The campaign office of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in Biddeford, Maine, was vandalized overnight, with red paint poured on the sidewalk and the words “blood on her hands” painted outside the entrance, according to photographs released by her campaign.
Biddeford police received a report of the vandalism shortly before 11 p.m. on Monday and are investigating, local media reported.
“We don’t know the motive at this time,” a campaign spokesman told JNS on Tuesday.
Katie Brown, Collins’s chief of staff, told JNS that “this is another incident in a series and the second attempt at our Biddeford office to intimidate the senator and her staff.”
“These tactics are disturbing, but not effective,” Brown said. “Our staff is undeterred and on the job.”
Collins is seeking a sixth term in office against Democrat challenger Troy Jackson, a former Maine Senate president who has accused Israel of “genocide.” His campaign website calls for ending U.S. military funding to Israel.
Jackson became the Democratic nominee in July after Graham Platner, who won the party’s June primary, suspended his campaign following a sexual assault allegation, which he denied. Platner also faced scrutiny over a tattoo widely recognized as a Nazi symbol, which he said he did not know had Nazi associations.
The RealClearPolitics polling average showed Jackson leading Collins by 3.6 percentage points, 50.2% to 46.6%, ahead of Election Day.
