Debate Crowd Laughs As Democrat Caught In Absurd Lie

Maine Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson drew laughter from the audience at his final debate with Republican Sen. Susan Collins on Thursday after he admitted billionaires are funding his campaign — two days after he insisted on the debate stage that none were.

At a Tuesday debate, Collins went after Jackson for not yet disclosing who was paying for his candidacy. “I would point out that we have no idea who is financing Troy’s campaign,” she said. “He promised to be completely transparent, yet he has not filed a single report.”

Jackson bristled and promised to hand over the report the next morning. “Because we see yours and I know that there’s no billionaires funding me,” he said. “I’ll give you the report tomorrow and then we’ll talk about it on Thursday.”

He didn’t follow through. His campaign instead released its third-quarter filing Thursday, the Federal Election Commission’s deadline, reporting $20.4 million raised since he entered the race in July. The filing shows maximum contributions from at least four billionaires: Bain Capital co-chairman Josh Bekenstein, Getty Oil heiress Anne Earhart, hedge fund founder Nat Simons and his sister, Liz Simons.

Collins pressed him on it that night in Bangor, at the race’s final debate held before Election Day. She noted that Jackson had pledged to refuse billionaire money and said, “That’s not accurate.”

WATCH: Troy Jackson Discloses Campaign Donations From Billionaires Two Days After Saying ‘There’s No Billionaires Funding Me’ https://t.co/SqhjDzggHg

— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) October 16, 2026

“I know what’s in my campaign,” Jackson replied. “As far as the billionaires that I might have on my campaign, that is accurate. But I haven’t made any deals like Senator Collins has with those billionaires.”

The crowd burst into laughter.

Jackson then vowed to “tax those billionaires” once he reaches the Senate. He also blamed the delayed report on the size of his donor base, saying more than 200,000 people had contributed to his campaign. Separately, he said he had received $15,000 from oil and pharmaceutical lobbyists and donated it to charity.

Jackson’s campaign website still tells voters he “isn’t backed by corporate PACs or billionaire donors.”

Jackson became the nominee in July after Graham Platner withdrew following numerous scandals, most recently a sexual assault allegation, which Platner denied. The race remains close. A recent Washington Post-Schar School poll had Jackson ahead 50% to 46%.