Maine Democrats initially thought they had escaped one political mess after Graham Platner dropped out of the U.S. Senate race. However, their handpicked replacement—former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson—has now become embroiled in a family connection that appears almost too unusual to be true.
Shawn Farash captured the immediate reaction as reports spread across social media: The claim is that Jackson and his longtime partner, Lana Pelletier, are second cousins and have two adult sons together.
The family relationship is supported by public obituary records that trace both sides back to the same couple. Democrats selected Jackson at a hastily arranged convention after Platner withdrew from the race. Platner had won the June primary before dropping out amid a sexual assault allegation he denied.
Jackson, a former president of the Maine Senate and a fifth-generation logger from northern Maine, had campaigned alongside Platner during his own unsuccessful run for governor. Progressive activists quickly consolidated behind him once the replacement process began.
The seat matters far beyond Maine. Democrats view Republican Sen. Susan Collins as one of their best possible targets in the fight for control of the Senate, but Jackson now has only a few months to introduce himself to independent voters while Republicans spend heavily to define him first.
Instead of getting a clean reset, Democrats moved from Platner’s collapsed candidacy directly into a new round of scrutiny surrounding the man their delegates chose to put on the ballot.
Independent records confirm the relationship: An obituary for Louis Pelletier identifies him as a son of Thomas Pelletier and Edith Thibodeau Pelletier, while also naming Albertine O’Leary as his sister. The same obituary places Lana Pelletier and Troy Jackson among Louis’ grandchildren.
A separate obituary for Albertine O’Leary identifies her as another daughter of Thomas and Edith Pelletier and lists Colleen McBreairty among her children. Colleen McBreairty is Jackson’s mother, a fact also reflected in biographical records.
The records show that Louis Pelletier and Albertine O’Leary were siblings, their children were first cousins, and their grandchildren—Lana Pelletier and Troy Jackson—are second cousins. The evidence also supports the report that Jackson and Pelletier have two adult sons.
Under Maine law, second cousins are not prohibited from marrying. The statute bars marriages involving parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles. It also permits first cousin marriages only with a physician’s certificate of genetic counseling.
So the news is not that Maine Democrats nominated someone accused of an illegal relationship. The news is that the party replaced one scandal-scarred nominee with another candidate whose previously little-known family connection is now backed by public records and spreading nationally.
For Democrats hoping Jackson would let them turn the page on Graham Platner, that honeymoon lasted less than a week.
