Schumer Says He and Troy Jackson Are ‘Working Together’

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he met with Democratic Maine Senate hopeful Troy Jackson Wednesday morning.

“We had a great meeting this morning,” Schumer told reporters. “We’re working together to win the seat, beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.”

It’s the first time the New York Democrat has publicly commented on the race since calling for Graham Platner to drop out of the race after sexual assault allegations.

None of Jackson’s potential Senate colleagues have endorsed him since the Maine Democratic Party selected him as the new nominee last Saturday, according to his endorsements page. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) had endorsed Jackson during his earlier gubernatorial run this year. That support has not carried over to Jackson’s Senate campaign: Sanders campaigned heavily for Platner before the allegations broke.

Jackson, like several Senate candidates this cycle, has said he would not support Schumer as leader next year.

“The Democratic Party needs to have a different approach — getting people back in the party, getting working-class, everyday people back in the party — and I don’t believe it’s going to happen with Senator Schumer,” Jackson said in an interview with The New York Times earlier this month.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee backed Jackson’s nomination after it was made official.

“Troy Jackson is a fifth-generation logger with a demonstrated ability to win,” Schumer and Chair Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) said in a statement that day. “A champion for affordable health care and working people, Jackson has harnessed the grassroots energy in Maine and is well-positioned to defeat Susan Collins, who is more vulnerable than she has ever been.”

Jackson has also earned the endorsement of former Vice President Kamala Harris, who won Maine by nearly 7 percentage points during her presidential run in 2024.