Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) got a brutal reality check on the debate stage Tuesday from her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson.

As Collins touted her success in removing certain items from Trump’s trade war with Canada, including pulp, concrete, and road salt, Jackson pushed back, noting that several imported goods still face high tariffs and adding, “We can’t eat road salt.”

“Troy mocked it, but I was successful in getting concrete, pulp, and road salt removed from the tariff list,” Collins said.

“What about everything else? We can’t eat road salt,” Jackson responded. And the thing about it is, is that everything that she’s doing with Iran war, stuff like that, there’s going to be so many less people that’ll be able to afford to drive that I’m not even sure the road salt is going to be worth anything, either.

“I’m not gonna give her credit for getting one thing back when we have thousands of things that people are having to pay more money for because she won’t talk back at Donald Trump,” he added

Maine has been the state hit hardest by Trump’s trade war with Canada. Last year, 41% of Maine’s exports went to Canada — the highest share of any state.

A recent study found that as of July 2026, households in Maine have had to pay $3,900 more for goods and services due to rising costs under the Trump administration.

Jackson and Collins are scheduled to participate in three more debates later this month. This is a must-win race for Democrats if the party hopes to retake the Senate. Polls have consistently shown a close race within the margin of error.