Sen. Susan Collins on Monday pushed back against a $700,000 advertising campaign from Majority Forward, a political action committee aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, that accuses her of enriching herself through stock trades while serving in the Senate.
The two-spot campaign — a 30-second ad titled "Greed" and a 15-second spot called "This Life" — criticizes Collins for opposing a bipartisan bill to ban members of Congress from trading stocks and depicts imagery suggesting lawmakers use insider access to profit. Collins, a Maine Republican weighing a bid for a sixth Senate term, called the ads misleading and said she has never owned or traded stocks during her Senate tenure.
Collins's office said disclosure filings show the senator herself does not directly own stock. The filings show investments in the name of Collins's husband, Tom Daffron, but her office said those assets are managed by a third-party advisor and that no trades have occurred in nearly three years.
"Senator Collins has never bought, sold, or owned any shares of stock during her entire Senate tenure," her office told Fox News Digital. "Tom Daffron’s investment decisions are made exclusively by a third-party advisor without his consultation. No individual stocks have been bought or sold from his account in almost three years."
Majority Forward defended the ads, saying they target Collins for opposing legislation that would bar members of Congress and their families from trading stocks — legislation the group said enjoys broad public support in Maine. "Nowhere in the ad does it say Senator Collins regularly buys, sells, or owns stocks (though her husband does) — but if she is still confused, we'll be happy to continue airing it throughout Maine so both she and her constituents can understand how her opposition to ending stock trading is enabling her colleagues to benefit from their positions of power," spokesperson Lauren French said.
The ad buy comes as Democrats press to make Collins's seat competitive in next year's cycle. Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat who is term-limited and viewed by party leaders as a potential top recruit, has not yet announced whether she will run, and the state Democratic primary has drawn multiple potential contenders.
Collins has said she did not back Sen. Josh Hawley's bill to ban stock trading by members of Congress, arguing instead for stronger enforcement of existing rules aimed at preventing insider trading. The Hawley proposal drew mixed reactions on Capitol Hill; Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee largely opposed the bill, and the White House initially criticized it. President Donald Trump later signaled support for a ban after other Republicans advanced similar measures and praised Rep. Anna Paulina's efforts on the issue.
Senate Democrats and advocacy groups have sought to highlight stock trading as an ethics issue for lawmakers as they try to flip seats. Majority Forward is affiliated with the Senate Majority PAC, which is closely aligned with Schumer and the Democratic Senate leadership and has prioritized vulnerable Republican-held seats.
Collins, who has represented Maine since 1997, has faced growing scrutiny from both parties in recent months. She was heckled at a public event this summer, and her potential rematch with a well-funded Democratic opponent would represent one of several pivotal Senate contests in the 2026 cycle. Her office reiterated that she has abided by disclosure rules and called the ad's portrayal "confusing and misleading."
Both sides signaled the dispute over the ads would continue: Collins's campaign aides said they would rebut what they called inaccurate implications in the spots, while Majority Forward said it planned to keep the ads running to press the issue with Maine voters as the race shapes up.