入政界，是在20世纪90年代末领导了一场为期一周的伐木工封锁行动，封锁地点位于缅因州与魁北克省的边境，抗议雇主雇用进入缅因州并压低工资水平的加拿大伐木工。
He first entered politics after leading a weeklong loggers’ blockade along Maine’s border with Quebec in the late 1990s protesting the hiring of Canadian loggers who were coming into Maine and driving down pay rates.
这场对峙最终以杰克逊被警察带离收场，这一失败的结局促使他竞选公职。他在州众议院任职近20年，一路晋升，成为州参议院的最高领袖。杰克逊最初并没有计划今年竞选参议员。相反，他宣布角逐民主党州长提名，但最终落败。普拉特纳是一名牡蛎养殖户，也是政坛新人，他曾吸引了大批人群和热情支持，但也面临一系列争议。
The standoff ended with Jackson being escorted away by police, an unsuccessful ending that spurred him to run for elected office. He served nearly 20 years in the state House, rising up the ranks to become the Senate’s top leader. Jackson initially didn’t plan to run for Senate this year. Instead, he threw his hat in for the Democratic nomination for governor but lost. Platner, an oyster farmer and political newcomer, had drawn huge crowds and enthusiasm but also faced a string of controversies.
在他7月宣布退出参议员竞选后，杰克逊于当月晚些时候赢得了一场特别提名大会。这使得杰克逊的竞选活动起步仓促。此后，他在教堂、工会大厅和酒吧举行活动，宣传工人权利和生活成本等问题。有时，他的竞选言论让人想起桑德斯，后者曾在10月与杰克逊一起参加集会。“归根结底，如果你努力工作，你应该能够过上体面的生活，”杰克逊在9月波特兰附近的一场竞选活动中说。
After he announced in July that he would withdraw from the Senate race, Jackson won a special nominating convention later that month. It made for a rushed start to the campaign for Jackson. Since then, he has held events at churches, union halls and bars to tout issues such as workers’ rights and the cost of living. At times, his campaign rhetoric is reminiscent of Sanders, who joined Jackson for rallies in October.“In the end, if you work hard, you should be able to build a decent life,” Jackson said at a campaign event near Portland in September.
“但现在的现实并非如此。”他批评柯林斯在阻止特朗普方面做得不够。杰克逊指出，柯林斯曾在委员会中投票支持推进特朗普标志性的减税和预算立法，但在最终通过时投了“反对”票。“参议员“柯林斯就像纵火犯，帮着放了火，然后还想因为端来一杯水灭火而邀功，”他说。杰克逊在竞选期间曾因脾气问题受到批评，柯林斯也批评他在一场辩论中让她“闭嘴”。
“But that’s not the reality right now.”He criticized Collins as not doing enough to stop Trump. Jackson noted she voted to advance Trump’s signature tax cut and budget legislation out of committee, before she was a “no” vote on its final passage.“Sen. Collins is like an arsonist who helps set the fire and then she wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put it out,” he said. Jackson faced blowback over his temperament during the campaign, and Collins criticized him for telling her to “shut up” during a debate.
柯林斯试图以独立性争取选民。柯林斯于1996年首次当选，并一直标榜自己独立于特朗普及其政党。她曾表示自己在2016年没有投票给特朗普，并在2021年特朗普因在1月6日国会大厦骚乱中所扮演的角色被弹劾后，投票支持对其定罪。今年1月，柯林斯与少数几位共和党同僚一起支持一项未能成功的努力，该努力旨在限制总统单方面在委内瑞拉使用武力的能力。
Collins attempted to woo voters on her independenceCollins was first elected in 1996 and has touted her independence from Trump and her party. She has said she didn’t vote for Trump in 2016, and she voted to convict the president after his 2021 impeachment over his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. In January, Collins joined a handful of Republican colleagues in backing a failed effort to limit the president’s ability to unilaterally use force in Venezuela.
此举促使特朗普在社交媒体上表示，他们“永远不应再当选公职”。当副总统JD·万斯前往缅因州时，柯林斯没有与他一同露面。万斯在5月的一次集会上对人群说，他有时会对这位参议员感到沮丧，并希望她更有党派性。
The move prompted Trump to say on social media that they “should never be elected to office again.”When Vice President JD Vance made trips to Maine, Collins did not appear with him. Vance told the crowd at a May rally that he sometimes gets frustrated with the senator and wishes she were more partisan.
柯林斯此前一直是民主党的重点目标。许多民调专家曾预测柯林斯将在2020年输给前缅因州众议院议长萨拉·吉迪恩。但在民主党赢得总统选举和缅因州两个美国众议院席位的同一年，柯林斯却轻松获胜。在今年的竞选中，柯林斯宣扬自己在参议院的资历，以及她作为强大委员会和预算谈判中关键人物的地位。她说，她任职中的这些方面对缅因州民众仍然至关重要。
Collins has been a top target of Democrats before. Many pollsters predicted Collins would lose to former Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon in 2020. Collins won handily during a year that Democrats won the presidential race and both U.S. House seats in Maine. During this year’s race, Collins touted her longevity in the Senate and her status as a key player in powerful committees and budgeting negotiations. She said those aspects of her service remain critically important for Mainers.“It has been 92 years since a Maine senator was chair of the Senate appropriations committee, the most powerful committee in the Senate,” Collins told reporters.
“距离缅因州参议员担任参议院拨款委员会主席已经过去92年了，那是参议院最有权力的委员会，”柯林斯对记者说。“去年我接任时，我意识到自己拥有一个百年一遇的机会来帮助缅因州并推进国家优先事项。”
“When I took over last year, I realized I had a once-in-a-century opportunity to help the state of Maine and pursue national priorities as well."