AUGUSTA, MAINE - In a significant early endorsement in Maine’s 2026 governor’s race, US Senator Bernie Sanders has thrown his support behind Troy Jackson, the former Maine Senate President and longtime champion of working-class issues and political reform.

“I strongly support Troy Jackson for Maine Governor because he knows what it’s like to feel powerless — and how to turn that into action,” Sanders said in a statement on Facebook. “So I’m asking you: get involved and support his campaign. When working people stand together, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.”

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Jackson, a logger from Aroostook County who previously served more than two decades in the Maine Legislature, officially launched his gubernatorial campaign on May 19 surrounded by union members at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. He has made his working-class roots the centerpiece of his message — a theme echoed in Sanders’ endorsement.

“This campaign is about the people who keep this state running: loggers, nurses, farmers, teachers, truck drivers, and small business owners,” Jackson said. “Folks who work hard, pay their dues, and still can’t catch a break.”

Jackson has long aligned himself with Sanders’ populist politics, endorsing the Vermont senator’s presidential campaigns in both 2016 and 2020. He served as a superdelegate for Sanders in 2016, introduced him before thousands at rallies in Portland, and helped organize grassroots support across the state. 

“I’ve supported Bernie from the beginning because he’s spent his life standing up to corporate power and building a movement that fights for working people,” he said. “I’m honored to have his support now, because that’s exactly what this campaign is about, too.”

Jackson has positioned himself as an anti-establishment Democrat who is not seeking higher office for personal ambition.

“I’m not in this race for the spotlight or to advance my own career,” he said. “I’m running because I know what it’s like to put in 80-hour weeks and still wonder if you can pay the bills. I know what it’s like to get told you’re replaceable, while some billionaire gets richer off your labor.”

He added: “Until our elected officials really understand those realities, we’ll never see meaningful change.”

Jackson said his campaign will reject corporate influence and focus on grassroots power. “We’re building this thing the right way — no billionaire agendas, no corporate strings. Just people like you and me, working together to change what’s broken.”

With Sanders’ backing, Jackson enters the Democratic primary as a leading contender in a race where independent voters often decide elections. Both the Democratic and Republican primaries in June 2026 will be open to independent voter participation and Maine voters use ranked choice voting for all statewide and federal primary elections.

As Maine’s Senate President, Jackson wrote the law that made Maine the first state in the nation to use ranked choice voting for President.

“Bernie believes in this campaign,” Jackson said. “I hope you do too.”

In April, IVN reported that Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrapped up their Fighting Oligarchy Tour, after a five-day, seven-stop sweep through the West that drew nearly 150,000 people—capping it off with an unexpected appearance by Sanders at the Coachella music festival. The tour had a consistent refrain: no cuts to Medicaid, and a sharp critique of corporate concentration, billionaire influence, and political corruption. 

IVN reported June 2 that recent polls show overwhelming opposition among independents to cutting Medicaid. Those views are gaining traction in the Senate, where a group of Republican lawmakers is openly opposing provisions in the House-passed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that could result in citizens across the nation losing coverage.