Troy Jackson's Son Earned Nearly $200,000 Lobbying Maine Senate During Father's Presidency
As Maine's Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Troy Jackson has positioned his campaign against "high-priced lobbyists and corporate greed" that he claims undermine legislation aimed at protecting workers. Yet during his final year as president of the Maine Senate, his son Chace Jackson earned nearly $200,000 lobbying the same chamber, according to state ethics records.
Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger and self-described "working-class voice," led the Senate from 2018 to 2024. His son Chace Jackson, 35, joined the Resurgam Group, a lobbying firm founded by his father's former chief of staff B.J. McCollister, in 2022. By 2024, the firm reported $182,500 in lobbying income from nine clients, including Diageo, the London-based spirits giant behind Johnnie Walker whiskey.
Chace Jackson's clients that year included LKQ Corporation, an auto parts supplier, and the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, which advocated for assault-style weapons bans and "red flag" laws. This aligned with a shift in Troy Jackson's own voting record: the longtime NRA-backed senator supported gun control measures in 2023 and 2024 after previously opposing them.
Chace Jackson also lobbied for LD 1695, a bill to allow direct spirit shipments to Maine consumers. Diageo supported the measure, but the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America argued it would harm local distillers. The Senate passed the bill under Troy Jackson's leadership, though it later died in the House.
Ethics experts note that family ties to lobbying are not uncommon in state politics, but the financial scale here has drawn attention. Troy Jackson's campaign emphasized that payments went to the firm, not directly to his son, and stated he remains focused on "fixing our broken system" for working families.
Chace Jackson's lobbying activity dropped sharply after his father left the Legislature. He represented just five clients in 2023 and none in 2026. The Resurgam Group merged with Frame Strategies in January 2024, with McCollister becoming president. Troy Jackson's Senate campaign is listed as a client of the new firm.
Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent Jackson seeks to unseat, has not commented on the lobbying records. Jackson won the Democratic nomination after the previous candidate withdrew amid a sexual assault allegation.