Maine Senate Hopeful <strong>Troy Jackson</strong> Balances Logging Roots with Boston Labor Union Ties
The likely Democratic nominee for US Senate in Maine, Troy Jackson, is billing himself as a "logger" from the North Woods of Maine, but he also has ties to a Boston-based labor union. According to federal and state disclosures, Jackson has worked intermittently for District Council 35 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, AFL-CIO since 2017, earning nearly $100,000 over the past decade.
Jackson's work with the labor organization has included titles such as temporary "political employee" and temporary organizer. He earned $21,820 from the painters union in 2025, $21,237 in 2023, $19,720 in 2021, and $32,074 in 2017, records show. He also earned $42,526 in 2019 from Machinists District Lodge 4 in Lisbon Falls, Maine.
Jackson was president of the Maine Senate from 2018 to 2024, serving as a state senator from 2008 to 2014 and again from 2016 to 2024. He ran for governor of Maine earlier this year but lost in the primary. He's being tapped by Maine Democrats as a late-in-the-process replacement for Graham Platner, who stepped aside as his campaign faltered amid rape allegations and disclosures that he was a phony.
Jackson's public statements have described him as a logger and omitted any mention of his work as a political operative for a Boston-based labor union. His household income also includes earnings from his longtime girlfriend Lana Pelletier, a licensed clinical social worker.
Jackson's political stances are hard-left. In a July 10 social media post, he wrote, "Anybody with eyes and a heart knows the Israeli government is committing genocide in Gaza. We have the power to end it. When I'm in the Senate, I'll never vote in favor of U.S. taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel." His campaign website lists as priorities "dismantle and abolish ICE" and "tax the billionaires and make sure greedy corporations pay their fair share."
The Democratic candidate will face Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent, who was first elected to the seat in 1996. The Democrats are set to finalize their choice on Saturday, July 25, but Jackson has been consolidating support in recent days at county nominating meetings.