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Thursday night brought Senate debates in three battleground states, and every one of them quickly devolved into personal attacks. From Iran to affordability and on into the heated rhetoric and mudslinging, each performer in last night’s political theater seemed to be reading from the same script.
The Maine Event
Temps may have dropped into the 40s Thursday night in the Pine Tree State, but incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson turned up the heat. The race for Collins’ Senate seat has been tight for months, and last night’s event quickly went from debating the issues to personal accusations and attacks.
While debating how to deal with the high heating oil prices, moderator Jon Chrisos asked Collins about her votes on Trump’s military campaign in Iran. The senator said she voted nine times to end the war under the War Powers Act – but Jackson wasn’t hearing it. She also voted against such resolutions several other times, and her would-be successor was quick to point to her leverage on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“She could use her leverage to stop the war. But instead, they’re making money,” Jackson argued. “I mean, Senator Collins and her husband [are] making money, more, off this war, and so is a bunch of other people, and that’s why this doesn’t, doesn’t stop.”
Of course, he didn’t offer any specific evidence to back that up, and Collins immediately fired back, calling the claim “outrageous” and demanding an apology. So, the two then clashed over who owed whom an apology.
The two argued over each other’s records on supporting abortion access and affordability in general, but Jackson kept bringing it back to the war in Iran, an issue he hopes will lead midterm voters to give him a shot instead of awarding Collins a sixth term.
Michigan, Not So Nice
Over in Michigan, the debate between former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican, and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed went entirely off the rails. They discussed similar topics: the war in Iran, affordability, etc. But the two men seemed to let no opportunity to make things personal slip by. El-Sayed sought to portray Rogers as a weak-willed Trump loyalist who would rubber-stamp whatever the president proposes, and Rogers in turn framed El-Sayed as a “con man” making promises he can’t pay for without raising taxes.
Things got so out of control that moderator Rick Albin had to beg them to rein it in. “I’d like to be a part of this debate, too,” he interjected at one point. Evidently, the personal attacks continued on into commercial breaks – a first in his 30 years of hosting debates, Albin explained.
The two contestants repeatedly taunted each other over real estate – Rogers has a home in Florida and El-Sayed’s wife has property in the United Arab Emirates. At one point, when Rogers accused El-Sayed of failing to condemn the terror attack in Michigan earlier this year or the October 7 Hamas attack in Gaza, the Democrat shot back: “I’m not somebody who tries to make political theater out of other people’s pain,” then asked: “Did you sell your yachts?”
Rogers did seem to try to tie El-Sayed to Hamas and other terrorist groups, mentioning terrorism multiple times throughout the night and bringing up El-Sayed’s mom and sister, arguing at one point that government surveillance would only bother someone if he or his family had something to hide.
On the affordability front, aside from accusing each other of being too rich for anyone else’s good, El-Sayed focused largely on the war in Iran as a driving force behind rising gas prices. Rogers looked to his opponent’s socialist proposals, like Medicare for All, and argued his policies would be a disaster, saying that “we cannot afford Abdul.”
“Listen to this guy and what he’s trying to sell here today,” Rogers quipped at one point. “You’re going to find out that this guy is not what he says he is. He is actually selling the best con I think I’ve ever seen.”
Georgia Heat
Moving down south to Georgia, the debate between Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff and his Republican challenger, Rep. Mike Collins, was no less heated. Ossoff is a radical trust-fund kid, according to Collins – and what does the incumbent senator think of his opponent? Well, he’s a bigot, of course!
In one of his many zingers of the night, Ossoff accused Collins of hiring “half the Third Reich” in reference to the congressman’s history of hiring aides who have espoused antisemitic or white nationalist views. “If John Lewis were marching today from Selma to Montgomery,” he said, “Mike Collins would be grabbing a billy club.”
Collins portrayed Ossoff as someone who “hates Israel” and “loves Iran,” though Ossoff, who is Jewish, said he “cares deeply” about the security of the Israeli people, “some of whom are members of my family.”
Collins also called his opponent a “trust fund kid who’s never had a job in his life.” He argued Ossoff didn’t care about gas prices because he wants everyone riding mass transit. The Georgia incumbent ignored that line of attack until his closing argument – where he roasted Collins for portraying himself as an “everyday trucker” when, in fact, he owns a trucking company worth as much as $25 million.
Thursday Night Debates – Same Show, Different Actors
Across the board, Republican candidates accused their opponents of being pro-Iran, anti-America, and just plain too expensive for the people to float. Democrats hoped to paint their opponents as yes-men (and a yes-woman) to Trump and wealthy warmongers who don’t care about the common folk.
And all six candidates were more than happy to make it personal. Last night’s debates were pure, prime-time political theater, and for those wanting drama, they did not disappoint. But will any of the night’s soundbites actually move the needle come Election Day?
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