State: ME
Membership in Under-Represented Communities: NA
V4P PAC has not yet endorsed in this race.
Troy Jackson is a fifth-generation logger who is running in Maine’s 2026 Senate race. Jackson was born and raised in Allagash, Maine. He attended Allagash Consolidated Community High School and earned an A.A. in business from the University of Maine at Fort Kent before venturing into the logging industry. He first gained statewide attention after helping lead a 1998 logging blockade protesting unfair labor practices in the timber industry, an experience that shaped his focus on working-class issues. In 2002, Jackson ran and was elected as an Independent to Maine’s state legislature House District 15. He became a Democrat in 2004, and served two more terms in the House before running for the state Senate in 2008. Jackson served multiple nonconsecutive terms in the Maine Senate, and even served as the Senate President from 2018 to 2024. Jackson left the Maine Senate following the 2024 election due to term limits. In 2025, Jackson launched his bid for the Maine 2026 Gubernatorial race. In the ranked-choice Democratic primary, Jackson finished third on first preferences and was eliminated on the third count with 29% of the vote. The primary was won by Hannah Pingree, whom Jackson had cross-endorsed. Following Graham Planter’s decision to drop out of this race in July 2026, Jackson entered the race to replace Planter’s candidacy. At the special Democratic convention on July 25 to choose a new candidate, Jackson won the Democratic nomination over health care executive Saundra Pelletier, 566 votes–5 votes. Jackson lives in Allagash with his long-time partner Lana Pelletier.
