Troy Jackson defeated Senator Susan Collins in Tuesday’s election, unseating a five-term Republican incumbent who had won statewide in Maine five times. Jackson, a former logger and Democratic state lawmaker, entered the Senate race only 101 days before the vote.
His path to the nomination appeared unlikely: weeks before joining the Senate contest, Jackson finished third in the Democratic primary for governor. His campaign was brief, and he was seen as having limitations as a candidate, while Collins brought decades of experience in the Senate.
Speaking to supporters in Portland shortly after midnight, Jackson said he would fight for Mainers whose generations of work in the woods, shipyards and mills had helped build the state. His victory came amid a broader Democratic wave across the country, but stood out because of Collins’s political longevity and Jackson’s short campaign.
Sources: The New York Times Politics.