The left is rallying around a logger from Allagash, despite his checkered past, as the Maine Democratic Party aims to replace Graham Platner, who has been accused of rape, with another “working-class hero.” Platner officially dropped out of the Senate race on Friday after Jenny Racicot accused him of raping her in 2021 while under the influence of alcohol. This change allows for a new candidate to take Platner’s place against Republican Susan Collins in the upcoming November midterm elections.
This election is crucial for determining which party will control the Senate.
Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger and former president of the Maine Senate, seems to be the apparent successor to Platner. “He was a lumberjack by trade, so he comes from the lineage of Maine loggers,” noted Kurt Bardella, a political strategist who has worked with members from both political parties.
Bardella also stated, “You’re going to start to see some real support behind Troy Jackson. If they don’t get this right, they’re in trouble; they need to win this.”
At 58, Jackson has campaigned alongside Platner and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) on the “Fighting the Oligarchies” tour earlier this year. He has been a longtime ally of Sanders and notably supported him over Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential run.
The political organization Our Revolution, founded by Sanders after his 2016 candidacy, announced its full support for Jackson’s Senate campaign, emphasizing Sanders’s commitment to advocating for working families.
Jackson also enjoys backing from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), an influential figure within the party and one of Platner’s closest allies.
While Jackson aligns with Platner’s left-populist views on economic matters and has been a strong advocate for him, his political record is marked by a history of controversial statements on social issues. He gained attention in 1998 for leading a blockade against Canadian workers at the border, and has faced criticism from within his party for some of his more nationalistic remarks.
Interestingly, Jackson began his political journey as a Republican—his first run for the Maine State House was in 2000. After losing, he switched to an independent candidacy, and finally became a Democrat in 2004.
Despite this evolution, some of his views remain rather conservative. He voted against same-sex marriage in 2009 and has historically held the stance that abortion should only be legal in cases of rape or incest, even under life-threatening circumstances for the mother. In 2011, he supported a state bill recognizing fetuses as human beings, and in 2013, he backed a measure requiring abortion counseling. Only in recent years has he claimed that his previous attitudes were shaped by his Catholic upbringing.
Jackson has continued to voice criticisms toward Canadian workers, expressing concern over their presence in Maine’s forests, and he even introduced a bill in 2022 aimed at restricting their entry, which was subsequently blocked by a federal judge. Jackson has vowed to keep pursuing this issue, viewing it as essential for local workers.
The Democratic Party’s strategy to reclaim the support of young white men comes in response to their losses in Congress and the White House following the 2024 elections. They hoped to achieve this with the rough-and-tumble image of Platner, but after his departure, Jackson emerges as another potential figure to harness that working-class appeal.
Even The Daily Show has poked fun at this trend, suggesting that Democratic consultants seem more interested in projecting a certain masculine image rather than focusing on substantive qualifications.
