Troy Jackson Apologizes to Jewish Mainers—What Other Democrats Have Said - Newsweek

Troy Jackson, the Democratic candidate in the Maine Senate race, apologized for recent remarks about how Jewish people view the term “genocide” amid the war in Gaza.

Jackson’s recent comments come as Israel remains a major dividing line between him and Republican Senator Susan Collins. The Maine Senate race is expected to be one of the most competitive races of the 2026 midterm elections, and polls point to a close race.

Although Maine generally has a Democratic lean, Collins has won by large margins in the past due to her personal popularity and moderate image. Jackson, the former president of the Maine Senate, is hoping to dislodge her support among independents and moderate Democrats to flip the seat in the November 3 election, as President Donald Trump’s declining approval rating fuels a more favorable national environment.

Jackson, who has said the United States should not be providing a “blank check” to the Israeli government, has faced scrutiny over the recent remarks made to News Center Maine about how Jewish Americans view the term “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. It fits that description. And it’s an unbelievable thing that’s happened there that people that are innocent are being murdered, and it is a genocide,” he said.

Jackson apologized for the remarks in a statement provided to Newsweek on Thursday.

“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,” he said. “In trying to acknowledge that, I misspoke and made a generalization about Jewish Mainers’ views that doesn't reflect what I meant to say.”

He said that he apologizes for “the pain that caused.”

“Mainers hold a range of deeply considered views, and I promise I will always listen and work to approach these conversations with the care and respect they deserve. In the U.S. Senate, I’ll fight antisemitism and work for lasting peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis,” Jackson said.

The “genocide” label remains a divisive sticking point among Democrats.

Many more progressive Democrats like Jackson have accused the Israeli government of engaging in a genocide in Gaza, but others have pushed back on that label, arguing that Israel’s actions were in response to an October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that killed about 1,200 people.

At least 74,000 people have died in Gaza, according to the Associated Press, citing Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Thirty-one percent of Americans believe Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide, compared to 20 percent who say Israel has not committed a genocide, according to an AP-NORC poll of 3,040 adults from June 11 to 17, 2026.

Collins and Jackson are facing a tight race in Maine, according to the latest polling data.

Jackson led a new poll of the Senate races from AARP published on Thursday. He was up 3 points, 50 percent to 47 percent, in that poll, which surveyed 982 likely voters from September 20 to 22. It was conducted by Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research.

A new co/efficient poll published on Wednesday found that 48 percent of Mainers are planning to vote for Collins, compared to 46 percent who plan to cast their ballot for Jackson. Six percent were undecided. It surveyed 1,240 likely voters from September 28 to 30, 2026, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.77 percentage points.

Collins held a 3-point lead in the latest poll from The New York Times, Siena University and The Portland Press Herald released last week, with 49 percent of respondents supporting her reelection bid compared to 46 percent planning to vote for Jackson. It surveyed 619 likely voters from September 15 to 22.

However, Jackson had a 4-point lead in a University of New Hampshire poll released the same day. He had support from 51 percent of respondents to Collins’ 47 percent, up from July, when he led by 3 points. It surveyed 1,312 likely voters from September 17 to 21 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.

Jackson has cast himself as a critic of Israel and supports restricting aid to the nation amid its actions in Gaza.

Collins is more supportive of Israel and has not used the term “genocide” to describe its actions.

“I remain a very strong supporter of Israel, the one democracy in the Middle East. Our true ally in the Middle East, and I think this sadly reflects a rising antisemitism in our country that Graham Platner certainly is part of, and has been since his high school days,” she said in a Fox News interview earlier this year, referring to her original opponent who dropped out amid sexual assault allegations, which he has denied.

The Maine Senate race is viewed as a must-win for Democrats hoping to flip control of the chamber, where Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority.

Democrats must flip four seats to win a majority, as Vice President JD Vance would serve as the tiebreaker in an evenly split Senate. Given that Maine voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris by 7 points in 2024, the state is a top target for Democrats in an environment that is expected to more heavily favor them.

Collins winning reelection would make it more difficult for Democrats to take control of the Senate. It means they would have to win another seat in a more conservative state that backed Trump by double digits in 2024 to stand a chance of winning a majority.

Democratic candidates have taken diverging views on Israel ahead of the midterms.

Brown, a former Senator running to make a comeback in Ohio, has been supportive of Israel in the past.

After the October 7 attack, he wrote in a statement that Israel “has the right to exist and the right to self-defense” and that he would “keep working in a bipartisan way to ensure that Israel has the resources to defend itself and that the United States is doing everything we can to support our ally.”

Jewish Insider has described him as a “pro-Israel progressive.”

El-Sayed, who is running in Michigan, has been a vocal critic of Israel and has described its conduct in Gaza as a genocide.

In a July interview with CNN, he described Israel as a “rogue state” that “did a genocide.”

“I would consider them a rogue state. It's a state, and it deserves to be treated in accordance with how it violates human rights and international law. And we are definitely not doing that right now,” he said.

He said during a recent interview on the Raging Moderates podcast that he understands his use of the word “genocide” can “pique a lot of really uncomfortable traumas for folks.”

“But I’ve also studied my history. When you look at the world’s greatest, worst genocide in history, the greatest crime committed on people that is in memorable history, the murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust, coming out of that horrific crime, the word genocide was created to explain what that was,” he said. “The whole point of creating that word is not that you have to wait until the crime is that big again to be able to use it. Otherwise it loses its power.”

Peltola, a former representative who is running for Senate in Alaska, established a more pro-Israel voting record in the House of Representatives. She has not referred to its actions in Gaza as a “genocide.”

Her campaign has not focused on foreign policy as she challenges Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican.

Talarico is running against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in Texas. He has walked a fine line, wanting to bring peace to the region. He has criticized the Israeli government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but has also stopped short of using “genocide” to describe its actions.

His campaign website states that his “north star” is to “protect innocent life.”

“October 7th was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust — and Israel has the right to defend its people. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not have the right to bomb civilians, restrict aid, or use forced famine and collective punishment as tactics,” his website reads.

In Iowa’s Senate race, Turek has described Israel as “one of the few functioning democracies in the Mid East,” but has said that there should not be any “unnecessary killing of civilians and children.”

“My thought is that there should be no taxpayer dollars going to any organization, group, regime that is not abiding by international law,” he said in an interview with Iowa Starting Line.

Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Gray R. Thomas