WASHINGTON — Maine Senate candidate Troy Jackson has endorsed Todd Chretien, a former Democratic Socialists of America co-chair and Portland City Council hopeful who has described himself as a “revolutionary socialist” and argued that the far left should seek to “overturn the system.”
Jackson, a former lumberjack, announced his support for Chretien after Chretien previously backed him in his runs for governor and the U.S. Senate, including serving as a delegate for Jackson at the hastily organized convention that followed Graham Platner’s exit.
Chretien has long written and organized around socialist and far-left politics, including pieces that praise or analyze the legacy of Karl Marx, the 19th-century theorist widely known as the father of communism.
“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,” Chretien wrote in a 2018 article for SocialistWorker.org.
“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,” he added.
Chretien also edited “Eyewitnesses of the Russian Revolution,” a book that includes perspectives connected to Leon Trotsky and Vladimir Lenin.
As a member of the International Socialist Organization, Chretien once described Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as holding “relatively tame social-democratic beliefs” and said many socialists were looking toward a “more revolutionary reckoning with the system.”
Jackson framed his endorsement around economic issues, saying, “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 men have campaigned together frequently throughout the 2026 midterm election cycle, at one point, noting how the two men “share the same mission.”
In addition to backing Chretien recently, Jackson appeared to reminisce over disgraced oyster farmer Graham Platner, whom he stepped in to replace as the Democrats’ pick for Maine’s Senate seat.
“I wish nothing would have happened with Graham,” Jackson lamented during a campaign event in Belfast, Maine, last week.
“I wish, you know, things would have continued like all that. It would have been much better. But when it did, I just didn’t want to see all these people that are looking for somebody to fight for them go away once again broken and hopeless.”
Jackson had been speaking in a part of Maine where Platner built a particularly robust base of support.
The Post reached out to both Jackson’s and Chretien’s campaigns for comment.
Platner was forced to drop out of the Maine Senate race after facing a disturbing rape accusation, which came on top of numerous allegations of abuse and misconduct by former lovers.
He has vehemently denied accusations of physical or sexual abuse, but acknowledged he wasn’t always a great boyfriend.
The horny oyster farmer had been a magnet for scandals, with his Nazi tattoo, which he later inked over, and lengthy Reddit history where he suggested a Purple Heart veteran deserved to die, mused about pleasuring himself in porta potties, defended urinating on dead Taliban fighters, and more.
Additionally, Platner faced accusations that he sexted with at least half a dozen women while married, despite tying the knot fewer than three years prior, in 2023. Platner was also found to have had a Kik account, which is an anonymous platform that has a reputation of being used for hookups.
