The facts
Democrats say they feel good about former state Sen. Troy Jackson’s chances of ousting Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in November, with 33 days until Election Day, in a race the party sees as critical to taking control of the Senate.
That optimism was hard to imagine four months ago, when Graham Platner suspended his campaign amid allegations of sexual assault and rape. Jackson, a fifth-generation Maine logger, became the replacement nominee, running on a compressed timeline the article compares to Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign. Harris endorsed him.
The missteps so far: a campaign video of Jackson drinking boba tea while a side-eye emoji pops up, asking “Republicans spend $46 million on these TV ads. Who’s gonna be convinced by that?” and answering “The 1 percenters,” as photos of Collins and Tesla CEO Elon Musk appear on screen. The ad was widely panned on social media as “cringey.” Even liberal influencer Harry Sisson piled on, writing on X that “Troy Jackson needs to win but videos like this are unhelpful and cringey,” and adding: “Please change it up! No boba tea!”
Jackson was also forced to issue an apology Tuesday after saying it is “unfortunate” that Jewish residents do not like to call the war in Gaza a genocide. In his statement he said he believes what is happening in Gaza is genocide, that the word carries particular weight for many Jewish families given the Holocaust, and that he “misspoke” in generalizing about Jewish Mainers’ views.
Polling has Jackson and Collins in a dead heat: RealClearPolling has Jackson at 47.5% and Collins at 47.3% as of Oct. 1. But polling has underestimated Collins before. In 2020, polls showed her trailing Sara Gideon by several points, a September 2020 Quinnipiac poll had her down 12, and she won reelection by 9.
The money is enormous: more than $185 million spent in the race, with Republicans infusing $110 million and Democrats $75 million, according to AdImpact. Jackson’s campaign has spent almost $13 million to Collins’s $9 million.
Collins spokeswoman Blake Kernen hammered Jackson’s record in the state legislature, where he voted to adopt a state budget that raised the tax burden on everyday residents. “Mainers were paying more while Troy Jackson was taking campaign money from the companies sending them the bills,” Kernen said, adding that under his leadership in Augusta, Maine’s electricity rates skyrocketed while he accepted corporate donations from electric companies, and prescription drug prices got higher while he accepted corporate donations from pharmaceutical companies.
Our take
Maine Democrats had one fucking job: replace the alleged rapist with someone who could walk and chew gum without calling an entire religion stubborn. Instead, they hauled a fifth-generation logger out of the woods and handed him a Senate campaign. This dumb motherfucker immediately decided to lecture Jewish Mainers on their own trauma, calling it “unfortunate” they don’t like his pet genocide label. Then he shit out the most cowardly, predictable lie in politics: “I misspoke.” Bullshit. You didn’t misspeak, you arrogant prick. You broadcast a stupid, generalized opinion and got caught. That’s not a slip; that’s your whole fucking brain showing up for work.
And while he’s busy apologizing for being a tone-deaf asshole, his campaign’s idea of a knockout punch is a video of him sipping boba tea with a fucking side-eye emoji. It’s so painfully cringey that even liberal cheerleader Harry Sisson - a professional hype-man for shitty candidates - posted, “Please change it up! No boba tea!” When your own sycophants are publicly begging you to stop being a laughingstock, you’re not a candidate. You’re a liability wearing a flannel shirt. This is what $13 million buys you: a logger doing TikTok-level content that makes everyone, including his voters, want to gouge their eyes out.
The sheer, unmitigated gall of the Democratic strategists saying they “feel good” is the cherry on this shit sundae. They felt good about the last guy, too, right up until the rape allegations. Now they’ve bet the Senate majority on a man whose entire political identity is apologized for insulting Jews and made a terrible boba ad. Susan Collins, who has survived every poll underestimating her by double digits, must be masturbating to this clown show. Her campaign is probably just running Jackson’s greatest hits on a loop while they cash another $110 million check.
Jackson’s record is just the rotten core of this shit-apple. His spokeswoman admits he voted to raise taxes on regular people while taking money from the companies sending the bills. He watched electricity rates and drug prices skyrocket while pocketing cash from the utilities and pharma pricks causing it. He’s not a man of the people; he’s a grifter in work boots. And Democrats are pouring $75 million into this sinking ship, hoping a side-eye emoji and a half-assed apology will beat a seasoned incumbent. It’s a fucking disgrace. The only thing getting ousted in November is the last shred of dignity in Maine politics.
