Troy Jackson Replaces Platner In Maine Race

While outsiders are often most familiar with the winter sports resorts in the mountains or vacation hotspots along the coast (including Bath, where the Iron Works has long benefitted from incumbent Susan Collins’ clout), much of Maine is rural with many towns near the poverty line. Because of this, it’s critical for political candidates to adjust their messages to appeal to small farmers, itinerant loggers, and other agricultural workers, as well as to the more affluent voters employed in the vacation and tourist industries.

To all appearances, however, Maine voters are ready to retire incumbent Sen. Collins. While withdrawn candidate Graham Platner’s charisma no doubt helped, his aggressive criticism of Collins clearly appealed to the many Mainers who have been disappointed with Collins siding with the Trump administration on a majority of domestic and international issues, notwithstanding her claims of independence in a few areas. Many ME voters also remember her reassurance that her support for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh would not jeopardise womens’ right to abortion, which was rapidly shown to be illusory.

While Platner’s withdrawal in shame has undoubtedly disrupted plans to challenge Collins, his replacement, past State Senate President Troy Jackson offers a chance in the remaining months to reignite the fervor for replacing her. In particular, his avowed support for working class Mainers has been consistently strong, even to the point of controversy.

Many residents in the “North Woods” parts of Maine support themselves as independent loggers, contracting with larger companies to cut timber on those companies’ land and deliver logs to mills. In the mid to late 1990s, a wave of comparable independent loggers from Quebec and New Brunswick began crossing the U.S./Canada border and underbidding local Maine timbermen. In protest, Jackson played a prominent role in a blockade of border crossings, physically preventing the alleged interlopers from entering Maine. Lumber industry leaders condemned the action, saying it threatened the viability of one of the few active industries in the state’s most remote regions, fueling significant criticism of Jackson and his collaborators.

Despite its effect on logging, the action gave Jackson prominence on a statewide level, which he parlayed into a largely successful political careerdespite a few surprising defeats. Running first as a Republican, then as an Independent, Jackson, a graduate of University of Maine Fort Kent (his natal town in the same county as Sen. Collins), was elected in 2002 to the Maine House of Representatives, then joined the Democratic party in 2004. He served three terms before being elected to the state Senate in 2008, later rising to Minority Leader in 2016, then majority leader, and eventually president when the Democrats won the majority in 2018.

He lost a primary bid in 2014 for the U.S. House of Representatives and was similarly unsuccessful in a race for governor in 2026, finishing third with 29% of the vote. He also recently lost a bid for select board in his home town.

Jackson’s stances on many issues strong favor working Mainers and traditionally Democratic positions, though in some cases his earlier positions were more conservative. Although he won a perfect score from Maine Right to Life in the past for his support of fetus personhood for fetuses, hehas been supporting choice since at least 2017 when he voted against a fetal personhood bill. In 2019 he supported legislation to guarantee abortion coverage under Mainecare and he helped pass a law allowing abortion at any stage of pregnancy if medically advised. He has condemned the U.S. Supreme Court’s ending of abortion as a constitutional right, and in this race he is supporting federal legislation to guarantee that right.

Jackson has supported workers rights and wrote a bill in 2010 to ban the Maine State Department of Conservation from hiring out of state loggers.  Jackson has also condemned the Trump administration’s war on Iran, and labels the Gaza offensive of Israel as genocide. He has supported gambling rights for native Americans in Maine and has shifted his approach to gun control following a mass killing in Lewiston in 2023, now supporting a red flag law. He also supports Medicare for all.

Jackson has also rejected the current administration’s crackdown on immigrants, favoring abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency following a series of killings of protestors and other non-criminal victims.

At the same time, a Senate Republican fundraising organization has attacked Jackson for alleged verbal abuse and anger issues with women, including intimidation. Some colleagues in the state Senate also have commented that he is quick to anger. Nontheless, he was chosen by the state Democratic Party to replace Platner by a vote of 566 to 5, a margin which suggests broad support and bodes well for his effort.