Obama endorses Jackson as Maine Senate race enters final stretch

Former President Barack Obama has thrown his support behind Democrat Troy Jackson in Maine's U. S. Senate contest, adding a prominent voice to the party's effort to deny Republican Sen. Susan Collins a sixth term. Jackson's campaign released a video in which Obama presented the candidate as a fifth-generation logger who understands financial strain, and credited his work in the Maine Legislature on wages, prescription drug prices, school meals and abortion rights. The endorsement landed hours before the second of the pair's debates in three days, with four scheduled in total. Early voting in Maine runs Oct. 5-19, and Obama urged residents to turn out, according to MS NOW.

Jackson entered the general election unexpectedly. Graham Platner won the June primary but left the race in July amid a sexual assault allegation, which he denied, and party delegates then picked Jackson at a special convention.

Abortion has become a central theme. Jackson once opposed abortion rights and earned top marks from Maine Right to Life, but he later reversed course, drawing 100% ratings from Planned Parenthood's Maine chapter, and says listening to women and doctors changed his mind.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →