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Ads in Maine Make Misleading Tax Claims About Jackson
Confirmed
In Short: Republican PACs are running misleading ads against Democratic candidate Troy Jackson, claiming he raised taxes and enriched his lobbyist son.
Republican PACs are running misleading ads against Democratic candidate Troy Jackson, who is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine’s Senate race.
The ads, produced by the Senate Leadership Fund PAC and others, suggest that Jackson sabotaged an anti-pollution bill in the state Senate to enrich his lobbyist son, Chace Jackson. However, the American Journal News reports that the bill in question, LD 1707, never received a floor vote and Jackson did not serve on the committee.
Jackson’s son, Chace, was not paid $200,000 by special interests, as the ads claim. In fact, during the year in question, his firm received $182,500 in lobbying compensation from nine of Jackson’s clients.
The ads also claim that Jackson voted in the state Legislature to increase Mainers’ taxes on items such as gasoline and groceries. Factcheck.org found that these claims are misleading or unsupported. Jackson’s proposal would change the amount of annual earnings subject to the Social Security payroll tax, but it would not directly pertain to those items.
Jackson has proposed eliminating the earnings cap on Social Security taxes, which he says would extend the life of the program and potentially boost retirement benefits. However, the ads claim this would hurt seniors, a claim disputed by experts.
Jackson’s campaign spokesperson, Maggie Amjad, called the new ad part of a series of personal attacks. The ads reference a comment Jackson made during a debate, which Collins used to tie the remark to Jackson’s temper as Maine Senate president.
The ads also claim that Jackson’s son raked in almost $200,000 from special interests, despite the lack of evidence to support this claim.
Jackson is leading Collins by 2 points in a Beacon Research poll from August, and the two are tied at 49% among likely voters in a Fox News poll released Thursday.
The ads from pro-Republican groups give Jackson the nickname “Taxin’ Jackson,” but they make misleading claims about his proposal for Social Security taxes and his votes on other issues.
Jackson said he would fight to change the Social Security tax cap, which he believes is not fair.
The ads also claim that Jackson voted to tax gasoline, but this claim is based on his vote for L.D. 1509 in June 2013, which did not directly pertain to gasoline taxes.
Jackson’s proposal would affect high-income earners who are still working, and experts say current Social Security beneficiaries are unlikely to be affected.
What this adds
The ads overstate the role Jackson and his son played in the bill’s demise and misrepresent Jackson’s votes on taxes.
Jackson’s proposal to eliminate the earnings cap on Social Security taxes would not directly affect current beneficiaries, according to experts.
The ads reference a comment Jackson made during a debate, which Collins used to tie the remark to Jackson’s temper as Maine Senate president.
The ads also claim that Jackson’s son was paid $200,000 by special interests, but this claim is not supported by the Maine Ethics Commission’s lobbyist disclosure database.
Background
Ahead of the November midterms, claims of election fraud, lost ballots, and poll worker mismanagement are spreading widely, according to Snopes.
What's confirmed
- Republican PACs are running misleading ads against Democratic candidate Troy Jackson, who is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine’s Senate race.
- The ads, produced by the Senate Leadership Fund PAC and others, suggest that Jackson sabotaged an anti-pollution bill in the state Senate to enrich his lobbyist son, Chace Jackson. However, the American Journal News reports that the bill in question, LD 1707, never received a floor vote and Jackson did not serve on the committee.
- Jackson’s son, Chace, was not paid $200,000 by special interests, as the ads claim. In fact, during the year in question, his firm received $182,500 in lobbying compensation from nine of Jackson’s clients.
- The ads also claim that Jackson voted in the state Legislature to increase Mainers’ taxes on items such as gasoline and groceries. Factcheck.org found that these claims are misleading or unsupported. Jackson’s proposal would change the amount of annual earnings subject to the Social Security payroll tax, but it would not directly pertain to those items.
- Jackson has proposed eliminating the earnings cap on Social Security taxes, which he says would extend the life of the program and potentially boost retirement benefits. However, the ads claim this would hurt seniors, a claim disputed by experts.
- Jackson’s campaign spokesperson, Maggie Amjad, called the new ad part of a series of personal attacks. The ads reference a comment Jackson made during a debate, which Collins used to tie the remark to Jackson’s temper as Maine Senate president.
- The ads also claim that Jackson’s son raked in almost $200,000 from special interests, despite the lack of evidence to support this claim.
- Jackson is leading Collins by 2 points in a Beacon Research poll from August, and the two are tied at 49% among likely voters in a Fox News poll released Thursday.
- The ads from pro-Republican groups give Jackson the nickname “Taxin’ Jackson,” but they make misleading claims about his proposal for Social Security taxes and his votes on other issues.
- Jackson said he would fight to change the Social Security tax cap, which he believes is not fair.
- The ads also claim that Jackson voted to tax gasoline, but this claim is based on his vote for L.D. 1509 in June 2013, which did not directly pertain to gasoline taxes.
- Jackson’s proposal would affect high-income earners who are still working, and experts say current Social Security beneficiaries are unlikely to be affected.
What's still developing
- Jackson did not serve on the committee, and there is no indication that he whipped votes in favor of this outcome.
- A new Republican ad uses false and distorted claims to attack the family of Maine U.S.
- One of the ads, from Defending Main Street PAC, says “it’s tough to make a living when you pay so much in taxes” and blames Jackson before making several claims about alleged tax increases that he backed.
- The other ad, from Pine Tree Results PAC, makes a number of the same tax assertions and says Jackson “claims to be for working Mainers” but is “definitely not on our side.” We reached out to both groups about the claims in the ads.
- The ad from Defending Main Street PAC says, “Jackson wants to raise Social Security taxes, hurting our seniors.” The ad from Pine Tree Results PAC says, “He wants to raise our Social Security taxes.” Both ads show older people while those claims are being made.
- Jackson said the same thing at a July Democratic candidates’ debate that was cited in small print in the two ads.
- “One polluter wanted to stop a bill cracking down on emissions,” a voiceover says.
- “I thought about the reputation that Troy Jackson has in Augusta, particularly when he is dealing with women with whom he disagrees,” Collins said.
- Their coverage aims to cut through major debates and probe how officials make decisions.
- Because some individuals and employers would have to pay more in taxes, “you could imagine overall economic growth changing, maybe slowing down,” he said.
- “There is the possibility, of course, that increasing the tax max could have an impact on economic growth,” which “could affect the economy as a whole,” he said.