Troy Jackson, the Democrats' replacement nominee for Maine's U.S. Senate seat, endorsed a former Democratic Socialists of America co-chair who once suggested Jesus of Nazareth was a communist, raising fresh questions about the party's leftward drift in a must-win race.
Jackson, a former lumberjack turned politician, publicly backed Todd Chretien's bid for a seat on the Portland City Council this week, calling Chretien a friend and praising him as a champion of working-class voters. Chretien, a self-described "revolutionary socialist," member of the International Socialist Organization, and former DSA co-chair, has spent years writing admiringly about Karl Marx, editing a book on the Russian Revolution featuring writings by Leon Trotsky and Vladimir Lenin, and dismissing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as holding "relatively tame social-democratic beliefs." The endorsement, first reported by the New York Post, lands at a moment when Maine Democrats can least afford another self-inflicted wound.
Jackson stepped into the Senate race after Graham Platner, the party's original nominee, was forced to drop out in July following a rape accusation. Platner denied the allegation, but also faced numerous other accusations of abuse and misconduct from former partners, as well as reports that he had been sexting with at least half a dozen women while married, a marriage that had taken place fewer than three years earlier, in 2023. He also had a Nazi tattoo, later inked over. The whole episode left Democrats scrambling with just months before Election Day.
Jackson was tapped to replace Platner. And one of the first allies at his side was Chretien, who had already backed Jackson in both a prior gubernatorial bid and the Senate race. Chretien served as a delegate for Jackson at the convention that formalized the swap.
Chretien's ideological record goes well beyond standard progressive talking points. In a May 2018 piece for SocialistWorker.org titled "How Marx Became a Marxist in Five Easy Steps," he wrote:
"Marx was hardly the first critic of society, though, and he was not even the first communist. Jesus of Nazareth was among the many to condemn 'rich men' long before Marx."
He went on to praise Marx in terms that would make most Maine voters blink. Chretien wrote:
"What makes Marx unique is that he was the first to propose a historically specific path for winning equality that combined defiance of oppression and exploitation with a social force potentially capable of replacing the elite."
That was not a one-off. In a December 2017 article on the same site, Chretien predicted that many socialists were aspiring to a "more revolutionary reckoning with the system." He described Sanders, the furthest-left member of the U.S. Senate, as holding "relatively tame social-democratic beliefs." When Bernie Sanders is too moderate for you, the word "mainstream" no longer applies.
Chretien also edited a book published by Haymarket Books called "Eyewitnesses of the Russian Revolution," which featured contributions from Trotsky and Lenin. The volume sits comfortably within a body of work that treats Marxist revolution not as a historical curiosity but as a living project.
None of this history stopped Jackson from issuing a warm public endorsement. In a statement shared on Chretien's Facebook page, Jackson said:
"Todd will stand up for working-class people in city hall. That's why I'm proud to support him and call him a friend."
The two have campaigned together throughout the 2026 midterm cycle. Social media posts show them describing themselves as sharing "the same mission." That mission, if Chretien's own writings are any guide, involves something considerably further left than better roads and lower property taxes.
Jackson already faces questions about his own judgment. At a campaign event in Belfast, Maine, an area where Platner had built strong support, Jackson expressed open regret about Platner's departure from the race. "I wish nothing would have happened with Graham," Jackson told the crowd. He continued: "I wish, you know, things would have continued like all that. It would have been much better."
The Republican National Committee's research arm posted video of the remarks on August 22, noting that Jackson "says he wishes Platner was still in the race." Platner, who has vehemently denied accusations of physical or sexual abuse, acknowledged he "wasn't always a great boyfriend." His exit from the race followed not just the rape accusation but a pattern of reported misconduct that deepened trouble for the party across Maine.
The New York Post reported reaching out to both Jackson's and Chretien's campaigns for comment. Neither response was included in the reporting, which suggests neither campaign chose to address the endorsement or Chretien's ideological record on the record.
Jackson's candidacy was already complicated before this week. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declined to back Jackson, a notable snub for a party that needs every Senate seat it can get. And Jackson's personal life has drawn scrutiny: genealogical records showed he fathered two children with his second cousin, a revelation that added another layer of awkwardness to an already troubled campaign.
Now Jackson has chosen to publicly align himself with a man who writes approvingly of Marx, treats the Russian Revolution as an instructive model, and classifies Jesus Christ as an early communist. Voters in a general election will have to decide whether "standing up for working-class people" means the same thing to Jackson as it does to Chretien, or whether Jackson simply did not bother to read his friend's published work before lending him his name.
Maine Democrats started this cycle with a scandal-plagued nominee and replaced him with a candidate who now vouches for a revolutionary socialist. At some point, the vetting problem stops being bad luck and starts being a pattern.
