Troy Jackson’s Maine Senate campaign is drawing attention after remarks from 2017 resurfaced in which the Democrat joked that he could have run as a communist while explaining why he began his political career as a Republican. Jackson, now the party’s candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, made the comment during a meeting with voters in Cumberland County as he described his path from a failed GOP run to a later rise as a Democrat.
Jackson told the crowd that when he first sought a seat in the Maine legislature in 2000, his main goal was simply to get into office and start addressing problems in his region. He said he did not initially focus on party labels and added, to laughter, that he would have “ran as a communist” if that was what it took to get in a position to help local people. He also said that, at the time, people in his community told him he was mistaken for running as a Republican when he was a Democrat.
The former lumberjack lost that 2000 race to Democrat Marc Michaud in a close contest. Two years later, he ran again as an Independent and defeated Michaud. About two years after that, he became a Democrat. Jackson later led the Maine state Senate from 2018 through 2024, giving him a long record in state politics after his early shifts in party affiliation.
Jackson has described his early political views as strongly conservative on issues including abortion, gay marriage and immigration. His own words from that period also show how differently he framed government at the start of his career. He said he believed government was standing in the way of prosperity, a view that stands in contrast with the more expansive government platform he supports now.
His political evolution also includes a close link to Sen. Bernie Sanders. Jackson served as political director for Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign in Maine and later led the senator’s Maine effort again in 2020. That relationship helped build his standing with the party’s left wing and brought him an endorsement from Sanders in the gubernatorial primary that later boosted his profile in the fight to replace Graham Platner.
