Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson spoke Wednesday on MS NOW program The Briefing about a super PAC aligned with Susan Collins that spent more than one million dollars on ads targeting his support for Maine legislation housing transgender women in womens prisons.

Jackson said such criticism distracts from matters that affect Mainers, including shrinking healthcare access, prescription costs, childcare, eldercare in homes and nursing facilities, housing, property tax changes, and reproductive rights, all of which he called economic. He noted similar ballot measures have already failed in the state and argued opponents avoid those topics because they fare poorly on them while cutting income taxes for the wealthy and seeking to split residents.

Jackson declined to criticize fellow Mainers over the prison policy regardless of his own vote and said he would not let the subject divert attention. He added that elected officials should fight for everyone, a role he said Collins has never filled, and that he understands being left behind by government.