Troy Jackson, the latest Democrat trying to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) after Graham Platner crashed and burned like the Hindenburg, has a family situation that, well, is really gross. Jackson's longtime partner, Lana Pelletier, the mother of his two adult sons, is also his second cousin. Despite Jackson referring to her as his wife on more than one occasion, the two have never actually gotten married.
The Maine Wire confirmed the cousin relationship, and the story promptly went viral. Pelletier has stood beside Jackson through years of campaigns, most recently his failed run for governor.
To locals, none of this is exactly breaking news.
In Allagash itself, the Jackson-Pelletier arrangement has been an open secret for decades. The couple’s two sons are grown. Pelletier works as a clinical care specialist with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Jackson has built a political brand on being the authentic working-class guy from the far north woods.
The fact that his domestic partner is also a blood relative of the second-cousin variety may strike outsiders as the punchline to a Deliverance joke. The comparisons between Appalachia and Allagash write themselves.
To locals who have watched the same surnames — Pelletier, McBreairty, Jackson and O’Leary — recycle through town records for generations, it is simply another data point in a place where the dating pool is shallower than the trout streams.
Jackson and Pelletier live together as domestic partners, and that matters legally because Maine does not recognize common-law marriage. No matter how long they have lived under one roof or how many times Jackson has called her his wife, there is no marriage on record and no legal marriage under state law. His campaign now describes Pelletier as his "partner." Older official biographies were not so careful, referring to her outright as his wife.
I don’t care what you call it; it’s still gross.
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The Maine Wire pointed out that cousin marriages among patrician New England elites were once a tool for keeping wealth and bloodlines tidy. Whatever comfort that historical footnote offers, it does not change how this looks in 2026, and it does not change the fact that Jackson has never once publicly addressed the cousin connection. No statement. No explanation. Nothing.
This is just the latest layer on a candidacy that already had plenty of baggage. Jackson lost his own party's gubernatorial primary once before, so his hunger for higher office is nothing new. He also carries allegations of abusive behavior toward women, which I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more about soon.
If Democrats thought the drama was going to be over once they ditched Graham Platner, they were wrong. Jackson may not have a Nazi tattoo or, as of yet, been accused of rape, but, as we previously reported, there is a legal question hanging over Jackson's candidacy. State Rep. James White (R-Maine) has questioned whether Jackson can even legally be the Democrat nominee, since state law bars candidates from seeking more than one office "at any election." White's case leans on the U.S. Supreme Court's 1974 ruling in Storer v. Brown, in which the justices described primary elections as "an integral part of the entire election process."
Between the eligibility questions, the abuse allegations, and now a live-in cousin he has called his wife, Maine Democrats keep landing on candidates who generate headlines for all the wrong reasons. Collins is not exactly beloved by the Republican base, but next to the candidates Democrats keep putting up, she looks like the safe, boring choice. Maine cannot seem to avoid problematic candidates, and Troy Jackson is proof the streak is not ending anytime soon.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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