Troy Jackson, the Democratic Senate candidate in Maine, is working to distance himself from the far-left label, rejecting the socialist description despite past support from controversial streamer Hasan Piker and the Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
“I don’t really consider myself anything. I’m upset a lot at the Democratic Party. What I know is I fight for working-class people,” Jackson told CNN’s Manu Raju when asked whether he considers himself a socialist.
Jackson swiftly became the grassroots movement’s preferred choice to replace scandal-plagued oyster farmer Graham Platner, who ended his campaign after being accused of rape, an allegation he denied.
Progressive activists inferred that Jackson shared many of Platner’s views. The two men had campaigned together repeatedly, and Jackson served as president of the Maine Senate from 2018 to 2024.
“[I]f the dem establishment think [sic] that they can risk the senate majority by not replacing platner with an acceptable substitute – we will be risking a loss to susan collins,” Piker wrote on X as Democrats scrambled to find a replacement for Platner. “[T]roy jackson is him!”
Piker, who drew widespread criticism after saying in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11” — comments he later said he regretted because they supplied ammunition to conservative opponents — has become a liability for Democrats in the political arena.
Piker’s association with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed has further complicated Democratic efforts to retain Michigan’s Senate seat, while giving Republicans an opening for attacks that have prompted other Democrats to keep their distance.
“No, I honestly had never. I actually didn’t know a lot about him either,” Jackson said earlier this month on Crooked Media’s “What a Day” podcast when asked about Piker.
Jackson also received the Maine DSA’s endorsement during his campaign for governor — an endorsement he highlighted proudly on social media in May.
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“To the loggers, farmers, teachers, truck drivers, nurses, postal workers, shipbuilders, childcare providers, and everyone else who makes this state run while getting run down in the process: let’s take back what’s ours,” he wrote on X at the time.
Jackson finished third in Maine’s Democratic gubernatorial primary. His allies now emphasize that the Maine DSA has not endorsed anyone in the Senate contest.
The national DSA has effectively advocated abolishing the executive branch and the Senate, while also calling for a Supreme Court subordinate to Congress.
“No,” Jackson told MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” when asked whether he supports the national DSA platform. “But, I mean, what I do support is a government that works for everyday people.”
Jackson’s appeal among progressive grassroots voters is partly rooted in his role leading Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign operations in Maine.
Sanders later returned the favor, endorsing Jackson during his gubernatorial campaign and again in the current Senate race.
Jackson holds a 1.8 percentage-point lead over Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling average. Collins, however, has a record of significantly outperforming polling projections.