A former staffer to Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) believes her new attack ad against Democratic opponent Troy Jackson may have just been the final nail in the coffin for her campaign.
The ad features a prominent veteran local news anchor, Bill Green, calling Jackson unqualified to serve in the Senate, and disparaging his background as a logger.
"I ... know Troy Jackson. But we're not talking about buying a cord of wood here," said Green. "We're sending someone to the U.S. Senate, and Troy doesn't have the tools he needs to be effective."
The ad caused swift outcry. But one of the most scathing reviews came from Sam Patten, a former Collins staffer who now edits the conservative publication The Maine Wire.
"'We're not talking about buying a cord of wood here,'" wrote Patten, in a Facebook post flagged by local Maine reporter Andy O'Brien. "I didn't believe this ad was real. I called every news station in Maine. WAGM in Presque Isle just confirmed to me it is real and has been running since last night."
"Why does it matter?" he continued. "For more than 30 years, Susan Collins has carefully concealed her intrinsic arrogance because she is very smart and knows well that in Maine politics that would be fatal. With this ad, she gave that act up. I can see her, Tom and Steve snickering to each about the tag line, but I never imagined they would clear such a public confession of their disdain for little people. It's too bad they hurt Bill Green with it, as he's a good man. But that's what politicians do."
"The race is over," he added.
Recent polls have found a race coming down to the wire, with a new Marist survey showing Jackson up by just 2 points among likely voters.