Politics
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Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Troy Jackson has a limited profile on foreign policy after serving as a state lawmaker for several years and focusing on domestic issues during a 2014 congressional primary.
But as he ramps up his Senate campaign and prepares to face five-term incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, the former logger is increasingly speaking out on foreign policy, from President Donald Trump’s war in Iran to Israel’s conduct in Gaza and tariffs on Maine’s largest trading partner, Canada, not far from Jackson’s native Allagash.
As Collins and allied groups highlight her success bringing federal dollars to Maine as the Senate Appropriations Committee chair, Jackson seeks to make the case that Trump and the Republican Party are costing Mainers money at gas pumps, grocery stores, farms and small businesses.
“Susan Collins handed Trump a blank check for his illegal war in Iran, jacking up costs at home,” Jackson wrote in a recent post on X. “Mainers won’t forget.”
Collins paints a different picture. After previously voting against multiple war powers resolutions, she and Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul in late April were the first Republicans to join a resolution seeking to rein in the conflict in Iran as it neared 60 days, the deadline for congressional approval under the War Powers Act.
Further military action against Iran requires “a clear mission, achievable goals and a defined strategy for bringing the conflict to a close,” she said at the time. Two more Republicans joined a war powers resolution that passed in the Senate in late June.
But the war continues, and Democrats aiming to retake Congress are pushing to remind voters of the impacts at home. A Brown University energy cost tracker estimates the rise in fuel prices has cost the average Maine household more than $350 since the conflict began in February.
“Any federal candidate, Democrat or Republican, needs to have a competent and confident way of discussing foreign policy,” said Emily Cain, a Democratic former lawmaker and strategist. “These issues are very important, and there are people in Maine who care deeply about them. But it’s important to connect those issues to other things voters care about, particularly the economy.”
Jackson’s campaign said he believes American foreign policy should “keep our country safe, avoid reckless wars, stand up for working people and reflect our values.”
“Troy would demand real congressional oversight, put diplomacy ahead of open-ended military intervention, rebuild relationships with allies like Canada and make sure Washington is investing in American workers and communities — not enriching defense contractors or multinational corporations,” the campaign added.
Republicans allied with Collins have sought to link Jackson with Graham Platner, who dropped out of the race after being accused of rape and generated consistent headlines with a Nazi-linked tattoo and old offensive social media posts.
Collins has been part of bipartisan efforts to blunt China and reaffirm support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and like Jackson she’s spoken out against sweeping tariffs under Trump, particularly as Maine relies on business with Canada.
Jackson and Collins are divided on Israel. Collins told Fox News in June that she remains “a very strong supporter of Israel, the one democracy in the Middle East.”
Jackson, who shifted left on abortion over his tenure in Augusta, has also aligned himself with the left on Israel. Like Platner and several progressive lawmakers, he has called the country’s actions in Gaza a genocide. The former state Senate president has pushed for “no U.S. tax dollars to Israel’s military.”
Last week, a statement from Jewish clergy organized by the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine urged leaders to drop the “genocide” label on Israel’s actions. The group said the immense suffering of the Palestinian people demanded scrutiny and accountability, but that “genocide” had become a political slogan used as a “corrosive” moral purity test. Anti-Zionist groups Jewish Action Maine and Jewish Voice for Peace Maine then issued a statement accusing Jewish institutions of “quibbling over language.”
Jackson adviser BJ McCollister said in a statement that the war in Gaza has led to a “staggering loss of civilian life, mass displacement” and the destruction of homes, hospitals and communities. He said Jackson unequivocally condemns Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, and supports a lasting peace with security and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians.
“He respects that Jewish Mainers hold a range of deeply felt views on this issue, and the campaign will continue meeting with and listening to Jewish leaders across Maine while always standing against growing antisemitism,” McCollister said.