Troy Jackson

Introduction

Troy Jackson is a fifth-generation logger from northern Maine and the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine, facing Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins in one of the most competitive races of the 2026 cycle and holding a narrow 0.9-point edge in the RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.

On September 29, 2026, in an interview with Portland’s NBC News affiliate, Jackson said it was “unfortunate” that some Jewish residents of Maine do not use the term genocide to describe Israel’s war in Gaza, “only because they’re Jewish and what that means to them, with the Holocaust.” The remarks, reported by Jewish Insider and then the New York Post, drew criticism as an attribution of motive to his state’s Jewish residents based on their religion, coming after months in which Maine’s Jewish community leaders had publicly urged politicians to drop the genocide framing.

Background Information

Jackson built his political brand on labor and economic issues across a two-decade career in the Maine State House and Senate, serving as Senate president. He entered politics in 1998 leading a logging blockade along the Maine-Canada border, launched an unsuccessful Republican state House bid in 2000, won a seat as an independent two years later, and ran again as a Democrat from 2004. He previously sought the governorship and came in third.

His turn to Israel as an issue came late. Rabbi Bill Siemers, leader of Beth Israel, Maine’s oldest active synagogue, said he had found “no evidence” in Jackson’s record “that this was an issue for him before very recently, and it’s clear to me and to others that he brought this up so he could be the Senate nominee.” Jackson embraced the genocide label for Israel’s war in Gaza in July 2026, writing on X that “the Israeli government is committing genocide in Gaza” and that “when I’m in the U.S. Senate, I’ll never vote in favor of US taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel,” and he has called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal.”

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Allegations. The claims in this section are characterizations of public remarks by their critics in press coverage, which reported them as contested. They were never admitted by Troy Jackson as prejudice, never criminally charged, and never adjudicated in court. Jackson has not publicly responded to the criticism; his campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and he has not apologized for the remarks.

The immediate controversy stems from the September 29, 2026 interview with Portland’s NBC affiliate, released that Tuesday. Pressed on why some Mainers resist the genocide label, Jackson said: “It’s unfortunate that there are people here in Maine that don’t like to use that term only because they’re Jewish and what that means to them, with the Holocaust.” He continued: “[Israel’s war in Gaza] fits that description and it is. It’s [an] unbelievable thing that’s happened there that people that are innocent are being murdered, and it is a genocide.”

Pressed on Hamas’s role in starting the war and the killing of Israeli civilians, Jackson responded: “You could argue the same thing for Hamas too. There’s people that are wrong on both sides of this issue. But in the end, senseless murders, horrific murders are happening to both sides, and that has to stop.” He also said the United States should stop sending “blank checks” to Israel while Netanyahu remains prime minister: “I don’t want the United States sending money, a blank check to him anymore, watching young children, innocent people die.”

The New York Post framed the remarks as Jackson claiming that Maine Jews won’t call the war a genocide “only because they’re Jewish.” Critics characterize the comment as questioning the sincerity of Jewish Mainers’ views because of their religion. His campaign did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment or context for his remarks.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The criticism compounds an already fraught relationship with Maine’s Jewish community. In August 2026, fifteen Jewish leaders including rabbis from synagogues across the state issued a rare joint statement, “A Call for Peace and Responsible Rhetoric,” urging politicians not to accuse Israel of genocide and arguing the allegation was “becoming a staple of rhetoric in Maine politics” while supercharging antisemitism. Jackson’s campaign responded through adviser BJ McCollister, condemning “a staggering loss of civilian life, mass displacement, the obstruction of food and humanitarian aid, and the destruction of homes, hospitals and entire communities” in Gaza as well as “Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack,” without adopting or rejecting the genocide term.

Community figures have openly questioned his motives. Brian Kresge, president of Congregation Beth Israel in Bangor, said Jackson’s Israel rhetoric “has been kind of like a ‘pick me’ appeal to the perception of what the Platner base is feeling.” Rabbi Siemers warned: “I don’t think Jews want to have to go to the polls and vote on the basis of that, but they will.”

Current Status

Jackson remains the Democratic nominee and continues to poll within roughly one point of Sen. Collins. The New York Post’s report ran the morning after the interview aired, and his campaign had issued no comment or apology as of its publication. The Maine Senate race is widely regarded as a must-win for Democrats to regain the Senate majority, which raises the political stakes of the episode.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The remarks land mid-general-election in a race Democrats must win to take the Senate majority. The JTA reported that some Jewish Mainers who viewed him as a pragmatic choice still weigh his sudden emphasis on Israel, and Siemers described the genocide label as having become “a requirement, at least in the upper levels of the Maine Democratic Party” — a dynamic in which Jackson’s remarks now sit.

Sources

• *New York Post, “Troy Jackson claims Maine Jews won’t call Gaza war a genocide ‘only because they’re Jewish’,” Sept. 30, 2026 — source
• *Jewish Insider, “Troy Jackson: ‘Unfortunate’ that Jewish Mainers reject ‘genocide’ label for Gaza war,” Sept. 29, 2026 — source
• *Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “Maine Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson raises eyebrows in the Jewish community,” July 24, 2026 — source
• *Portland Press Herald, “Maine Jewish leaders push back on Gaza genocide accusation against Israel,” Aug. 3, 2026 (updated Aug. 5) — source