Troy Jackson sprints into Maine's Senate race with barely 100 days to prove Democrats can finally dislodge a Republican incumbent they've targeted for years. The former state Legislature president becomes his party's nominee Saturday after a chaotic primary collapse that forced a convention selection, but his path to victory against Susan Collins remains as treacherous as the northern Maine terrain he knows well.
Jackson, a former logger from Allagash, emerged as Democrats' consensus choice after primary winner Graham Platner withdrew following a sexual assault allegation, which he denied. Jackson edged out pharmaceutical executive Saundra Pelletier at county delegate meetings, with all major opponents bowing out before Saturday's Bangor convention.
For national Democrats, Maine represents one of their few realistic pickups if they hope to gain control of the Senate this fall. They need four seats. But Collins, seeking a sixth term, has defied political gravity before, maintaining power even as her state shifted left. She's the only Republican senator from a state President Trump lost in 2024.
Jackson's message cuts at Collins' decades in office. At campaign rallies, he hammered her record of expressing concern without delivering results. "In nearly 30 years, Susan Collins has told Mainers that she is concerned. She's told us that she is troubled," he told supporters in Sanford. "Too often she's stood with Donald Trump and the corporations that already have too much power."
He cited her votes for tax cuts benefiting corporations and her support for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose vote helped overturn abortion rights. Collins has largely escaped blame for such decisions by marketing herself as a moderate check on the Trump agenda, a brand that has worked since 1996.
The Collins campaign dismissed Jackson as weak. "Troy Jackson is showing us the low-energy version of the Graham Platner campaign," said spokeswoman Blake Kernen, noting Jackson finished third in the Democratic gubernatorial primary just weeks ago. That comment reveals the Collins team's confidence heading into a general election against a candidate who struggled in affluent Portland suburbs and performed best among working-class rural voters.
Running up the score in blue strongholds
Jackson's path depends on reshaping Maine's electoral map in Democrats' favor. Democratic strategist David Farmer outlined a mathematics-focused strategy: Jackson doesn't need to expand Collins' appeal. He just needs Democrats to turn out en masse in Portland and other traditional strongholds without the defections that plagued 2020.
Where Collins truly dominates, however, is among the voters who cross party lines. In 2020, independents who backed Joe Biden by 24 points still voted for Collins by 3 points. Moderates swung 24 points for Biden but chose Collins by 7 points. Women broke for Biden by 23 points, yet voted Collins by 3 points.
Jackson's strongest asset is geography. Being from Aroostook County himself, he represents the first time Collins faces an opponent from her own rural stronghold. Democrats banking on Jackson believe his working-class roots and demonstrated strength in his state Senate district could limit Collins' typical rural landslides to single digits, changing the entire electoral equation.
"The working class has been left behind and forgotten about," said Shelly Mountain, a former Aroostook County Democratic Committee chair backing Jackson. "He's been a champion for the working class."
But he also carries vulnerabilities. Republicans are preparing to weaponize his two-decade legislative record, his past closeness to the now-toxic Platner, and his fiery temperament. Collins is already branding him as ideologically out of step, invoking Bernie Sanders support and labeling Jackson a "Bernie bro" and someone aligned with "democratic socialists."
GOP strategist Lance Dutson acknowledged Jackson's rural appeal but said his left-wing policies negate it. "If you're from Aroostook County but you're standing onstage with Bernie Sanders, that's a massive disconnect," Dutson said.
Jackson's supporters view his passion differently. Organic farmer Jim Gerritsen, who has worked with Jackson on legislation, said his intensity is exactly what Maine needs. "I'm all for him getting strong to fight for us because we know that Susan Collins has never lifted a finger to fight for the working class," Gerritsen said.
The money chase will define these next 101 days. Jackson raised over $600,000 in roughly 72 hours after announcing his Senate run July 8, topping $1 million since then. But Collins had $11 million in the bank as of late June, with Republican groups preparing to spend millions more. Democratic groups are mobilizing to help, with Senate Majority Leader Kirsten Gillibrand pledging full party support once Jackson clinches the nomination.
Jackson also benefits from Democratic unity in ways that eluded Platner. Carol Eisenberg, a Portland lawyer who backed Maine Gov. Janet Mills in the primary and hesitated on Platner, said Jackson has her full support. That willingness to consolidate may matter more in a race where Collins won by 9 points in 2020 even as Biden won the state by the same margin.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Jackson gives Maine Democrats a real shot at unseating Collins by turning the race into a working-class referendum rather than another moderate versus moderate showdown."
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