Mark Kelly

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Read all of our coverage of Maine's 2026 election or stay up to date with the latest developments through the Maine Political Report in your inbox or text messages from politics editor Kirby Wilson.

FREEPORT — U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona and possible 2028 presidential candidate, rallied support for local Democrats, including U.S. Senate candidate Troy Jackson, one week before the midterm elections.

Kelly leaned heavily into a populist message Tuesday evening at Maine Beer Company, saying that a Democratic Senate majority is needed to stand up to President Donald Trump and to help working-class families who are falling further behind, while the rich get richer.

“The system is still working — it’s just not working for you,” Kelly told a crowd of nearly 400 people while standing on a countertop. “You know what it’s working for? The people writing the rules, the rich, the powerful, the predators in the Epstein files. And the people who kissed Donald Trump’s ass. That’s who it works for.”

The event comes one week before the midterm elections. Jackson is locked in a tight battle against five-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins in Maine’s closely watched Senate race. The seat is viewed as a prime pickup opportunity for Democrats, but Collins has proved resilient in the past.

In addition to Jackson, Kelly also rallied support for Rep. Chellie Pingree, who is running for reelection in the 1st District; and Hannah Pingree, who is running for governor.

Kelly’s visit comes a week after former Sen. Joe Manchin, a longtime Democrat turned independent from West Virginia, campaigned with Collins.

At campaign stops in Lewiston and Norway, Manchin, who left the Democratic Party in 2024, called Collins the “soul of the Senate” and applauded her bipartisan credentials — something increasingly rare in the age of Trump.

During his brief remarks, Jackson, a former logger and state Senate president, talked about how political elites often look down on working-class people like him. He referenced a new Collins ad featuring former TV personality Bill Green.

After praising Collins, Green said he knows Jackson and that “we’re not talking about buying a cord of wood here. We’re sending someone to the U.S. Senate, and Troy doesn’t have the tools he needs to be effective.”

Jackson said the spot shows how people in power are working to keep ordinary working people down, claiming things like healthcare, child care, reproductive care and affordable prescription drugs and other needs are impossible to achieve.

“They want to make us feel like we’re something less,” Jackson said. “I just had that today with Bill Green. Yeah, I know what a cord would cost. I sure do. And a lot of people right now are trying to figure out how they’re going to heat their homes. … But we’re going to build something different that is actually going to stand up for people. And I’m excited about that.”

Kelly’s appearance is a big departure from the other national surrogates who came to Maine to campaign for Jackson. In recent weeks, Jackson has rallied Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. — all of whom are progressive stalwarts. Both Warren and Ocasio-Cortez held events geared toward college students.

Kelly, however, is more moderate. But he found common cause with Jackson in his messages about making corporations pay their fair share, helping working-class families and opposing Trump, who he said “isn’t even trying to do the job anymore.”

Kelly talked about how he came under fire from Trump over the summer when he released a video message urging troops to only follow legal orders. After that, Trump focused the power of the federal government against him, he said.

“In response, Donald Trump said I should be hanged, executed, prosecuted,” Kelly said. “He couldn’t even get the order right. Then he tried to indict me and throw me in jail. But that wasn’t about me. It’s actually about silencing veterans, retired service members. Really, it’s about silencing all of us.”

Kelly frequently referred to his wife, former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot by a gunman. He also discussed his personal background — being raised by two police officers, attending public school, serving in the Navy, becoming an astronaut and a U.S. senator.

“And president,” someone from the crowd shouted.

Randy Billings is a government watchdog and political reporter who has been the State House bureau chief since 2021. He was named the Maine Press Association’s Journalist of the Year in 2020. He joined... More by Randy Billings

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