Women for Troy launches statewide – Spectrum News

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BRUNSWICK — Former state lawmakers, a union leader and a national abortion rights advocate stumped for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Troy Jackson on Wednesday as they launched an effort to win over women voters.
Former state Sen. Rebecca Millett (D-Cape Elizabeth), co-chair for the Women for Troy coalition, said the event marked the beginning of conversations with women across Maine.
She recalled her speech eight years ago when she nominated Jackson to serve as state Senate president.
“He has a heart that is big and accepting,” she said. “Welcoming all of us with our imperfections, as one who is comfortable with his own. He’ll go to the mat for you. For us.”
The house party in Brunswick gave supporters a chance to hear about Jackson’s time in the Legislature and served to highlight his differences with his opponent, Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Supporters talked about his efforts to provide universal free school meals, childcare subsidies and a bill to expand abortion access in Maine. They also criticized Collins for her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who voted in 2022 with the majority to overturn abortion rights.
“We have one candidate who understands the moment, who knows how to meet the moment,” said Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All. “Then we have someone else who’s desperately clinging to power and abusing it and taking the whole country down with her.”
Collins spokesman Shawn Roderick said Collins “has always been pro-choice and a champion for Maine women.” 
“Troy spent 12 years in elected office as a staunch opponent of reproductive rights, bullied his female colleagues when he was Senate president and this year was Graham Platner’s strongest supporter,” he said.
Just about a month ago, Jackson became the Democratic nominee when Platner dropped out after facing an accusation of sexual assault. Platner denied the incident but left the race amid mounting pressure from his own party to abandon his bid.
Jackson said Wednesday that he hadn’t planned to run for Senate but felt called to take up the mantle to ensure that progressive goals moved forward.
“There’s always money for bombs, there’s always money for income tax cuts, there’s always money for other things but there’s never any money for everyday people and that’s what the race for me is about,” he said.
The event followed stories in recent months that painted Jackson as someone who has mistreated women in the past.
In late July, the Washington Post and CNN reported that Jackson threw a water bottle during a closed-door meeting after a disagreement with a female senator.
Then in August, the Bangor Daily News reported that a police report from 1988 indicated that Jackson, then 19, punched a man in Fort Kent and pushed his female partner.
Jackson admits punching the man but told the BDN he has “never been violent with my partner Lana, or any other woman.” 
A Fox News poll from earlier this month shows among women, Jackson is favored over Collins by 4 percentage points. Overall, the poll shows a tight race with Jackson leading Collins 48-46%, which Fox described as “well within the survey’s margin of sampling error.”
At her campaign launch earlier this month, Collins responded to questions from reporters about Jackson’s treatment of women.
“I will say that based on widespread reporting it appears he struggles to control his temper,” she said.
On Wednesday, Jackson said he’s worked well with women at the State House for years.
“I absolutely do not have anger issues with women or men,” he said. “I have anger issues with how the country is going, but I treated everyone with the same respect. Did we have arguments at times, yes. But it wasn’t a woman thing or a man thing it was about making sure I was delivering for the people I cared about.”

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