Maine Dems Choose Troy Jackson to Face Susan Collins for Senate
BANGOR, Maine — Maine Democrats selected former state Senate President Troy Jackson as their nominee for U.S. Senate on Saturday, setting up a high-stakes November matchup against five-term incumbent Republican Susan Collins in a race that could determine which party controls the chamber.
Jackson, a fifth-generation logger from Allagash, won the nomination at an emergency convention in Bangor with 566 of 571 delegate votes. He replaces Graham Platner, who won the Democratic primary with 72 percent of the vote on June 9 but withdrew on July 10 after a former girlfriend accused him of sexual assault—an allegation Platner has denied.
A Chaotic Path to the Ballot
The nomination process was triggered by Platner’s sudden exit, which threw the Democratic campaign into disarray. Maine law gave the state party authority to select a replacement, and delegates elected at county meetings over the previous weekend gathered in Bangor to make the choice. Jackson faced only one challenger, Saundra Pelletier, who received just five votes.
According to AP News, Jackson had already emerged as the clear favorite in the days leading up to the convention, with more than 480 of the 601 delegates committed to supporting him.
The circumstances have drawn criticism. More than 156,000 Democratic primary ballots were cast for Platner before his withdrawal—votes that some argue were effectively set aside through the party convention process.
Jackson’s Unconventional Political Journey
Jackson, 58, brings a distinctive political biography to the race. He first ran for office as a Republican in 2000, was elected to the Maine House as an independent in 2002, and switched to the Democratic Party in 2004. He served as Maine Senate President from 2018 to 2024 before leaving the statehouse.
His working-class identity is central to his appeal. Jackson led a weeklong loggers’ blockade along the Maine–Quebec border in the late 1990s to protest the hiring of Canadian workers. He later helped run Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign in Maine, helping Sanders win the state’s caucus.
His platform includes Medicare for All, expanded union rights, affordable housing, and restoring abortion access—positions that have evolved significantly from his earlier anti-abortion and socially conservative views.
At the convention, Jackson addressed his progressive credentials directly. “When the people in power refuse to listen, you have to organize, you have to stand in solidarity, together. And you have to make them listen,” he said.
When asked about being described as a “Bernie Bro” by Collins, he replied: “I don’t really care. What I am is a guy from northern Maine that’s a logger.”
The Collins Factor
Susan Collins, 73, has not lost an election in three decades and is seeking her seventh term. She has raised more than $16 million and holds a significant financial advantage over Jackson, whose campaign has reported raising over $1 million since entering the race.
The Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC, has committed to spending over $42 million in advertising against Jackson. The Republican National Committee has already begun attacking Jackson as “a Platner apologist, a radical Bernie Bro,” according to RNC spokesperson Kristen Cianci.
Collins’ campaign spokesperson, Shawn Roderick, argued that Jackson “will attempt to sell Mainers a multi-trillion dollar bill of goods based on rhetoric that will make everything sound free.”
But analysts note that Collins may be vulnerable in a state that has grown increasingly Democratic at the presidential level. Trump lost Maine’s statewide popular vote by nearly 13 points in 2024, even as he won one of its two congressional districts.
As The New York Times reported, University of Maine political scientist Mark Brewer put the stakes bluntly: “If they lose Maine, they cannot take over the Senate. It’s that simple.”
Amy Fried, also a political scientist at the University of Maine, told the Times that Collins “has a brand that is out of touch with many voters in this state, particularly younger voters.”
National Implications
Democrats view Maine as their best opportunity to flip a Senate seat in 2026. The chamber is closely divided, and Democrats face a difficult map that requires defending open seats in Michigan and Minnesota while flipping races in Maine, North Carolina, Alaska, and Ohio.
Both Jackson and Collins are from Aroostook County in northern Maine—a heavily Republican region where potato farming and timber are economic pillars. Both candidates will compete to position themselves as defenders of Maine’s traditional industries, including lobster fishing and tourism, as AP News noted.
What’s Next
Jackson faces an uphill battle with less than 100 days until the November 3 election. He must close a massive fundraising gap, consolidate the Democratic base after Platner’s collapse, and convince Maine’s large bloc of independent voters that it is time for a change after three decades of Collins’ representation.
The general election is expected to be one of the most closely watched—and most expensive—Senate races in the country. With control of the Senate hanging in the balance, all eyes will be on Maine.