Platner's replacement faces new Senate campaign headache tied to his son's lobbying

Former state Senator Troy Jackson, who has replaced Graham Platner as the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, backed bills seeking to send millions of dollars in public funds to a college while his son lobbied on its behalf, documents show.

Jackson’s son, Chace, was registered as a lobbyist for the Maine Maritime Academy at the same time as his father was serving as president of the Maine Senate, according to state lobbying records. In 2024, the elder Jackson co-sponsored legislation that would have sent $13.4 million to the maritime academy after pushing a bill providing the institution with an additional $2 million per year in 2023, with both pieces of legislation being drafted while Jackson's son was lobbying for the college.

"Troy Jackson authored Augusta’s failed status quo and has turned public office into a family affair of self-enrichment," National Republican Senatorial Committee press secretary Bernadette Breslin told Fox News Digital. "He’ll always prioritize personal kickbacks over the needs of working Mainers."

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Former State Senator Troy Jackson, a Democrat from Maine and gubernatorial candidate, speaks during a Fighting Oligarchy event with Graham Platner (Sophie Park / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Before his son was lobbying on its behalf, Jackson also supported legislation in early 2022 that provided the academy with a one-time $6.8 million payment to fund repairs to one of its buildings.

Jackson’s son first registered as a lobbyist for the Maine Maritime Academy in December 2022, according to public records. He renewed his lobbying registration in January 2024, just as his father was co-sponsoring legislation that would have sent over $10 million to the academy.

While the Maine Maritime Academy funding boost Jackson backed in 2023 went into effect, his 2024 bill passed the Maine Senate but was never signed into law.

"Troy Jackson has fought for working Mainers, and [is] guided by one goal: fixing our broken system so Maine's working families stop getting squeezed while the rich get richer," a spokesperson for the Jackson campaign told the Washington Free Beacon, which first reported on the lobbying records.

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Troy Jackson speaks as he became the Maine Democratic Party's choice to be their U.S. Senate nominee to replace Graham Platner on the ballot in November on July 25, 2026, in Bangor, Maine. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

In April, Jackson justified his failed run for governor by claiming that the "status quo isn't working" in Maine because of "special interests, high-priced lobbyists and corporate greed." In addition to representing the Maine Maritime Academy, Chace Jackson works as one of the expensive lobbyists his father has criticized, at one point representing the multinational alcohol company behind premium beverages such as Johnnie Walker whiskey and Don Julio tequila.

In 2024, while his father was the Maine Senate president, the younger Jackson represented nine clients. That sum dropped to five clients after his father left the chamber in 2025.

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Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, left, is on a glidepath to replace ex-candidate Graham Platner as the Democratic Party's Senate nominee in Maine and face off in the midterm elections against longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins. (Ryan Murphy/Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

A bill targeting an oil and gas giant died in the Maine Senate during Jackson's Maine Senate tenure and while his son was lobbying on behalf of the fossil fuel corporation in question.

The former state senator is facing off against incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins in November. Jackson replaced Platner as the Democrat on the ballot after his campaign was hit with a series of controversies, ranging from crude deleted Reddit posts to a Nazi-linked tattoo, which culminated in an allegation of rape, prompting the self-identified oyster farmer to drop out of the race.

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Jackson, his son and the Maine Maritime Academy did not respond to requests for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.