Collins-aligned super PAC runs attack ads in Portland, Oregon instead of Portland, Maine

“Good luck convincing Mainers you know what’s best for them when you don’t know which Portland they live in,” blasted her Democratic rival.

In most cases, confusing Portland, Maine, with Portland, Oregon, might be seen as an innocent faux pas. But in the case of political actors ahead of an election, it can be a costly—and frankly comedic—blunder. A recent attack ad targeting Troy Jackson—the Democratic candidate in the Maine Senate race who is running against incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins—has appeared in front of users far from Maine, leading many to believe its placement was a mistake. Funded by the Defending Main Street super PAC, the 30-second ad titled “Too Many Taxes” focuses on taxes and the cost-of-living crisis, which both Collins and Jackson have made central to their campaigns in the lead-up to the election in November. But despite the ad reportedly costing Defending Main Street around $25,000, the message might not be effective. Shown for the first time on October 8, it has racked up over 1.2 million views—but to viewers in Oregon, not Maine. “I’ve gotten 5 anti-Troy Jackson ads in the last 24 hours. I choose to believe they mixed up Portlands,” one user, whose location is set to Oregon, said on X. Many others with an Oregon location chimed in to share their similar experiences, with one saying “I’ve gotten them too lol.” Another added, “Ive gotten so many this week.” Some social media users shared screenshots of the ad’s Google Ads Transparency Center page—a public repository of ads served on Google—which showed the selected region for the ads as zip codes from Oregon. The Google Ads page has since been updated with Maine zip codes. The Intercept reported on the mixup earlier. “So out of touch” The apparent error is not the first Republican mixup this election cycle. In September, Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri tried to catch former special counsel Jack Smith in a gotcha moment during a Senate hearing—only to confuse two basketball teams, collapsing his line of questioning and sparking widespread mockery online. While Collins’s campaign and Defending Main Street have yet to speak out on the mishap—or respond to a request for comment—Jackson’s campaign has already noticed the situation. “Susan Collins’ allies are so out of touch with Maine, they can’t even find it on a map,” Dan Gottlieb, spokesperson for Jackson’s campaign, tells Fast Company. “Good luck convincing Mainers you know what’s best for them when you don’t know which Portland they live in.”

Ads promoting Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) appeared to target the wrong city of Portland in a Republican super PAC mix-up, running the advertisements in Oregon instead of Maine. “During a recent independent expenditure, our media vendor mistakenly placed approximately $25,000 in digital advertising in the Portland, Oregon media market instead of Portland, Maine,” a spokesperson...

A Republican Super PAC sent at least $20,000 to Portland, Oregon, in support of Senator Susan Collins’s re-election campaign. Collins is a senator from Maine.This multi-thousand-dollar gaffe was made by the Defending Main Street Super PAC Inc, which sent a commercial calling Collins’s Democratic opponent Troy Jackson “taxin’ Troy Jackson.” Too bad virtually none of the people who will see it can vote in that election.Republican Main Street Partnership President Sarah Chamberlain told NBC News Monday she was “absolutely furious” and blamed the ad buyer, Cross Screen Media, for a “ridiculous” error. “The buyers made a mistake on one of the placements. It’s down now and they’re running it in Portland, Maine,” Chamberlain said. “It has nothing to do with us. I would never run an ad in Portland, Oregon, for Susan Collins, for Christ’s sake.”Collins certainly could’ve used that money, as multiple polls have the incumbent slightly behind Jackson in the upcoming November election.

Oregonians may have wondered why they were seeing online ads about the Maine Senate race over the past few days.

A super PAC affiliated with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) says it’s getting a full refund after a vendor mistakenly placed ads attacking her Democratic opponent, Troy Jackson, in the wrong state. Defending Main Street PAC earmarked around $25,000 for digital advertising that was accidentally spent in Portland, Oregon, instead of Collins’s home state of Maine, […]

The group Defending Main Street, long associated with Susan Collins, spent thousands attacking Troy Jackson in the wrong state. The post Susan Collins-Aligned Super PAC Buys Attack Ads in Portland… Oregon appeared first on The Intercept.