Is Troy Jackson poor?
What his family went through, in his words and his mother's.
Troy Jackson grew up poor, and he says he is still not wealthy. He was a poor kid in a town full of poor kids in Aroostook County. His father was a logger. Troy became one too, and put in 80-hour weeks in the woods.
Born to teenage parents
In the August 2026 ad "Grocery Store," his mother, Colleen McBreairty, said: "Troy was born to two teenage parents, and we struggled a lot. He didn't use that as an excuse. He used that as fuel to make things better for other people."
"My dad worked 16-hour days, and it still wasn't enough," Troy wrote on August 1, 2026.
The woods did not pay enough
He started in the woods at 19.
In "80 Hours," a campaign ad from August 26, 2026, he said: "I'd work 80 hours a week in the woods, and there still wouldn't be enough at the end of the week." In the same ad: "It was a terrible feeling as a parent."
And: "Mainers aren't looking for a handout, but we all deserve a fair shot."
He says he is still not wealthy
In a WAGM interview shared August 21, 2026, talking about how his background differs from Susan Collins's, he said: "I'm working class. I've had to fight and, you know, do everything I could to make a living in the logging industry. I still am not at all wealthy."
The rest of the story
How a logger from Allagash came to lead the Maine Senate and run for the U.S. Senate.
Sources
- Troy Jackson for U.S. Senate, About Troy, https://www.jacksonformaine.com/about · Undated
- Troy Jackson for U.S. Senate, New York Times: Troy Jackson, a Progressive Brawler, Tries to Flip a Senate Seat in Maine, https://www.jacksonformaine.com/news/new-york-times-troy-jackson-a-progressive-brawler-tries-to-flip-a-senate-seat-in-maine · September 20, 2026
- Troy Jackson for U.S. Senate, New TV Ad Highlights Troy Jackson's Working-Class Roots, https://www.jacksonformaine.com/news/new-tv-ad-highlights-troy-jacksons-working-class-roots · August 24, 2026
- Troy Jackson on Bluesky, August 1, 2026 post, https://bsky.app/profile/troyjackson207.bsky.social/post/3ms2h5cjyws2c · August 1, 2026
- Troy Jackson for U.S. Senate, New Ad Highlights Troy Jackson's Firsthand Experience Trying to Make Ends Meet, https://www.jacksonformaine.com/news/new-ad-highlights-troy-jacksons-firsthand-experience-trying-to-make-ends-meet-for-his-family · August 26, 2026
- Troy Jackson for U.S. Senate, Troy Connects With Maine Voters on the Trail and on the Airways, https://www.jacksonformaine.com/news/troy-connects-with-maine-voters-on-the-trail-and-on-the-airways · August 21, 2026
Last reviewed October 20, 2026.