Troy Jackson, the 58-year-old former president of the Maine State Senate, was formally nominated on July 25 to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins. He replaced Graham Platner, who won the Democratic primary but dropped out on July 8 after his ex-girlfriend accused him of rape.
So, upgrade?
According to a report from the Maine Wire, genealogical records show that Jackson fathered two sons with his longtime partner, Lana Pelletier — who also happens to be his second cousin. Jackson's maternal grandmother, Albertine Pelletier O'Leary, and Pelletier's paternal grandfather, Louis A. Pelletier Sr., were siblings. Same great-grandparents. Both grew up in Allagash, Maine — population 237 — and attended Fort Kent High School together.
The two never legally married, though older campaign bios referred to Pelletier as Jackson's "wife." Current materials have been updated to call her his "partner." The campaign did not dispute the genealogical findings.
Maine law, enacted in 1985, prohibits marriages between close relatives but permits first-cousin marriages with genetic counseling certification. Second-cousin unions face no legal restriction. The Maine Wire's editor-in-chief, Steve Robinson, noted that such relationships are "not uncommon in northern rural Maine." Which is one of those sentences that technically makes it better and somehow makes it worse at the same time.
Jackson's campaign responded to the report by calling the coverage "shameful and desperate" personal attacks, then pivoted to claiming that "Susan Collins will do anything to distract from the fact that she votes with Trump 96% of the time and sold out working people in Maine." Nobody asked about Susan Collins. The question was about the family tree that doesn't fork.
Rep. Nancy Mace posted, "Can't wait for Democrats to defend cousin marriage!" Sean Spicer added, "If you thought Platner was a freak — meet Troy Jackson." Reporter Matthew Foldi caught up with Jackson at a D.C. restaurant on July 31 and asked him for dating advice on Maine restaurants. Jackson visibly squirmed, stammered through a recommendation about a lobster spot in Franklin, and tried to change the subject.
The broader context here is that Maine is a critical seat. Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, and Collins is the incumbent Democrats most want to flip. They had one nominee accused of rape. They replaced him at a special convention and got a candidate whose personal life just handed Collins a month of opposition research without her spending a dime.
Jackson also scrubbed his social media of posts praising Platner after receiving the nomination. There are also reports of a prior mortgage fraud allegation and a documented tax lien controversy, neither of which the campaign has addressed in detail. The Washington Post has previously noted Jackson's "temper issues." The Democratic bench in Maine is not deep, and it shows.
The general election is November 3, 2026. Collins hasn't said a word about any of this. She doesn't have to. When your opponent's campaign is busy explaining that second-cousin relationships are technically legal, the attack ads write themselves.
