Maine Democrats on Saturday overwhelmingly nominated Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president and logger by trade, as their party’s nominee to challenge longtime Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November’s high-stakes US Senate election.“Well, thank you, Maine,” Jackson, 58, said after securing the votes of 566 of 571 delegates during Saturday’s special Democratic convention at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. “Today we turn the page, today this becomes a general election campaign, and today we win the work of defeating Susan Collins in November.”“For nearly 30 years, Collins has told Maine that she is ‘concerned’,” Jackson said, referring to the 73-year-old incumbent’s go-to word when President Donald Trump and Republicans attack rights and justice. “She was concerned while she rubber-stamped Trump’s Medicaid cuts and gutted our healthcare.”“She’s concerned when she cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy,” he continued. “Concerned when she confirmed justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. And really tragically, she was concerned when she gave [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] billions to terrorize our neighbors and murder people in the streets with no accountability.”“But concern does not lower the costs of groceries or gas,” Jackson said. “Concern does not keep our monitoring wards of rural hospitals like down in Lincoln County open. Concern does not restore all the rights that she’s taken away. Maine does not need another six years of concern. We need someone with courage. We need a fighter, and we need a senator who remembers exactly who sent them to Washington.”“So if you’ve ever been ignored, underestimated, pushed around, or told that you have to wait your turn while the rich cut the line, I’m asking you to stand with us in this campaign,” he continued. “If you believe in your heart that healthcare is a right, stand with us. And if you believe that workers deserve power, stand with us. And if you believe our freedoms are worth defending, stand with us.”“And if you believe that Maine deserves a senator who will fight like hell for working-class people, well, stand with us,” Jackson added. “We have a party to unite, we have a movement to build, and we have a senator to defeat.”Jackson’s improbably rapid rise followed former Democratic nominee Graham Platner’s withdrawal from the race earlier this month amid allegations of sexual assault and abusive behavior. Supporters of Platner’s progressive platform warned at the time that they would not back a replacement candidate who did not share the same pro-worker, anti-war agenda.While Collins spokeswoman Blake Kernen called Jackson a “low-energy version” of Platner, Maine Democrats decided the fifth-generation lumberjack fit the bill.“The working class has been left behind and forgotten about,” Shelly Mountain, a former Aroostook County Democratic Committee chairwoman and Jackson delegate at the convention, told NBC News. “He is definitely working class and always—has always—been a champion for the working class.”Progressive politicians, advocacy groups, and labor organizations cheered Jackson’s nomination, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) saying that “he’s ready to fight for working people and flip this seat.”International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) president Brian Bryant said Saturday that “Troy Jackson knows firsthand what it means to work hard for a living and fight for a better future for working families.”“Throughout his career, he has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with union members and working people, never backing down from a challenge when workers’ rights were on the line,” he added. “He represents the strength of a people-powered movement focused on fairness, opportunity, and economic justice. Troy has our full support as he heads to the general election.”
President Trump’s newly announced tariffs could put Republican candidates at risk going into the midterms as Democrats seek to go on the offensive over the economic impact of Trump’s trade agenda. The Trump administration announced Thursday it will impose double-digit tariffs on imports from 60 trading partners over forced labor violations. Those duties went into…
Senator Lisa Murkowski’s concerns about the SAVE America Act are legitimate, and they can be fixed with amendments rather than a no vote.
The post Exclusive—Jenny Beth Martin: Senator Murkowski, Let’s Get You to ‘Yes’ on the SAVE America Act appeared first on Breitbart.
President Donald Trump's insistence that a Qatari-donated jumbo jet be ready to serve as a temporary Air Force One in time for the nation's 250th birthday led to the omission of several key security features found on the current presidential fleet, a New York Times investigation revealed Friday.Trump demanded the retrofitted 747-8 be ready by July 4, compressing what would normally be a multi-year security overhaul into just eight months, according to the Times. Trump personally signed off on the plane's features and security measures, according to people familiar with his role who spoke to the Times on condition of anonymity.“President Trump was entranced,” the Times’ report reads, referencing the president’s deep and personal involvement in the project, which the outlet found he gave “final approval on features and security measures that would be included.”Missing from the retrofitted jet: a lower-level exit door used for high-risk situations, a second auxiliary power unit and the infrared countermeasure system designed to detect and jam incoming missiles, according to public Air Force records and photographs reviewed by the Times.Frank Kendall, who oversaw the Air Force One modernization program as both Pentagon acquisition chief and Air Force secretary under President Joe Biden, said the omissions carry real risk."People need to be aware it has a lot of shortfalls compared to Air Force One; they do add a measure of risk," Kendall said.The Pentagon has also worked to obscure the project's true cost – including from Congress – by drawing funds from a classified nuclear modernization budget known as Sentinel, the Times found. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) accused the administration of using the maneuver to dodge oversight."They have declared this work to be a national security secret that cannot be divulged even to appropriators," Murphy said. "That is absolutely unacceptable."White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the aircraft, calling it "fully mission-ready and safe for presidential travel today."
Democrats are betting Jackson’s rural roots, labor background and populist message can connect with voters as Republicans say he is a longtime lawmaker with a blustery past.
The Maine Democratic Party may have just nominated a candidate who may be worse than the nominee previously forced out of the race, and there are even questions about whether he's eligible to run.
The post Worse Than Graham Platner? Troubling Personal Questions Emerge for Maine’s New Democrat Nominee for Senate – And He May Be Ineligible to Run appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
A MAGA meltdown erupted online Saturday because a young man stated a fact to Erika Kirk in church. The supposed infiltration occurred Friday night as Kirk spoke at the Pursuit Church in Kirkland, Washington, as part of her "Make Heaven Crowded" tour event — and was interrupted by the shouts of a young man who rose to his feet."You married Charlie Kirk," he cried out. Video then shows the young man being dragged away and handcuffed by heavy security. The X account Frontlines TPUSA, which is affiliated with the Kirk-led Turning Point USA, described it as a "scary moment," despite the young man being the only one standing up and shouting the one line. According to the account, "A far-left activist infiltrated" the event.Jonathan Choe, who recorded the video posted by Frontlines TPUSA, asked the young man what he wanted to say to Erika Kirk, but he mostly remained silent, only saying, "The things she supports is offensive."Kirk took the reins at TPUSA following the assassination of her husband Charlie Kirk at a Utah University speaking event on Sept. 10, 2025. Earlier this year, students successfully got their Phoenix high school to pull the plug on her planned on-campus event because they found her views "too extremist."Her husband's violent death complicated the legacy as a MAGA influencer who made a career promoting what the Congressional Black Caucus Black Caucus has condemned as “racist, harmful, and fundamentally un-American” ideals.Choe described the events on his own account by writing, "Unhinged whacko went on a tirade" and "he got owned real fast." Meanwhile, other MAGA accounts agreed, "It was scary," while others praised Kirk for continuing.Some accounts questioned the description. Seattle-based journalist Hannah Krieg asked "what infiltrate means" here, as "It was a publicly advertised event with no screening process."Writer Matthew Boedy agreed, noting, "Interesting use of 'infiltrated.' Isn't this a tour to evangelize? Don't want people like this?"The event was also met with protesters who marched outside the church. MAGA commentators similarly went after them, with radio show host Jason Rantz calling them "wicked, evil monsters" in an X post.
