{"id":49443,"date":"2026-07-28T12:43:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T19:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=49443"},"modified":"2026-07-28T12:43:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T19:43:24","slug":"im-humbled-beyond-words-troy-jackson-raises-2-million-after-maine-senate-nomination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/28\/im-humbled-beyond-words-troy-jackson-raises-2-million-after-maine-senate-nomination\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019m Humbled Beyond Words\u2019: Troy Jackson Raises $2 Million After Maine Senate Nomination"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Maine<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Troy Jackson, Democratic nominee for Maine Senate, greets delegates after winning the vote at the Maine Democrats Senate Nominating Convention in Bangor, Maine, on July 25, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo by Tom Williams\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople across Maine and the country are ready to come together and finish the job\u201d of defeating Susan Collins, said the Democratic candidate.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Julia Conley<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jul 27, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Maine<\/a> Republican Sen. Susan Collins<\/a> backed by nearly 100 billionaire<\/a>s<\/a>, Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson has been open about the fact that beating Collins in November will be an uphill battle\u2014but he said Monday that $2 million that\u2019s poured in from small donors in recent days gave him hope about the \u201cextraordinary grassroots momentum\u201d behind his campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackson officially became<\/a> the Democratic nominee on Saturday at the party\u2019s convention\u2014planned in a matter of weeks after former nominee Graham Platner dropped out due to rape allegations\u2014with Democrats across the state apparently eager to throw their support behind a candidate who backs the same progressive policies that his predecessor did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Troy<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201830 Years of Collins. 100 Days to End It\u2019: Maine Dems Nominate Troy Jackson for Senate<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"ICE<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Working-Class Organizing Wins\u2019: Troy Jackson Pulls Ahead in Race to Replace Platner in Maine<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since securing the nomination, said Jackson\u2019s campaign Monday, he has raised $2 million from more than 58,000 donors, including 30,000 new contributors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m humbled beyond words by the tens of thousands of people who have stepped up to become part of this campaign,\u201d said Jackson in a statement. \u201cEvery contribution\u2014whether it was $5, $20, or more\u2014is a vote of confidence in the working-class movement we\u2019re building together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without a billionaire-backed super political action committee (PAC) like the one set up by Collins\u2019 allies, Pine Tree Results\u2014which is planning to spend $20 million on attack ads against Jackson this fall, according<\/a> to The New York Times<\/a>, the fifth-generation logger and former state Senate president is relying on donations that must be $3,500 or smaller per donor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collins\u2019 campaign and her allies have reserved about $60 million in air time for ads through the fall, according to AdImpact, while the Democrats have allocated about $24 million for ads in Maine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackson told The New York Times Monday that he will likely need to raise at least $40 million-$50 million to beat Collins due to her fundraising advantage, but emphasized that he believes he is in a good position to win voters over based on the issues they\u2019ll be voting on in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to definitely bust my ass in these next four months to make up the difference,\u201d Jackson said regarding the fundraising challenge. \u201cAnd in the end, I think I\u2019m on the right side of the issues compared to Susan Collins. So I feel very good about the race.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackson is a strong supporter of Medicare for All<\/a>, abolishing<\/a> US Immigration<\/a> and Customs Enforcement, ending<\/a> US military<\/a> support for Israel, and taxing<\/a> the ultrawealthy and corporations to address massive wealth inequality<\/a> in the US\u2014all issues that are increasingly popular with voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the end, I think I\u2019m on the right side of the issues compared to Susan Collins. So I feel very good about the race.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has condemned Collins, the chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, in recent weeks for backing President Donald Trump\u2019s agenda and for her vote to fund ICE earlier this year\u2014expressing anger<\/a> over the vote after a federal agent fatally shot a young father in Biddeford, Maine earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A poll released by University of New Hampshire last week showed<\/a> 49% of respondents backing Jackson, compared with 46% who supported Collins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSusan Collins has spent years voting with Donald Trump<\/a> 96% of the time, helping him stack the Supreme Court<\/a> to overturn Roe v. Wade<\/a> and supporting an agenda that guts healthcare<\/a> while handing more power to billionaires and corporations,\u201d said Jackson Monday. \u201cDefeating her won\u2019t be easy, and we\u2019ll need everyone in this fight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The early fundraising numbers, said Jackson, prove \u201cthat people across Maine and the country are ready to come together and finish the job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julia Conley<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julia Conley is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Troy Jackson, Democratic nominee for Maine Senate, greets delegates after winning the vote at the Maine Democrats Senate Nominating Convention in Bangor, Maine, on July 25, 2026. \u00a0(Photo by Tom Williams\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images) \u201cPeople across Maine and the country are ready to come together and finish the… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2176],"tags":[2164],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49443"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49443"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49444,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49443\/revisions\/49444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}