Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Troy Jackson raised just over $5.3 million through the ActBlue national fundraising platform in July, securing the third-highest total among U.S. Senate candidates using the platform that month. Jackson replaced former Democratic nominee Graham Platner during the final week of July, after Platner dropped out of Maine’s Senate race on July 8 following an accusation of sexual assault.
Troy Jackson Raises $5.3 Million Through ActBlue in Senate Bid
A significant portion of Jackson’s fundraising total—more than $1.2 million—came in on July 25, the day he was officially selected as the nominee. According to Yahoo, that single-day figure was the highest for any committee on ActBlue in July. Jackson’s campaign funds through the platform tapered off for the remainder of the month.
While substantial, the $5 million figure does not encompass Jackson’s entire campaign stockpile, which is not required to be reported to the Federal Election Commission until October. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins reported $11 million in cash on hand during her last filing deadline through June 30, and the five-term senator also maintains a financial edge through the backing of outside groups.
Tight Polling and Tariff Concerns in the Maine Senate Race
The Maine Senate race is expected to be one of the closest contests of the 2026 midterm elections, with polling reflecting a narrow margin between Collins and Jackson. A poll from Newsweek details that among likely voters, Jackson led Collins by 9 points at 52 percent to 43 percent, while Collins led by a single point among all registered voters at 46 percent to 45 percent. A Fox News poll conducted by Beacon Research and Shaw & Company Research showed Jackson ahead by 2 points, 48 percent to 46 percent, among 1,000 registered voters.
The campaign has also been influenced by economic concerns, including federal trade policies. A survey by Canadian polling firm Abacus Data found that 70 percent of Mainers believe new 50 percent tariffs on Canadian goods announced by the Trump administration will mostly hurt Maine’s economy. Both candidates have voiced opposition to the tariffs, with Jackson describing them in an X post as a betrayal to our working families
and criticizing Collins’s legislative record on the issue.
Candidate Backgrounds and Legislative Records
Jackson, a 58-year-old former logger and former president of Maine’s state Senate, accepted the Democratic nomination at a convention in Bangor earlier in the summer after finishing third in this year’s gubernatorial primary. Reflecting on his entry into the race, Jackson noted at a town hall in Jay that he did not initially expect to be the nominee.
The campaign has drawn sharp contrasts between the candidates’ backgrounds. Jackson has characterized his opponent as part of the managerial class, stating, She’s what I would consider management, and I’m the employee.
In response, Shawn Roderick, a spokesman for Collins’s campaign, pointed to Jackson’s two decades in the legislature and six years as state Senate president, calling it ridiculous for him to pose as a rank-and-file employee.