Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson is in a long-term relationship with his high school sweetheart, who is also his second cousin, a new report claims.
Jackson, 58, and Lana Pelletier share two adult sons and the same great-grandparents, according to a report by independent journalist Steve Robinson. The report notes that such relationships are legal under Maine state law and are not uncommon in the rural North Maine Woods region near the Canadian border.
While Jackson, a former logger and former president of the Maine State Senate, has referred to Pelletier as his wife in the past, local residents indicate the couple has never been legally married.
Jackson grew up in the village of Allagash and attended nearby Fort Kent High School alongside Pelletier. According to genealogical records cited in the report, Jackson’s maternal grandmother and Pelletier’s paternal grandfather were siblings, making Jackson’s mother and Pelletier’s father first cousins.
Under Maine law, marriages to parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, or uncles remain prohibited. While first-cousin marriages were initially banned in 1985, a subsequent statutory amendment permits such unions provided the couple presents a signed genetic counseling certificate certifying a low risk of genetic abnormalities for prospective children. Second-cousin relationships face no legal restriction.
Jackson was formally nominated at a special party convention on July 25 to challenge incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins following the withdrawal of Graham Platner.
Responding to the report, Jackson’s campaign released a statement:
“Susan Collins will do anything to distract from the fact that she votes with Trump 96% of the time and has sold out working people in Maine. Personal attacks on Troy’s family are shameful and desperate.”