LEWISTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders urged Mainers Sunday to back Democrat Troy Jackson for U.S. Senate, saying it’s the only way to put a check on the power of President Donald Trump.
The Vermont independent stumped for Jackson at a get-out-the-vote rally less than 30 days before Jackson takes on Republican Sen. Susan Collins on Nov. 3.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful to either Susan Collins or Troy, but the truth of the matter is this election is much more than either of those candidates,” he said. “It is about holding Trump accountable and ending Republican control over the United States Senate.”
Maine is one of a handful hotly contested Senate races that will determine control of the chamber.
Throughout the campaign, Collins has worked to distance herself from Trump. And on Sunday, she joined a bipartisan group of senators to oppose Trump’s plan to import diesel fuel from Russia.
“Congress explicitly banned Russian energy imports in 2022 to prevent American dollars from financing Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine,” according to the statement from Collins and others. “Congress was clear: The U.S. should not import oil from Russia until it ends its aggression against Ukraine and ceases threats against our NATO allies.”
The rally with Sanders, Jackson and other local leaders was the second of Sanders’ three stops across the state over the weekend. A Saturday night rally in Bangor drew more than 600 people and Sunday’s noontime rally in Lewiston attracted nearly 700, according to the Jackson campaign.
Among those in attendance were Melvin Gonzalez and Ralph Caraway of Richmond who said they had never before attended a political rally.
“We always vote, but this time we’re like we need to get out there,” Gonzalez said. “It’s time.”
Sadie Landry of Lewiston said in the past she’s voted for Collins and had never heard Jackson speak at a rally. But even before it began, she knew she would support him over Collins.
“She seems to not have a spine,” Landry said. “She’s just not standing up for things. She’s not speaking for us anymore.”
Jackson reprised many of his campaign slogans, including his support for universal healthcare, taking on pharmaceutical companies and expanding Social Security.
But he also talked about how his attitudes toward gun rights changed after the mass shooting in Lewiston on Oct. 25, 2023. He said attending the funerals of the 18 people killed at a bar and bowling alley led to his support for more thorough background checks, a red flag law and a 72-hour waiting period after firearm purchases.
“We cannot keep treating mass shootings like they are a natural disaster,” he said. “We owe them the courage to change.”
Sanders, who like independent Sen. Angus King caucuses with Democrats, said he supports Jackson because he believes he will help advance progressive causes like Medicare for All and opposition to foreign wars.
He hit other familiar themes as well, including the increasingly wide gap between the wealthy and the working class and the power wielded by those who donate to political campaigns.
He also warned about the coming dangers of artificial intelligence, the potential for widespread job losses and the tech industry’s failure to always control what they are creating.
He called for a change in government that would allow more power to be in the hands of the people, not powerful men like Elon Musk.
“Clearly what this election is about is taking on not only the Republicans, but taking on Musk, taking on the oligarchs and beginning to fight for an economy and government that works for all of us, not just the 1%,” he said.
