A few takeaways from tonight’s debate:

-The moderators asked zero questions the candidates hadn’t already faced.

Collins laid out the case for her re-election, tallying some of her legislative accomplishments.

“When you live in a small state like Maine, who you send to Washington really matters,” Collins said. “I have proven time and time again that I deliver for the state of Maine.”

Jackson’s closing statement made the case that a senator should be responsible for what their power brings.

“Sen. Collins, the chair of appropriations, voted to give $70 billion to ICE without the reforms that Mainers deserved. Weeks later, blood was spilled in the streets of Biddeford,” Jackson said, reading from notes. “Sen. Collins paid for the bullets at Donald Trump’s command. Now she wants credit for not pulling the trigger.”

Jackson made a point to name the man killed by ICE in Biddeford three months ago: Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero.

Jackson said he supports law enforcement investigating bad guys, but he said ICE has grown incapable of doing so effectively. Instead, he’d put money into Customs and Border Protection, he said.

Once again, the moderators with WABI and WAGM asked the candidates a question they’ve been asked before on a debate stage.

This time, it’s about ICE enforcement in Maine.

Both Jackson and Collins have seemed more emotional at times, with Jackson essentially telling Collins at one point not to lecture him on the difference between Medicare and Medicaid. At another point, Collins seemed vexed by Jackson’s barbs about her personal integrity.

-Kirby Wilson

Jackson said he’s “not really supportive of data centers,” and that there should be guardrails on their development.

Then he pivoted to criticizing Collins for taking donations from wealthy individuals, and said he bets she supports no regulation of data centers because her donors don’t want them.

Again, Collins painted herself as a doer, and Jackson as a talker.

“There would have been no difference in our votes on those issues. But here’s the key difference: I’ve been able to negotiate and get certain items removed from the tariff list,” Collins said. Troy would have gotten nothing.”

The candidates just got another question that they addressed at each of the last two debates. This time, on Canadian tariffs.

Collins reiterated her opposition to the tariffs, and noted the items for which she’s fought for exemptions, such as concrete and pulp.

Collins noted that Jackson, who joined the Senate race in July, has not filed campaign finance reports with the FEC.

“We have no idea who is financing Troy’s campaign,” Collins said.

Collins accused Jackson of not knowing the difference between Medicaid and Medicare.

Jackson, seeming genuinely a bit frustrated, fired back.

Jackson somewhat clunkily pivoted into a jab about the recent ProPublica reporting on the FBI investigating Collins’ orbit’s links to a fraudster.

“In light of the article last week from ProPublica, I’m shocked that you’re talking about fraud,” Jackson said. “There’s only one person up here that’s been accused of that by the FBI.”

In a more substantive part of the debate, Jackson laid out why he thinks Medicare for All is the best policy option for Mainers. Simply, every Mainer would have care, he said.

Collins, who does not support Medicare For All, laid out a series of smaller changes and expansions to Medicare that she said would help.

Jackson contended that Collins only voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act once it was clear it would pass — and pivoted to criticizing his opponent for her support from billionaires.

One of those billionaires is Elon Musk

Collins once again noted that she voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. And she laid out her reasoning for doing so — and what she said was the difference between the two candidates.

“Here’s the difference between us on the Big Beautiful Bill,” Collins said. “Both of us would have voted ‘no’ on final passage, but I was able to get into the bill a $50 billion healthcare fund for rural healthcare of which Maine has already gotten $190 million. Troy never would have been able to get that into the bill.”

Nearly 20 minutes in, and little new from the candidates so far.

When asked about her affordability plan, Collins touted a couple of her legislative accomplishment: A bill to stop private equity from buying up housing and a bill that she says will help reduce the price of prescription drugs.

Jackson pounced on a note from Collins about how there weren’t sufficient votes in the Senate to stop the Iran war.

“Senator Collins says that she voted against it nine times, but she didn’t have the votes. Well, that sounds like then we probably ought to have Democrats in charge of the U.S. Senate so that we have the votes to stop this war,” Jackson said. “It sounds like the Republicans won’t do that.”

Jackson was asked how he would advocate for a positive end to the Iran War.

Jackson said businesses can’t go on with these high energy costs, and said he would tell President Donald Trump that the war needs to come to an end.

The candidates are making arguments that are at the core of each of their candidacies.

Jackson said Collins kowtows to Trump at the expense of Mainers, noting that she voted for the Iran war, and that she could stop the conflict by defunding it out of her appropriations committee.

In August, we interrogated an interesting claim: Are Maine electricity rates double the national average?

It’s expensive here, but the answer is no.

When answering the question about the heating oil, Jackson talked about his biography, saying he grew up with financial insecurity during the winter.

Then he pivoted to criticizing Collins for initially supporting the Iran War. Collins has since voted against it, a point she quickly raised.

This is a topic we’ve covered extensively in recent weeks, and a question both candidates addressed last debate.

Collins touts her efforts to get an early release of federal heating assistance money. Read about that here.

There is also a debate in the governor’s race tonight! You can watch that here if you’re so inclined, but this live updates feed is going to focus on the Senate race.

-Kirby Wilson

We covered last week’s debates extensively. Here’s our takeaways from the first and the second.

-Kirby Wilson

Here are a few things to expect tonight.

Jackson will likely hammer away at immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump.