‘Like Graham Platner But Worse’: GOP Group Vows $42,000,000 Campaign Against Last-Minute Replacement Democrat
A Republican group has vowed to spend at least $42 million against the new nominee to be one of Maine's Democratic senators, Troy Jackson, the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) has learned.
Anthony Iafrate · Jul 25, 2026 · 4 min read
A Republican group has vowed to spend at least $42 million against the new nominee to be one of Maine’s Democratic senators, Troy Jackson, the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) has learned.
The Maine Democratic Party picked Jackson, a former logger and state senate president, at a Saturday convention to replace its former nominee, Graham Platner, who dropped out of the race after his ex-girlfriend accused him of rape. The same day, the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) announced it would be spending $42 million on the race against Jackson — including a six-figure ad buy — and launched a 30-second ad declaring the new nominee is “worse” than the scandal-ridden man he replaced on the ballot.
“Chuck Schumer forcefully removed Graham Platner from the ballot against the will of Maine voters, only to replace him with a deranged and scandal-plagued political insider,” SLF Communications Director Chris Gustafson told the DCNF. “Mainers value steady leadership that yields real results for the Pine Tree State, making Susan Collins the clear choice once again this November.”
“Volatile personality. Anger issues with women. Verbal abuse,” narrates a voice during the SLF’s new ad obtained by the DCNF. The ad cited and quoted both a July 20 report from CNN and a July 21 report from The Hill.
“It’s not Graham Platner, it’s Troy Jackson. Jackson has a history of conflicts with women, bullying, even intimidation. Jackson’s conduct was so bad his fellow Democrats raised alarm bells about his temperament,” the ad’s voiceover continues, citing other July reports. “Jackson is like Graham Platner but worse.”
WATCH:
The Republican super PAC’s ad also references a 2023 report from The Portland Press Herald stating an ethics panel was reviewing a complaint regarding Jackson’s second home. Some Republicans at the time said the then-Senate president’s conduct may have amounted to mortgage fraud, according to the local Maine outlet.
SLF’s ad also cites the Bangor Daily News’s Wednesday report that Jackson owed $4,600 in back state taxes during his failed bid for Maine governor earlier this cycle.
“That’s the real Troy Jackson,” the voiceover concludes.