PRESS RELEASE
Maine Women Rally Behind Troy As Collins Come Under Fire For Running Attack Ads On Troy’s Family
Lana Pelletier, Troy’s longtime partner, also published an op-ed calling out the ads
PORTLAND, ME — As Susan Collins and her allies come under fire for disgusting ads attacking Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Troy Jackson and his family, former and current elected leaders held a press conference supporting Troy. They highlighted Troy’s character and strong record of championing women’s issues and uplifting the voices of his female colleagues.
Susan Collins and her allies have stooped to new lows in a desperate attempt to distract from her record selling out Mainers for billionaires and corporate interests. Across the state and country, Susan Collins and her allies have come under fire for the ads.
See highlights below:
WABI: Women for Troy coalition rallies in Augusta, pushes back on attack ads
“Susan Collins and her colleagues are calling Troy names, telling lies about him, attacking his integrity and his family and they’re using my picture and the picture of several of us here today to do it... They used my picture to attack my friend and colleague,“ said Breen. Breen says Jackson helped elect more women to the Senate.
State Representative Rebecca Millett also spoke to condemn an ad that put black bars over her and other women’s faces, saying it is wrong to portray them as victims of Jackson.
FOX 23: Maine Women's Lobby endorses Troy Jackson for US Senate
“This ad used my image in a way that was just horrifying,” Millett said. “And we're all used to negative ads, but this took it way far over the edge that we all decided that we needed to speak up and not only speak against the ad but speak for our friend Troy Jackson.”
“The truth is that Troy works incredibly well with legislators across the spectrum, both Republican and Democrat and men and women,” Millett said. “And I had the honor of working with him for 10 years. And he has been a great colleague, incredibly supportive, always keeps his door open. And respectful every step of the way.”
“They used my picture to attack my friend and colleague, to attack a man that has led significant legislative victories for women in Maine,” Breen said. “These disgusting ads resort to name-calling and repeat claims that are simply not true. They try to paint a picture of Troy that frankly no one knows and no one would recognize.”
“I know Troy Jackson. I know what kind of person he is and I trust him,” Dion said. “He's been a constant voice for people who don't have a voice. He steps up when people need help and when he gives you his word, he keeps it. Troy has always stood up for the people of Maine.”
NewsCenter Maine: Former colleagues recount Troy Jackson's track record in supporting Maine women
Maine Women's Lobby Executive Director Destie Hohman Sprague also discussed the nonprofit's recent endorsement of Jackson, in its first-ever Senate endorsement in the group's 48-year history.
"Troy is the reason we have historic levels of funding going to help families with child care, property tax relief, health care, housing, public safety, universal free school meals, and education," former State Sen. Cathy Breen (D-Cumberland) said. "He's done a tremendous amount for families from one end of Maine to the other."
In contrast, speakers pointed a finger at opponent Sen. Susan Collins for voting to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, who then helped overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, and her record of siding with President Donald Trump.
"We can't afford someone who will compromise on our rights, our health, and our safety," Sprague said. "That is why the Women's Lobby is endorsing Troy Jackson for U.S. Senate, because we need a senator who will fight for our rights, our resources, our families, and for our democracy at every step of the way."
"They can't defend Susan Collins' record, so they are resorting to personal attacks," State Rep. Rebecca Millett (D-Cumberland) said. "This TV ad and the disgusting radio ad that goes along with it reeks of desperation and it says a lot more about Senator Collins and her backers than it says about Troy."
Portland Press Herald: Troy Jackson’s partner responds to Republican attack ads
“Our children have been dragged into this campaign. Our relationship has been mocked. Our family has been talked about as though there is something shameful about who we are or where we come from,” Pelletier wrote. “There isn’t.”
She added, “I deeply resent watching Collins and her allies treat our lives as something beneath them — especially when serious issues involving women are manipulated into political weapons by people who show so little care for the women involved.”
The final stretch of Maine’s Senate campaign has gotten nasty, with national Republicans mounting an all-out attack on Jackson and his family.
WVII (FOX Bangor): Legislative Leaders defend Jackson at Press Conference
Allison LaPierre: A group of women and advocates came together today to show their support for Troy Jackson and to push back against political ads targeting him. Some of those women saying those ads are now misrepresenting their names, faces, and what they stand for.
Rebecca Millett: He has been a great colleague, incredibly supportive, always keeps his door open, and respectful every step of the way. [...]
Cathy Breen: They use my picture to attack my friend and colleague, to attack a man that has led significant legislative victories for women in Maine.
WGME: Maine Women’s Lobby endorses Troy Jackson
Anchor: A group of women and advocates are speaking out in support of Troy Jackson and pushing back against political ads targeting Jackson and themselves.
Rebecca Millett: He has been a great colleague, incredibly supportive, always keeps his door open, and respectful every step of the way.
Anchor: During an event Wednesday, the main women's lobby also endorsed Jackson, pointing to his work on reproductive rights, affordable childcare, and elevating women's voices in the legislature.
Washington Post: Families are no longer off-limits in political attacks
Some of the most audacious familial attacks — a departure from past campaigns when Republicans and Democrats barred their operations from such acrimonious hits — have come from Republicans, as polls show their candidates trailing in key races.
Taken together, the attacks highlight a concerted Republican effort to draw families into political campaigns at a moment when the party is struggling to find a closing message that lands with an electorate that has grown increasingly skeptical of their unified leadership in Washington.
Pelletier, Jackson’s partner, wrote an opinion piece published Wednesday that criticized his Senate opponent, incumbent Susan Collins, and Republicans for deciding “they know my life better than I do. They do not.”
“Our children have been dragged into this campaign. Our relationship has been mocked. Our family has been talked about as though there is something shameful about who we are or where we come from,” she wrote in the Bangor Daily News.
"He lifted up the voices of women," said former Democratic state lawmaker Rebecca Millett. "He appointed them into leadership positions. He trusted us with the important work of leading powerful committees and our colleagues."
"They can't defend Susan Collins' record, so they are resorting to personal attacks," Millett said. "This TV ad and the disgusting radio ad that goes along with it reek of desperation. And it says a lot more about Sen. Collins and her backers than it says about Troy."
In an op-ed published Wednesday, Lana Pelletier, Jackson’s partner, criticized the radio ad and other attacks on her family by Collins and her supporters, saying she never thought they “would stoop this low.”
“Sen. Collins has been quick to demand respect and decency for herself. My family deserved the same,” Pelletier said.
“I am not a helpless woman who needs politicians to tell the world what happened in my own life. And I am not a punchline or a caricature of where I come from,” she added.
WGAN: Women’s Group Endorses Troy Jackson
They credited Jackson for the Paid Family and Medical Leave program, funding for child care and increased access to reproductive rights. It was the first ever Senate endorsement for the Maine Women’s Lobby, which also emphasized Jackson’s appointment of several women to committee chairs as the state senate president.
“We’re supporting candidates who share our vision for a gender-equitable Maine where everyone can thrive, with a strong care infrastructure, economic equity, access to reproductive and gender-affirming health care, freedom from violence, and equal rights for all,” the Maine Women’s Lobby said in a statement.
Former state legislators also criticized Collins for ads funded by outside groups that use their faces to attack Jackson without their permission.
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