Troy Jackson defeats Susan Collins after 100-day campaign
The former logger secured the Maine Senate seat following the abrupt exit of initial frontrunner Graham Platner.
By Nadia Rahman ·
Troy Jackson defeated Susan Collins in the Maine Senate race, ending the Republican’s 30-year tenure in the chamber. The result, confirmed in the early hours of Wednesday, November 4, marked a decisive shift for Democrats in a state where Collins had long held a structural advantage. Jackson celebrated in the same Holiday Inn ballroom in Portland that had hosted his predecessor’s rally months earlier, where supporters chanted his name and sang labor anthems.
The path to victory began in late July when Graham Platner, the initially favored Democratic candidate, dropped out of the race. Jackson, a former logger and unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate, stepped in to replace him. He had roughly 100 days to build a competitive campaign against one of the most durable politicians in American history. Many local party officials initially doubted his ability to fill Platner’s shoes, noting that Jackson lacked the dynamic oratory of his predecessor.
Jackson’s team quickly organized a massive ground operation. By election night, his campaign had held more than 100 public events, including 15 town halls, and conducted 115 media interviews. The group raised over $31 million from more than 280,000 contributors and knocked on over 410,000 doors. Senator Elizabeth Warren also contributed to his preparation, providing specific advice on stage presence during a private session before the October debates.
The campaign capitalized on national dissatisfaction with the Trump administration and local issues such as high fuel costs and immigration enforcement. Collins’s traditional strategy of appealing to independents through centrism failed to counter the wave of anti-Trump sentiment. Nirav Shah, a Maine public health official who had run against Jackson in the primary, noted that the defeat represented a rejection of Trumpism rather than just a personal loss for Collins.
Collins’s campaign manager told The Wall Street Journal after the result was clear that the team did not know what else they could have done. Democrats in Maine rejected that narrative, citing the difficult structural conditions created by the Platner exit. Glenn Cummings, a former Maine House speaker, suggested that negative advertising from Collins’s allies, particularly attacks on Jackson’s background as a logger, ultimately backfired.
The election results extended to the governor’s mansion and the state legislature. Hannah Pingree retained the governorship, and Democrats secured a supermajority in the state Senate. For local officials like Greg Marley, chairman of the Knox County Democrats, the victory validated the labor movement’s support for Jackson. Marley admitted he was initially a skeptic but grew confident in Jackson’s capabilities as the campaign progressed.
As of Wednesday, Jackson is set to assume office following the standard certification process. The Democratic Party in Maine now controls all three major branches of state government, a position it had not held in decades. Jackson’s team indicated he would focus on energy policy and working-class issues during his first term.
