Troy Jackson, a possible replacement for Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner after he dropped out of the race on Wednesday, was pressed during an MS NOW interview on Thursday about an independent Maine voter saying he would vote for Republican Sen. Susan Collins over him.

MS NOW host Katy Tur confronted Jackson with video of an independent Maine voter telling a reporter, “Troy Jackson is not progressive. He voted against so many bad things, like gay marriage, abortion. He did that and now wants to say he’s progressive.” 

“If they put up Troy Jackson, if they put up Shenna Bellows, I’m voting for Susan Collins,” the voter, Brent Hawkes, said. “And I hate to say that as an independent, but Troy Jackson and Shenna Bellows aren’t going to be able to do anything in the federal government.”

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Tur noted the voter was an independent but was espousing progressive viewpoints and asked Jackson to respond to him.

“Honestly, he is accurate,” Jackson admitted. “I voted against those things over 15 years ago. Since then, you know, I’ve found out, I’ve understood. I mean, I’ve always been someone that believes that healthcare is a human right, and it became clear to me after some time that abortion, reproductive rights access is a human right,” he said.

Jackson touted a 100% voting record with Planned Parenthood.

“I’ve co-sponsored some of the most progressive abortion access in the entire country and fought vehemently for it,” he said. “
“And you know, I make no bones about a bad vote years ago coming out of a rural area, a very Catholic area. But, I mean, people are going to have all kinds of thoughts about these things, but I mean, I have a 20-year record of votes like that, but a whole bunch of votes that, you know, people like in the DSA think that I’m very progressive.”

Jackson filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to potentially replace Platner as the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate. Prior to the recent allegations against Platner, Jackson was one of his earliest supporters and previously campaigned with Platner during his gubernatorial campaign. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has also been floated as a replacement.

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Troy Jackson speaks during a town hall about a Vision for a Healthy Society on May 20, 2026 in Portland, Maine. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

During the same interview, Tur questioned Jackson over his support for Platner throughout his campaign, which has been riddled with controversy related to a Nazi tattoo, incendiary Reddit posts and, most recently, sexual abuse allegations, which the ex-Senate candidate denies.

“You supported him,” Tur began. “You bragged about being one of the first supporters of him. Why did you stick with him for so long? Why did you stick with him after the Nazi tattoo? Why did you stick with him after The New York Times article and the aggressive women stuff, stick with him after the Reddit posts that were arguably racist and sexist? I know he denies the sexual misconduct allegations, but why did you stay with him for so long?”

“Well, the Nazi tattoo and the Reddit posts, I mean, I didn’t know — I mean, I haven’t ever been on Reddit, but, you know, when people talked about those things, and he turned around and said, you know, that these were times, whenever, they were dark for him and, you know, he’d grown and all this stuff,” Jackson said.

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Graham Platner announced Wednesday that he is dropping out of the Maine Senate race after an ex-girlfriend accused him of rape. He denied the allegation. (Graham Platner via X)

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Jackson added, “They were, you know, a different time period for him. And I understood, you know, that people can change.”