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troy jackson
'You Don't Get to Buy the Government That You Want,' Troy Jackson Tells Elon Musk
Musk reportedly plans to spend at least $100 million to help Sen. Susan Collins and other vulnerable Republicans across the United States.
Aug 03, 2026
Troy Jackson, the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Maine, delivered a video response on Sunday to mega-billionaire Elon Musk's plan to spend at least $100 million to aid Sen. Susan Collins and other Republicans in key races across the country.
The New York Times reported that Musk, through his America PAC, intends to "spend $100 million to $120 million on a new field program in at least eight states to help elect Republicans in November." The group, according to the Times, "plans to initially target Senate races in at least five states—Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, and Ohio—and is having conversations about the contests in North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas."
"Apparently Elon Musk has gotten off Twitter long enough to realize that he's got a real problem here in Maine," Jackson, the former president of Maine's Senate, said in a one-minute response to the report on America PAC's spending plans. "The problem is me and you, working to try and get a government that we should have, that we deserve."
"He wants to have people that are totally beholden to him and [President] Donald Trump making sure that we're getting tax cuts for billionaires on the back of our healthcare system, on the back of our hospitals," Jackson continued. "That's what Elon Musk wants. He doesn't care about us. Really doesn't care about Susan. He cares about him. So I would say to you Elon: Maine and really the whole United States doesn't want your dirty money in our politics. You don't get to buy the government that you want. This is about all of us coming together and fighting for the government that we deserve, and you're not in it."
The Times reported that Musk's super PAC is "closely coordinating with an ecosystem of outside groups that are preparing field campaigns, including Americans for Prosperity, which is part of the billionaire Koch brothers’ political network, and the Sentinel Action Fund, another conservative organization."
Musk became the world's first trillionaire earlier this year with the public market debut of SpaceX, whose subsequent decline in market cap pushed his net worth back down to around $690 billion—still the largest individual fortune in the world.
With his intervention in Maine, Musk joins nearly 100 other billionaires who are financially supporting Collins' bid for a sixth US Senate term. Billionaire support has helped give Collins a massive fundraising advantage over Jackson, who was nominated just last month to replace Graham Platner on the general election ballot.
In the two days following his nomination, Jackson raised $2 million from 58,000 donors, including 30,000 new contributors—a major show of small-dollar support.
"We’re all getting crushed out here. Healthcare, housing, heat," Jackson says in his first general election campaign ad, which is set to begin airing this week. “We’ve gotta fight back. We’re all hungry for it. Maine is ready for a change."
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Ms. Rachel Signals Support for El-Sayed, Jackson, McKinney, and Other Candidates Who 'Care About All Kids'
"I think all kids and people should have medical care, I don't think anyone needs a billion dollars ever, I think all kids should be safe from violence, I think parents should be able to afford high-quality childcare if they want it."
Jul 31, 2026
The online child educator known as Ms. Rachel on Friday used her massive platform on Instagram to promote a dozen progressive Democrats running for seats in the US Senate and House of Representatives.
"These are the folks I believe care about all kids," wrote Rachel Accurso, whose wildly popular videos are designed to encourage language development. She asked her more than 5 million followers to share "which candidates you're voting for and why."
Accurso is supporting:
- Becca Balint in Vermont's At-Large Congressional District;
- Cori Bush in Missouri's 1st Congressional District;
- Abdul El-Sayed for US Senate in Michigan;
- Peggy Flanagan for US Senate in Minnesota;
- Troy Jackson for US Senate in Maine;
- Jarrett Keohokalole in Hawaii's 1st Congressional District;
- Oliver Larkin in Florida's 25th Congressional District;
- William Lawrence in Michigan's 7th Congressional District;
- Elijah Manley in Florida's 20th Congressional District;
- Donavan McKinney in Michigan's 13th Congressional District;
- Angie Nixon for US Senate in Florida; and
- Justin Pearson in Tennessee's 9th Congressional District.
"I think politicians shouldn't attack each other and I don't think big groups should be able to use millions to attack candidates," Accurso asserted. From her home state of Maine to Michigan, super political action committees (PACs) and billionaires have spent big to boost "moderate" Democrats and Republicans amid a recent series of progressive primary victories.
"I'm for peace and kindness always but that doesn't mean not telling the truth and not standing up against injustice," said the educator, who has outraged right-wingers for speaking out against Israel's assault on Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip.
Accurso wrote that "I'm for the kids, I'm for the people—I think all kids and people should have medical care, I don't think anyone needs a billion dollars ever, I think all kids should be safe from violence, I think parents should be able to afford high-quality childcare if they want it/a parent should be able to stay home if they want to."
"I think everyone should be able to feed their kids and have high-quality schools without stress—I just love literally everyone," she added.
Balint is seeking a third term in the House. As the presumptive Democratic nominee, she is expected to face the Republican who wins the August 11 primary—likely Gerald Malloy, an Army veteran and defense contractor who previously ran for Senate, according to recent polling.
Bush—who was previously part of the progressive "Squad" in Congress—is hoping to reclaim the seat she lost last cycle to Democratic Rep. Wesley Bell, who was financially backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's super PAC, the United Democracy Project (UDP). Their primary is August 4.
During this cycle, UDP is targeting El-Sayed, who is facing Congresswoman Haley Stevens in Michigan's August 4 Democratic primary. After Accurso contributed $3,000 to El-Sayed, Samantha Cantrell, a spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee told the New York Post last Saturday that "Abdul El-Sayed and Ms. Rachel are one and the same, forcing their socialist, they/them, anti-America agenda on our children, and parents should be worried when they head to the ballot box."
Flanagan, Minnesota's lieutenant governor, is running to replace Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, who decided not to seek reelection and is supporting the progressive. Polling conducted in the lead-up to the August 11 primary for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party shows Flanagan ahead of Congresswoman Angie Craig.
Maine Democrats last weekend nominated Jackson, a former state Senate president and logger, to challenge longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November. He replaced Graham Platner, who stepped aside after sexual assault allegations, which he denied. Platner's surge in popularity and series of scandals have drawn national attention to the race.
Keohokalole is running to oust incumbent Democratic Rep. Ed Case, who is currently leading in polls. According to Hawaii Public Radio, the state senator "decided to run for Congress after seeing how Case reacted to immigration agents holding teachers at gunpoint on Maui." Their primary is August 8.
Larkin is challenging another Democratic incumbent: Florida Congressman Jared Moskowitz. As the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Friday, Larkin is "a democratic socialist inspired to get involved in politics by progressive icon US Sen. Bernie Sanders," a Vermont Independent. Their primary is August 18.
Lawrence, a co-founder of the youth-led climate organization Sunrise Movement, is hoping to beat former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam and Bridget Brink, who was previously US ambassador to Slovakia and Ukraine, in Michigan's primary on August 4.
Manley aims to represent a Florida district impacted by Republicans' mid-decade map-rigging at the request of President Donald Trump. Longtime Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has faced criticism for opting to run in this primary, scheduled for August 18.
Backed by progressives in Congress including Sanders and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), McKinney is running to unseat Democratic Michigan Congressman Shri Thanedar, who has support from key party leaders in the House. The pair faces off in the August 4 primary.
Nixon "is running an unapologetically progressive campaign" against Alex Vindman, a retired US Army lieutenant colonel who was a key witness in Trump's first impeachment trial. The winner of the August 18 primary will face Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, who was appointed last year and is now seeking a full term.
Pearson, known nationally for being expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives by Republicans over his protest for stricter gun laws, is running in the Memphis district targeted by GOP gerrymandering efforts. After the redistricting, Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen opted to retire. The primary is August 6.
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'I'm Humbled Beyond Words': Troy Jackson Raises $2 Million After Maine Senate Nomination
"People across Maine and the country are ready to come together and finish the job" of defeating Susan Collins, said the Democratic candidate.
Jul 27, 2026
With Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins backed by nearly 100 billionaires, Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson has been open about the fact that beating Collins in November will be an uphill battle—but he said Monday that $2 million that's poured in from small donors in recent days gave him hope about the "extraordinary grassroots momentum" behind his campaign.
Jackson officially became the Democratic nominee on Saturday at the party's convention—planned in a matter of weeks after former nominee Graham Platner dropped out due to rape allegations—with Democrats across the state apparently eager to throw their support behind a candidate who backs the same progressive policies that his predecessor did.
Since securing the nomination, said Jackson's campaign Monday, he has raised $2 million from more than 58,000 donors, including 30,000 new contributors.
"I'm humbled beyond words by the tens of thousands of people who have stepped up to become part of this campaign," said Jackson in a statement. "Every contribution—whether it was $5, $20, or more—is a vote of confidence in the working-class movement we're building together."
Without a billionaire-backed super political action committee (PAC) like the one set up by Collins' allies, Pine Tree Results—which is planning to spend $20 million on attack ads against Jackson this fall, according to The New York Times, the fifth-generation logger and former state Senate president is relying on donations that must be $3,500 or smaller per donor.
Collins' campaign and her allies have reserved about $60 million in air time for ads through the fall, according to AdImpact, while the Democrats have allocated about $24 million for ads in Maine.
Jackson told The New York Times Monday that he will likely need to raise at least $40 million-$50 million to beat Collins due to her fundraising advantage, but emphasized that he believes he is in a good position to win voters over based on the issues they'll be voting on in November.
“I’m going to definitely bust my ass in these next four months to make up the difference," Jackson said regarding the fundraising challenge. “And in the end, I think I’m on the right side of the issues compared to Susan Collins. So I feel very good about the race.”
Jackson is a strong supporter of Medicare for All, abolishing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ending US military support for Israel, and taxing the ultrawealthy and corporations to address massive wealth inequality in the US—all issues that are increasingly popular with voters.
"In the end, I think I’m on the right side of the issues compared to Susan Collins. So I feel very good about the race.”
He has condemned Collins, the chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, in recent weeks for backing President Donald Trump's agenda and for her vote to fund ICE earlier this year—expressing anger over the vote after a federal agent fatally shot a young father in Biddeford, Maine earlier this month.
A poll released by University of New Hampshire last week showed 49% of respondents backing Jackson, compared with 46% who supported Collins.
"Susan Collins has spent years voting with Donald Trump 96% of the time, helping him stack the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and supporting an agenda that guts healthcare while handing more power to billionaires and corporations," said Jackson Monday. "Defeating her won't be easy, and we'll need everyone in this fight."
The early fundraising numbers, said Jackson, prove "that people across Maine and the country are ready to come together and finish the job."
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'30 Years of Collins. 100 Days to End It': Maine Dems Nominate Troy Jackson for Senate
“We are not from the left. We are not from the right. We are from the bottom. And we are rising," the longtime labor advocate and lumberjack said.
Jul 25, 2026
Maine Democrats on Saturday overwhelmingly nominated Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president and logger by trade, as their party's nominee to challenge longtime Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November's high-stakes US Senate election.
"Well, thank you, Maine," Jackson, 58, said after securing the votes of 566 of 571 delegates during Saturday's special Democratic convention at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. "Today we turn the page, today this becomes a general election campaign, and today we win the work of defeating Susan Collins in November."
“For nearly 30 years, Collins has told Maine that she is 'concerned',” Jackson said, referring to the 73-year-old incumbent's go-to word when President Donald Trump and Republicans attack rights and justice. “She was concerned while she rubber-stamped Trump’s Medicaid cuts and gutted our healthcare."
"She’s concerned when she cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy," he continued. "Concerned when she confirmed justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. And really tragically, she was concerned when she gave [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] billions to terrorize our neighbors and murder people in the streets with no accountability.”
“But concern does not lower the costs of groceries or gas," Jackson said. "Concern does not keep our monitoring wards of rural hospitals like down in Lincoln County open. Concern does not restore all the rights that she’s taken away. Maine does not need another six years of concern. We need someone with courage. We need a fighter, and we need a senator who remembers exactly who sent them to Washington.”
"So if you've ever been ignored, underestimated, pushed around, or told that you have to wait your turn while the rich cut the line, I'm asking you to stand with us in this campaign," he continued. "If you believe in your heart that healthcare is a right, stand with us. And if you believe that workers deserve power, stand with us. And if you believe our freedoms are worth defending, stand with us."
"And if you believe that Maine deserves a senator who will fight like hell for working-class people, well, stand with us," Jackson added. "We have a party to unite, we have a movement to build, and we have a senator to defeat."
- YouTube
Jackson's improbably rapid rise followed former Democratic nominee Graham Platner's withdrawal from the race earlier this month amid allegations of sexual assault and abusive behavior. Supporters of Platner's progressive platform warned at the time that they would not back a replacement candidate who did not share the same pro-worker, anti-war agenda.
While Collins spokeswoman Blake Kernen called Jackson a "low-energy version" of Platner, Maine Democrats decided the fifth-generation lumberjack fit the bill.
“The working class has been left behind and forgotten about,” Shelly Mountain, a former Aroostook County Democratic Committee chairwoman and Jackson delegate at the convention, told NBC News. “He is definitely working class and always—has always—been a champion for the working class.”
Progressive politicians, advocacy groups, and labor organizations cheered Jackson's nomination, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) saying that "he's ready to fight for working people and flip this seat."
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) president Brian Bryant said Saturday that “Troy Jackson knows firsthand what it means to work hard for a living and fight for a better future for working families."
“Throughout his career, he has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with union members and working people, never backing down from a challenge when workers’ rights were on the line," he added. "He represents the strength of a people-powered movement focused on fairness, opportunity, and economic justice. Troy has our full support as he heads to the general election.”
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‘ICE Is Her Running Mate’: Maine Democrats Spotlight Collins' Support for Rogue Trump Agency
"Susan Collins is directly responsible for handing ICE a blank check," said a top Maine Democratic official.
Jul 23, 2026
With Troy Jackson securing enough delegates to become the Maine Democratic Party's nominee for the US Senate at an unprecedented convention this coming weekend, party strategists and leaders have intensified their efforts to tie incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins to the Trump administration's grave abuses.
In an interview with The New Republic published Thursday, Devon Murphy-Anderson, executive director of the Maine Democratic Party, singled out Collins' votes to fund US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a significant vulnerability.
Anti-ICE protests in Maine erupted earlier this month after the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Colombian national Joan Sebastian Guerrero, who was killed by federal immigration agents in front of his six-year-old daughter during a traffic stop.
While Collins lobbied the US Department of Homeland Security to pause traffic stops in the wake of the shooting, President Donald Trump rebuffed her request and said the stops should continue.
Murphy-Anderson told The New Republic that Collins can't escape blame for ICE violence given her role in voting to hand the agency a record amount of money.
Last week, days after Guerrero was killed by a federal agent, Collins declined to say she regretted voting for additional ICE funding.
" Susan Collins is directly responsible for handing ICE a blank check," said Murphy-Anderson. "This is front and center now in our communities. And we are going to hold her accountable in November."
While attacking Collins' votes to fund ICE won't be the entirety of Maine Democrats' strategy for taking on Collins, Murphy-Anderson emphasized that the shooting of Guerrero is "viscerally" affecting voters "across broad segments of our electorate."
Jackson on Tuesday targeted Collins' votes for ICE in a social media post.
"Susan Collins lied to Mainers," Jackson wrote. "She helped destroy Roe v. Wade, she advanced Trump's $990 billion Medicaid cuts, and she gave ICE $70 billion continue its rogue terror campaign."
Susan Collins lied to Mainers. She helped destroy Roe v. Wade, she advanced Trump's $990 billion Medicaid cuts, and she gave ICE $70 billion continue its rogue terror campaign.
Together, we will replace her with a Senator who gives a damn about working people in this country. pic.twitter.com/2B8VmQJsuB
— Troy Jackson (@TroyJackson207) July 21, 2026
Maine Democrats' plan to make Collins' support for ICE an anchor around her neck drew praise from Nicholas Grossman, professor of international relations at the University of Illinois.
"Anti-ICE is pro-freedom," Grossman wrote in a social media post. "That stance is moral, patriotic, and a political winner. Susan Collins' pro-ICE votes are an electoral liability she didn't have in previous races. And an ICE officer with a history of domestic abuse recently killed an innocent man in Maine. Definitely campaign on that."
Adam Gurri, founder and publisher of Liberal Currents, said that pinning ICE's actions directly on Collins was a smart tactic to undermine her image as a "moderate" Republican.
"We can’t let her play this game she’s been doing her whole damn career," wrote Gurri, "where she gives her vote to every evil policy but then play acts being the mediator for how the policy is deployed."
Journalist Jason Sattler argued that Collins' support for ICE funding opens up a new line of attack on her.
"ICE is her running mate," Sattler wrote.
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Leading Collins in New Poll, Jackson Says Maine Can't Afford 6 More Years of GOP Senator's 'Concern'
"For 30 years, Susan Collins has told us that she's concerned, she's told us that she's troubled, and she's told us that she's disappointed, but when the stakes are the absolute highest, too often, she stood with Donald Trump."
Jul 22, 2026
With three days to go until Maine's statewide convention, where delegates will officially nominate the Democratic US Senate candidate who will face Republican Sen. Susan Collins, presumptive nominee Troy Jackson is hitting the ground running—denouncing Collins' repeated claims of "concern" over the MAGA agenda she's enabled as he points to recent polling in his favor.
"Working Mainers can’t afford six more years of 'concern,'" Jackson said on social media Tuesday evening after the University of New Hampshire released polling from July 15-20 that showed 49% of respondents backing the former state Senate president and logger, compared with 46% who supported the five-term senator.
The poll was released days after Jackson swept last weekend's 16 county-level nominating meetings, where voters selected the delegates who will go to the convention on Saturday. Jackson won 478 out of 500 delegates who were voted on last weekend; 100 state committee members will also take part in the convention, and how they intend to vote is unknown, but Jackson has emerged as the clear front-runner after former candidate Graham Platner dropped out of the race due to sexual assault allegations, which he denied.
Following the county meetings, Jackson's top opponents, including Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, epidemiologist Nirav Shah, and activist Jordan Wood, dropped out of the race and endorsed him.
Jackson, who ran for governor earlier this year, has also received endorsements from top labor unions in Maine and current and former state lawmakers, while garnering $1 million from more than 25,000 donors since he first expressed interest in succeeding Platner as the Democratic candidate just over two weeks ago.
"Susan Collins has billionaires. We have a movement," said Jackson on Wednesday.
He also posted a video of a recent speech he gave in York County, emphasizing his desire to include all working people in his push to unseat Collins.
"There is a place for you in this movement, because we're not going to defeat Susan Collins by making this movement smaller," said Jackson. "I know what happens when working people decide that they've had enough. When we do, we stand up, we lock arms, we fight back, and then we win."
I know what happens when working people decide that they've had enough. Together, we'll make sure Susan Collins and the Republicans find out soon. pic.twitter.com/6p5S5EHtdm
— Troy Jackson (@TroyJackson207) July 22, 2026
Jackson also sought on Wednesday to tie Collins, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, to President Donald Trump. He has previously pointed to Collins' vote in favor of funding US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, particularly in light of an ICE agent's killing of Biddeford, Maine resident Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, and on Wednesday posted a photo of Collins with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
The senator presided over a committee hearing Tuesday regarding the cost of Trump's $37.5 billion war on Iran, and signaled a willingness to provide $33 billion more.
"For 30 years, Susan Collins has told us that she's concerned, she's told us that she's troubled, and she's told us that she's disappointed, but when the stakes are the absolute highest, too often, she stood with Donald Trump," said Jackson at a recent rally. "We need courage, we need a fighter, and we need someone who remembers exactly who sent them to Washington."
Since announcing his candidacy, Jackson has also spoken out in favor of Medicare for All—supported by 78% of Democrats, 71% of Independents, and nearly half of Republicans in a Data for Progress poll last year—and on Tuesday Collins attacked him as "firmly aligned with the democratic socialists."
Candidates who are members of the Democratic Socialists of America and who back universal social programs have won recent elections in New York, Colorado, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Jackson told NBC News Tuesday: "I see myself as a Mainer and a working-class person. You know, we have socialism in the state with public schools, with plowing the roads... I don’t see myself as anything but a guy that wants to make good change for people I care about.”
On social media, he turned Collins' frequent refrain back around on her.
"Very concerned," he said.
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Troy Jackson Says He Wouldn't Support Schumer as Senate Democratic Leader
“The Democratic Party needs to have a different approach," said Jackson, "and I don’t believe it’s going to happen with Sen. Schumer."
Jul 21, 2026
In Maine, endorsements have poured in over the past several days for former state Senate President Troy Jackson after county-level committee votes over the weekend, where the fifth-generation logger secured the support of more than two-thirds of the delegates who will attend a statewide convention to nominate the Democratic US Senate candidate on July 25.
But while welcoming the support of labor unions and his former opponents in the contest to replace Graham Platner, Jackson said the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is not something he'll pursue. Jackson also said that, if elected to the Senate, he would not support Schumer as leader of the chamber's Democratic caucus.
“The Democratic Party needs to have a different approach—getting people back in the party, getting working-class, everyday people back in the party—and I don’t believe it’s going to happen with Sen. Schumer,” Jackson told The New York Times in an interview published Tuesday.
Regarding support from Schumer and the national party, Jackson said there would "have to be no strings."
“I’d have to find out what that entailed,” added Jackson, a former logger with strong labor ties. “I mean, if his help comes, absolutely no strings."
Like progressives who have won recent primary races in New York and Colorado and are running in states including Michigan and Florida, Jackson is a supporter of expanding Medicare to everyone in the US and has denounced US military aid for Israel. He has recently expressed support for abolishing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the agency's killing of Biddeford, Maine resident Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero and has called for new taxes on billionaires and "greedy corporations," echoing Platner, who ended his campaign earlier this month after being accused of sexual assault.
Last year, Schumer pushed Democratic Gov. Janet Mills to run against Platner as the political newcomer was mobilizing voters from across the political spectrum all around the state with his working-class-focused platform.
Schumer is a strong supporter of continuing to provide Israel with military aid, even as leading Holocaust scholars and human rights organizations say the attacks the country has waged in Gaza since October 2023 amount to genocide.
Jackson told the Times that "obviously" progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) would be his first choice to succeed Schumer as Senate leader, but expressed doubt that the Democratic establishment would support the Vermont senator, who is consistently ranked as the most popular member of the Senate among voters.
“If I am lucky enough," Jackson said, "I guess I’ll have to survey the field."
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'Working-Class Organizing Wins': Troy Jackson Pulls Ahead in Race to Replace Platner in Maine
"We're well on our way to getting the government that we deserve," said Jackson.
Jul 19, 2026
As Democratic US Senate candidate Troy Jackson pulled far ahead of his opponents in the race to replace Graham Platner as the party's nominee on Saturday, one commentator credited the former state Senate president's campaign with an "extremely impressive organizational feat"—one that was focused on nominating a working-class champion.
Eight of Maine's 16 counties held in-person and virtual delegate nominating meetings on Saturday, deciding on the first 319 of 500 total delegates who will vote for the Democratic nominee at next weekend's convention, which was rapidly organized after Platner dropped out of the race last week following rape allegations that he denied.
At least 290 of the delegates who were chosen in the first eight counties backed Jackson, the Bangor Daily News reported. The former logger, who previously ran for governor, has deep union ties, and has been endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), won at least 148 of the 149 delegates in Cumberland County, all 44 delegates in Penobscot, and 22 of 23 in Hancock, dominating in several other counties as well.
The rest of the state's counties will vote on delegates at similar meetings on Sunday, but as one election watcher said, "Troy Jackson will almost certainly be the next Democratic nominee for Maine's 2026 US Senate election."
Jackson appeared confident enough in Saturday's results to announce a celebratory tailgate planned for Sunday in York County as voters there would be selecting delegates. The Maine State Nurses Association also announced its endorsement of the candidate on Sunday morning.
After Saturday's county meetings, Jackson addressed some of his supporters virtually, giving his volunteer network credit for quickly organizing on his behalf after many had previously expected to be campaigning for Platner, who spent nearly a year mobilizing Mainers from across the political spectrum with a platform focused on taxing billionaires, ending US "forever wars" and military aid for Israel, and passing Medicare for All.
"I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the hard, hard work. I've been getting text messages all day about what a great job I did. I didn't do a goddamn thing, all of you just smoked it," said Jackson in a video posted on social media. "It's really, really incredible, so thank you so much. We're well on our way to getting the government that we fucking deserve, and that's what I'm excited about."
Organized volunteers attended some of the county conventions, some wearing "Jackson for Maine" t-shirts leftover from the candidate's gubernatorial run and passing out flyers with the names of the pro-Jackson delegate slate—supporters whom volunteers had spent the past week calling to secure their commitment to the progressive candidate.
The eight remaining counties will select 181 more delegates on Sunday. Another 101 Democratic state committee members have already been chosen to attend the statewide convention on July 25. Together they make up the 601 delegates who will vote for the party's nominee.
The party's nominee will face five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins, whom Jackson has condemned in recent days for voting to fund US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which he has called to abolish. An ICE agent fatally shot 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine last week.
A poll by Wedgewood earlier this month found Jackson leading Collins in a hypothetical matchup, 48-43, with 9% of voters undecided.
Ahead of Saturday's meetings, Jackson addressed a crowd of about 100 supporters in Portland.
"I'm running for the logger in Allagash who does not think that anyone in Washington knows about them," said Jackson. "I'm running for the nurse that's working another double shift because their hospital is understaffed, and all the while billionaires and massive corporations are making record profits, buying influence in Washington, and telling the rest of us that there is just nothing that we can do."
“I’m asking for your vote, but I’m also asking for more than that,” he added. “I’m asking you to organize... I’m asking you to talk to your neighbors. I’m asking you to show up at your county meetings, make the calls, send the texts, and bring even more people into this movement.”
Writer Cole Sandick suggested that despite the excitement that Platner's campaign had generated, many of his supporters appeared to have quickly pivoted toward Jackson, also a Medicare for All supporter and opponent of military aid for Israel, in an effort to ensure progressive priorities are represented in the Senate.
"Working-class organizing wins," said one Maine-based writer.
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Susan Collins 'Must Be Held Accountable for Funding This Terror,' Says Troy Jackson After ICE Killing
"The one thing I know is they don't want us coming together to stop this bullshit, and that is what we have to do."
Jul 14, 2026
Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson was among the Mainers and progressives nationwide placing blame on Republican Sen. Susan Collins after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement shot and killed a 26-year-old Colombian man in the small southern Maine city of Biddeford Monday morning.
"Enough is enough. Susan Collins voted to send $70 billion dollars to ICE with no reforms. I'd abolish it altogether," Jackson said on social media Monday, sharing footage of the ICE Out rally in Biddeford after the fatal shooting of Joan Sebastian Guerrero.
A former candidate for governor and Maine state Senate president, Jackson is among several Democrats vying to replace primary winner Graham Platner on the November ballot and unseat Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. Maine residents descended on her office in Biddeford after the shooting.
"Susan Collins must be held accountable for funding this terror," Jackson reiterated Tuesday, sharing his remarks from Monday night's rally in Portland, about 18 miles northeast of where Guerrero—who was authorized to work in the United States and had a Social Security number, according to locate advocates—was gunned down by ICE agents reportedly looking for another man.
"This has got to end, and we have to abolish ICE," the Democratic candidate said. "And as sad as I am, I'm also very angry... I'm angry that Mr. Guerrero's not coming home tonight. I'm angry that he has a wife and a kid that will never see him again."
"I truly, truly believe in power of solidarity—and we have to stand together," he continued. "It is tough. It's hard, I know it. They want to make it hard. But the one thing I know is they don't want us coming together to stop this bullshit, and that is what we have to do. We have to remain vigilant. We have to stand up. We have to push back. We have to protect each other so that no more of these things happen."
"I don't want to see this happen again, and the only way we can do that is by pushing back and making sure that we don't have any more rallies like this, because it's damn depressing, it's damn heartbreaking, and it pisses me off to no end that we have to be in a world like this, but we can change it by standing together," Jackson added, also urging donations to the Maine Solidarity Fund to help Guerrero's family.
Collins on Monday called for "a full and impartial investigation" into Guerrero's killing and shared that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told her that "the Boston office of the DHS inspector general has taken over the investigation of the Biddeford shooting in cooperation with the FBI."
In addition to Jackson, various critics in Maine and across the country—including Nirav Shah and Jordan Wood, other Democrats running to replace Platner—have responded to the shooting by called out Collins for helping the GOP give ICE billions more in funding without reforms.
The fatal shooting has also spurred fresh calls from across the country to abolish ICE, which has injured and killed a growing number of US citizens and immigrants during President Donald Trump's mass detention and deportation campaign.
New York City's democratic socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, said late Monday: "This morning in Biddeford, Maine, a 26-year-old man said goodbye to his wife and daughter and left for work. Moments later he was dead, shot in the head by ICE agents, the second man ICE has killed in six days. ICE is killing our neighbors. ICE cannot be reformed. Abolish ICE."
Guerrero's killing came after ICE fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas last week. The 52-year-old was from Mexico. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that her government is seeking criminal charges in his and other deaths.
When asked about the recent killings in Texas and Maine on Monday, US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)—a progressive facing some pressure to run for the Senate or even president in future cycles—pointed to Republican funding for ICE.
While Mullin supposedly told Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) that Guerrero had "weaponized" a car he was driving—similar to DHS claims after previous shootings that were ultimately discredited by video footage—in this case, the department said on social media that "the vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon."
Multiple critics read the DHS statement as "a murder confession."
Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) responded that "ICE murdered a 26-year-old in front of his wife and daughter. It’s just pure evil. This statement makes clear there was no threat whatsoever. Our taxpayer dollars are funding a fascist murder machine. Abolish ICE, and prosecute anyone who carried out, ordered, or enabled crimes."
Collins announced Tuesday morning that "while the investigation of the Biddeford shooting is not yet complete, it raises sufficient critical questions that I spoke with DHS Secretary Mullin last night and urged him to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops."
Amid reporting that the Trump administration has given that order to ICE, Shah quickly fired back: "Sen. Collins voted to fully fund ICE without any guardrails. A single late-night phone call isn't going to cut it."
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Another Fatal Shooting Involving ICE—This Time in Maine
The shooting in the coastal town of Biddeford comes less than a week after Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed by federal immigration agents in Houston, Texas.
Jul 13, 2026
This is a developing story. Please check back for possible updates.
The speaker of Maine's state House of Representatives said the FBI was expected to investigate Monday morning after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were reportedly "involved" in a fatal shooting in Biddeford—the second shooting involving ICE on the streets of an American city in less than a week.
"This morning a shooting occurred in Biddeford," said Speaker Ryan Doughty Fecteau, a Democrat. "A person was killed. ICE was involved. State Police and the Department of Public Safety are now on scene to gather details and would expect the FBI to investigate as well."
Few details were known about the shooting initially. Some streets in the town, located about 18 miles south of Portland, were closed due to an "active crime scene," according to News Center Maine.
Former state Senate President Troy Jackson, a progressive who is running to be the state's Democratic candidate for US Senate, expressed solidarity with the town "and with all Mainers"—who include about 56,000 immigrants, many of whom have lived in fear of President Donald Trump's mass deportation and detention operation in recent months.
A Biddeford resident named Daniel Boucher told The Portland Press Herald he had heard a loud sound outside "like fireworks going off" while he was getting ready for work, and rushed to the window where he saw "an SUV trying to ram a small white car in the intersection" near his house.
Agents in vests stopped the car and pulled a man out of the vehicle.
“He was bleeding profusely from the head,” Boucher told the Press Herald. “He was talking. He said, ‘I tried to stop.'”
Another resident identified as Em said she thought she had heard several gunshots around 7:15 am:
Em, who asked to be identified only by first name because of her fear of ICE, watched from her window as the small white car circle in the intersection as if the driver had no control.The Press Herald posted a video showing a white car circling in an intersection before an officer appeared to try to stop it.
“Two plain clothes ICE agents with vests on pressed up against the driver’s side door trying to guide it to not hit anything,” she said. “All of a sudden it seemed like six people with vests on were running down the street. I didn’t know where they were coming from.”
Em said agents appeared to crash a vehicle into the smaller car to get it to stop, then the driver was pulled out.
“No one went to him and no one did anything,” she said, her voice choking with tears.
(Video: Portland Press Herald)
Another eyewitness, identified as 18-year-old Lucas Scott, described a car "trying to hit the ICE officer." Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said he had "some doubts as to intent" and noted that "trying to flee in panic is far more common than trying to hit anyone."
Trump's deployment of ICE in Maine briefly received national attention in January. Federal agents have continued to arrest members of immigrant communities in the state after Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) claimed she had received assurances from the Department of Homeland Security that the "surge" in ICE agents had ended.
Residents of Biddeford told the Press Herald they had noticed increased ICE activity in the historic working-class town in recent weeks.
Jordan Wood, an organizer who is also running for US Senate following former Democratic candidate Graham Platner's withdrawal from the race to unseat Collins, said Monday that "ICE is dangerously out of control and an embarrassment to our country."
"We are waiting for more details, and Mainers deserve the full truth," said Wood, adding a call to abolish ICE "and replace it with an agency that answers to the people."
The shooting came days after Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old construction worker in Houston, Texas, was killed by an ICE agent.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, another US Senate candidate, noted that at least 11 people have now been killed by ICE or Border Patrol agents this year.
The local group Biddeford Saco for Racial Justice said a protest would be held at nearby Mechanics Park at noon local time.
Jackson said he would be attending.
"We all need answers," he said in a video he posted on social media, "and we deserve to know what happened here."
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