Maine Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson is apologizing for comments about Jewish Mainers after saying it was “unfortunate” that some of them refuse to describe the war in Gaza as a “genocide” because of the term’s connection to the Holocaust.
It’s the latest fumble for the Democrat, who has embraced the “genocide” label since entering the race after Graham Platner, whose insurgent anti-war campaign attracted significant support from the left, dropped out amid a rape allegation that he denies.
“I believe what’s happening in Gaza is genocide, and I also understand that word carries particular weight for many Jewish families given the Holocaust—the genocide of six million Jews,” Jackson said in a statement. “In trying to acknowledge that, I misspoke and made a generalization about Jewish Mainers’ views that doesn’t reflect what I meant to say.”
“I apologize for the pain that caused.”
His comments threaten to alienate key voters as polls show a tight race, while incumbent Sen. Susan Collins has a history of outperforming polls even in difficult election cycles for Republicans. One survey released Wednesday shows Collins up by two points.
The controversy kicked off at a town hall over the weekend. A voter told Jackson she would not vote for a pro-Israel candidate, leading the Democrat to claim Israel is committing a “genocide” in Gaza and that he is “not willing to vote for any more bombs.”
“I’m definitely, you know, not willing to vote for any more bombs, any more aid going,” Jackson said. “I mean, I’ve said yesterday that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s a war criminal; I would prosecute him. I obviously reiterated what was going on there.”
In a follow-up interview Tuesday with Portland’s NBC affiliate, Jackson called it “unfortunate” that some Jewish Mainers object to describing the war as a “genocide.”
“It’s unfortunate that there are people here in Maine that don’t like to use that term only because they’re Jewish and what that means to them, with the Holocaust,” Jackson said. “It fits that description and it is. It’s an unbelievable thing that’s happened there that people that are innocent are being murdered, and it is a genocide.”
The comment drew immediate backlash.
When the NBC affiliate asked Jackson about Hamas’ role in triggering the war on Oct. 7, the Senate hopeful said, “You could argue the same thing for Hamas too. There’s people that are wrong on both sides of this issue. But in the end, senseless murders, horrific murders are happening to both sides, and that has to stop.”
Jackson’s comments on Hamas and the Israeli government come as he seeks to draw a sharp contrast with Sen. Collins, a longtime supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Jackson has said that, if elected, he would stop voting for “blank checks” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Since taking over the Democratic nomination, Jackson has also made opposition to U.S. aid for Israel a central part of his campaign against Collins.
“Susan Collins has voted again and again to send billions in military aid to Israel throughout this war,” Jackson said in a recent statement. “She’s part of the same broken Washington system that keeps funding these conflicts while working people here get screwed.”
The Cook Political Report rates the race as a toss-up.
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