ALLAGASH, MAINE — Troy Jackson is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine. He will face Republican Senator Susan Collins in the November election.

Jackson replaced Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee after Platner exited the race following a sexual assault allegation that he denied. The Maine Democratic Party selected Jackson at a special convention to fill the vacancy on the ballot.

He won 566 of 571 delegates at the gathering held at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor on July 25, 2026, according to earlier coverage. The party operated under a deadline set by state law to name a new nominee by Monday, July 27, 2026, to provide replacement information to the secretary of state’s office.

Collins is a five-term incumbent U.S. Senator who has chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee since 2025. She is 73 years old, while Jackson is 58.

He presents himself as a hardworking representative of northern Maine's logging community who understands economic struggle. He is from Aroostook County and began working as a lumberjack at age 19 in Allagash, Maine.

Allagash has a population of about 230 people. Louie Pelletier, the brother of Jackson's longtime partner Lana Pelletier, is a former logger who now runs his family’s wood shop in the town.

He worked 12-hour shifts starting at 2:30 a.m. during his time in the industry. His logging jobs often did not offer health insurance.

"What I am is a guy from northern Maine that’s a logger," he said during his nomination acceptance speech last month. He accepted the nomination at the convention in Bangor.

"Everyone in that profession works hard for our families. We did follow the rules. But the harder we worked, the more that companies took from us," he said. "And further behind we would fall."

Nearly 30 years ago, he participated in a logger blockade near the Quebec border to protest Canadian loggers working for lower wages. State Police troopers threatened to arrest him and other loggers during the action. Hilton Hafford is a logger who stood with him at the blockade.

The logger blockade failed to stop the employment of Canadian loggers. As of late July, only one campaign sign for him was visible from the main road in Allagash. Darlene Dumond, who works at a restaurant in Allagash, supports him.

He served as president and majority leader of the Maine Senate from 2018 to 2024. He previously served as president of the Maine State Senate.

His political path included several electoral defeats. He first ran for state office as a Republican but failed to collect enough support. He won election to the Maine Legislature as an independent before becoming a Democrat in 2004.

He failed to secure the Democratic nomination for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District in 2014. He came in third place in the June 9 primary for governor of Maine. In 2023, he lost a race for first selectman in Allagash by six votes.

Early in his political career, he previously opposed abortion and same-sex marriage. He has reversed his previous opposition to both issues.

Janet Mills is the Democratic Governor of Maine. She ran against Graham Platner for the Senate nomination but dropped out citing a lack of campaign money. Mills has declined to endorse him.

He acknowledges past behavioral issues and takes responsibility for them. At one point, he threw a plastic water bottle on the ground in frustration while disagreeing with a female lawmaker.

"I wear my heart on my sleeve," he said when asked by reporters about confrontations with lawmakers. He said he took responsibility for his outburst and apologized to those he had confrontations with at the time.

Collins maintains her legislative record, including her Supreme Court vote, despite disagreeing with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. She voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Collins has stated she disagrees with the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. She has also stated she does not regret her vote to confirm Kavanaugh.

Why It Matters

This election pits a five-term incumbent against a candidate whose career shifted from logging protests to legislative leadership after multiple electoral defeats. His reversal on social issues and history of party changes contrast with Collins' established record, including her Supreme Court confirmation vote. The race determines whether Maine's representation remains with an experienced senator or shifts to a nominee defined by economic struggle in a rural community.