Maine Senate Nominee Troy Jackson Linked to Anonymous Account That Mocked Former Governor Paul LePage

U.S. Senate nominee Troy Jackson, a former Democrat state senator from Maine, is facing renewed scrutiny after records linked him to an anonymous online account that repeatedly attacked then-Gov. Paul LePage during a bitter political feud more than a decade ago.

Jackson used the alias “Canadians for LePage” to post comments on the Bangor Daily News website in 2012 while publicly battling the Republican governor over Canadian loggers working on state-owned land. Records show Jackson was connected to the account through the email address jacksonforsenate@hotmail.com, which appeared in campaign materials, internal Democratic Party documents, financial disclosures, and other records. The email address also surfaced after a 2012 data breach involving Disqus, which hosted the newspaper’s online comments at the time.

About 24 comments from the account remain archived, though the Bangor Daily News stopped using Disqus in 2019 and much of the original context is no longer available. The account adopted the persona of a Canadian logger who supported LePage but frequently used sarcasm to attack the governor and other Republicans.

In one exchange, the account wrote: “You are no more a woodsman than LePage is a Governor.” Another comment mocked Republican claims of moral superiority: “Oh yes, the Republicans never do anything approaching this. They are working hard on good government, night and day, and if they have just one spare moment, they get together for bible study or a good game of tiddly winks. PLEASE.”

The account also defended Jackson after he faced criticism over logging legislation: “Troy doesn’t own any logging equipment. He is just an operator for contractors. Just think about that!”

Jackson’s adviser, BJ McCollister, did not directly address the account or the records in a statement responding to the report. McCollister said: “Troy has been a strong and consistent advocate for workers’ rights and for a government that works for the people.”

The dispute between Jackson and LePage centered partly on a Jackson-sponsored bill that would have barred foreign workers from cutting timber on Maine public lands, which LePage vetoed in 2011 while citing constitutional concerns. Jackson, a fifth-generation logger from Allagash, first gained statewide attention in 1998 by helping organize a blockade protesting the employment of lower-paid Canadian loggers in Maine.

The disclosure comes less than a week after Maine Democratic delegates selected Jackson to replace Graham Platner as the party’s Senate nominee, giving Jackson 566 of the 571 delegate votes cast at a special convention Saturday. Platner won the June 9 Democratic primary but withdrew July 10 after a former girlfriend accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2021, an allegation he denies.

Jackson, a former Maine Senate president who finished third in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, will face five-term Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in the Nov. 3 election. Former Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed Jackson this week, but he faces a substantial fundraising disadvantage after entering the contest late, with Collins having raised more than $16 million.

The Maine contest is central to Democrats’ effort to regain control of the Senate, where the party has little room for error and likely must defeat Collins while also winning several other competitive races.