From Maine logging blockade to Senate race: Troy Jackson's unlikely path

Nearly three decades ago, Troy Jackson stood with a group of loggers in the northern Maine woods, blocking trucks at the Quebec border. Their protest was against Canadian loggers working for lower wages, a move they felt was stealing their jobs. The blockade ultimately failed to change the situation, but it set Jackson on a new course.

"He realized that the only way to change it from the inside was to be involved," said Hilton Hafford, a logger who was at the blockade with Jackson.

That realization has now led the fifth-generation lumberjack to become the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine. He faces Republican incumbent Susan Collins in a race that could help determine control of the chamber.

Jackson's campaign leans heavily on his roots in Aroostook County, a vast, sparsely populated region known locally as "The County." He speaks of watching hard-working people struggle, framing his fight as one against billionaires and corporations. It is a region that has sent him to the state Legislature while also supporting Donald Trump for president.

Jackson entered the race as a last-minute replacement for Graham Platner, who withdrew after a sexual assault allegation he denied. Jackson has criticized Collins for her vote that helped pave the way for the Supreme Court to overturn the nationwide right to abortion. Collins, who is also from Aroostook County, has painted Jackson as too liberal for the state.

In his nomination acceptance speech, Jackson leaned into his background. "What I am is a guy from northern Maine that's a logger," he said.

His hometown of Allagash, with a population of about 230, sits at the end of the pavement. Jackson began working as a lumberjack there at 19, often waking at 2:30 a.m. for 12-hour shifts without health insurance. The town has seen its population dwindle and its school close, a blow to a community that once celebrated its championship basketball team.

The failed blockade and other labor protests in the late 1990s convinced Jackson that politics was the answer. He first ran as a Republican, then as an independent, before becoming a Democrat in 2004. He eventually rose to become president of the state Senate.

His views on social issues have shifted over time. He once opposed abortion and same-sex marriage but has since reversed those positions. "The logging industry is a very, very red industry," said Louie Pelletier, whose sister is Jackson's longtime partner. "That's the kind of mindset he was in."

In Allagash, support for Jackson is not universal. Darlene Dumond, who supports him, expressed disappointment with Collins, particularly her vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who later helped overturn Roe v. Wade. "Why would our girl from Aroostook County be the deciding vote for the justice that overthrew Roe v. Wade?" Dumond asked.

Jackson has faced setbacks, including losing a 2014 congressional primary and a 2023 local race for selectman by six votes. He has also clashed with lawmakers, including Democratic Governor Janet Mills, who has declined to endorse him. Some colleagues describe him as having a temper, while his supporters call him "passionate" and "competitive."

Hafford, who has known Jackson for decades, recalls trying to temper his friend's fiery nature during meetings in the 1990s. "Troy would look over at me and he'd say, 'Is it time yet?'" Hafford said.