Rallying For Troy Jackson In Maine, Encouraging Generic Ballots Polls, Big Wins For Katie Phang And The Dem AGs

We have a new nominee in Maine, Troy Jackson, and now we need to go help him win!

Happy Sunday everyone. The big news today is that we have a new Senate nominee in Maine, and it’s time for us to rally around him! Here’s Troy Jackson’s acceptance speech from yesterday. Let’s watch so we can get to know him a bit better:

Here’s a good Politico story that talks about Troy and where this race is now. Some excerpts:

BANGOR, Maine — Democrats’ new Maine Senate nominee entered the general election with a very different focus than the man he’s replacing — one solely about Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Troy Jackson, a progressive fifth-generation logger from the northern woods of Allagash, spent almost the entirety of his 20-minute nomination acceptance speech on Saturday afternoon hammering Collins, from her 1990s pledge to only serve two terms to her history of voting with President Donald Trump “96 percent of the time.”

“Susan Collins and I both come from Aroostook County. But that is where the similarities end,” Jackson told the crowd of Democrats who voted for him to replace Platner on Saturday morning. “I know now, and I’ll know tomorrow, exactly who I work for. After 30 years in Washington, she definitely seems to have forgotten. For 30 years, she has told us she is concerned. But look, concern is not courage; and what she says in Maine does not erase what she does down in Washington.”

His approach is a welcome change for Democrats in Washington, who had complained that in the early days of Graham Platner’s general election campaign he spent too much time attacking both parties instead of remaining focused on attacking a Republican in a state that Vice President Kamala Harris won handily in 2024……..

…..But as Jackson takes over on the Senate ticket, it’s clear that where Platner relished in taking on his party, Jackson is eager to mend fences and is still at his core a true Democrat. That background as a long-running member of the party is informing his approach to the campaign against the electoral powerhouse that Collins has become.

“We definitely have the right message,” Jackson told reporters after he officially won the nomination. “Senator Collins has nothing. I mean, except going for wealthy people, you know, giving us ICE, doing 96 percent of what Trump wants. People in Maine and people in this country don’t want that.”

Today Hopium is endorsing Troy Jackson in his must-win campaign to beat Susan Collins. As the article details we are way behind in money in Maine and need to rush resources to Jackson to allow him to build out his team and put his campaign together, no easy thing to do this late in the cycle. So I’m setting an ambitious goal - can we raise $50,000 for Troy Jackson in the next seven days? Many of you just stepped for the Maine Democratic Party, raising almost $75,000 in these last three weeks to help them put on what’s been a remarkably successful nominating process. Now we need to go to work for Troy and give him a shot at winning this thing this November!

Troy Jackson can beat Susan Collins this November. Collins is more unpopular than she’s ever been. She’s taken a lot of very bad votes for Trump. Harris won Maine by 7 points, and the national landscape has shifted by at least 8-9 points. Our gubernatorial candidate Hannah Pingree has led by 15 and 14 points in two recent polls. The NYT poll of Maine from a few weeks ago had the generic ballot +11 for us. In the first poll taken in Maine this week Jackson leads 49%-46%. So this is doable my friends, and now we need to go make it happen.

A reminder of some of encouraging polling data we’ve seen of late. This week Trump had his worst major poll of the cycle, coming in at -30 in the new Pew Research national poll:

We just had the best week of generic ballot polling of the cycle:

As Trump won the popular vote by 1.6 percentage points in 2024, these polls suggest the national battlefield has shift by at least 8.5 points and perhaps by as much as 12.5. A shift of that magnitude would be consistent with the polling we’re seeing throughout the Senate battleground:

So, my friends, we really have a shot at flipping both chambers. That is far more likely today after the great work of the Maine Dems to give us a process that brought us a consensus nominee with legitimacy. It’s time now to rally for Troy Jackson - for we can win this seat but it’s critical we rush him money so he can turn his campaign on and get going!

Other Things We Are Tracking……

“Employers Fear Labor Shortage As Many Immigrants Lose Protected Status” - NYT (Gift Link):

“For particular places and particular industries, tens of thousands of workers no longer able to legally work is going to be a very big hit,” said Alexander Arnon, the director of policy analysis at the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a nonpartisan research organization that has analyzed the economic impacts of T.P.S. workers.

Economists say the loss of those workers could be gradual, as some pursue other potential protections, such as asylum, and others continue working but off the books.

Still, as the clock ticks toward the end of Temporary Protected Status, business organizations, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have mounted a campaign for action on Capitol Hill, joined by a growing number of state and local leaders from both parties.

“Congress can, and should, exercise its plenary authority over immigration policy to prevent significant disruption to America’s work force and avoid an unnecessary humanitarian crisis,” the chamber wrote in a July 10 letter to Senate leadership.

“Republicans head home for the summer after a string of losses in Congress” - The Guardian (Link) - This is a very good overview of the current state of play in Washington. Bottom line - the Republican thing in Washington has become an incredible shitshow.

Republican groups are now spending big money to elect Will Lawrence in MI-7 and Francesco Hong for Wisconsin Governor. These are similar tactics that we’ve seen play out in House primaries across the country this year. Here’s a new ad that Senator Elissa Slotkin has cut for former Navy Seal Matt Maasdam, the candidate Republicans do not want to face in MI-7. Watch and see why:

Our friend Katie Phang keeps kicking ass:

As do the Dem AGs who had a huge, huge win this week:

Yes, my friends, it is that time! Time to thank the Maine Dems for getting us a new nominee in Maine, and time…..

To Go Win Some Elections People!!!!!!!!!

Winning The House and Senate In 2026

Special Fund To Rush Troy Jackson $50,000 This Week - Donate Today!

Our Winning The House Campaign - $1,009,100 raised, $1,250,000 goal (new stretch goal) - Donate | Donate to all twelve of our initial wave of House challengers with a single contribution split twelve ways | Get to know Jamie Ager (NC-11), Christina Bohannan (IA-01), Paige Cognetti (PA-08), Rebecca Cooke (WI-03), Elaine Luria (VA-02), Sean McCann (MI-04), Jo Mendoza (AZ-06), Chaz Molder (TN-05), Jonathan Nez (AZ-02), Janelle Stelson (PA-10), Shannon Taylor (VA-01), and Sarah Trone Garriott (IA-03) by watching our recently recorded Hopium interviews.

Friends, if these twelve courageous candidates win, the House will flip, even with Callais and their rancid mid-decade redistricting. So eyes on the prize here everyone!

Winning The House - The Second Wave Fund (Newly Expanded) - $214,100 raised, $500,000 goal - Donate | We’ve launched a second House fund, one supporting candidates who’ve emerged from recent primaries and need a bit more help. Our newly expanded list now features Rebecca Bennett (NJ-07), Bob Brooks (PA-07), Cait Conley (NY-17), Johnny Garcia (TX-35), Bob Harvie (PA-01), Dr. Richard Pan (CA-06), Denise Powell (NE-02), Bobby Pulido (TX-15), Manny Rutinel (CO-8), Dr. Amish Shah (AZ-01), Randy Villegas (CA-22), and Marni von Wilpert (CA-48).

A donation to the Second Wave Fund is split evenly among these twelve, and more as other worthy candidates emerge from their primaries. Our total above includes money we’ve raised for directly for each candidate. You can watch interviews with those who’ve interviewed so far here. We are off to a great start here everyone!

Winning The Senate - $517,400 raised, $1,000,000 goal - Donate | This new fund splits a single donation to our six candidates must likely to flip a Senate seat this November - Sherrod Brown (OH), Roy Cooper (NC), Mary Peltola (AK), James Talarico (TX), Troy Jackson, and Josh Turek (IA). Our working total includes what we’ve raised for these six so far through direct donations to their campaigns. You can watch our interviews with each of these great candidates and/or contribute directly to any of them here.

Expanding The Map - Investing And Winning In Key Battleground And Expansion States

Winning Georgia (New) - $24,600 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | This new fund splits a contribution three ways among Senator Jon Ossoff, gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, and the Georgia Democratic Party | Watch my new interview with Georgia Dem Chair Charlie Bailey to get a terrific overview of the opportunities we have in Georgia this cycle

Winning Iowa - $26,600 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Our Winning Iowa fund splits a contribution three ways - to Josh Turek for Senate, to our gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand, and to the Iowa Democratic Party | Watch my new interview with the great Chair of the Iowa Democratic Party Rita Hart to get an overview of why this is a year of such opportunity in Iowa

Winning Maine (New) - $73,700 raised, $75,000 goal - Donate | Right now this fund is only supporting the Maine Democratic Party to help them get through this challenging process of selecting a new Senate nominee. It will expand in coming days to include both our gubernatorial candidate, Hannah Pingree, and our eventual Senate nominee too. Thanks to all of you who have rallied for the Maine Dems in the past few days - it’s a big deal! | Watch our new interview with the inspiring Executive Director of the Maine Dems Devon Murphy-Anderson

Winning Ohio - $181,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Our campaign splits contributions evenly among Sherrod Brown, the Acton-Pepper ticket, and the Ohio Democratic Party and its terrific Chair, Kathleen Clyde.

Hopium’s Audacious Expansion Fund - $638,100 raised, $1,000,000 goal - Donate | Join our campaign that has helped expand our map by investing in the Democratic Parties of Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Maine, and Texas, all now central battlegrounds in the 2026 election | Contribute to all five state parties with one contribution split evenly among these five critical battlegrounds | Catch interviews with the five intrepid state chairs leading their troops into battle this year - will get you fired up!

Current 2026 Election Analysis

• Trump Is A Titanic F*ck Up. Things Are Bad For Him And Republicans Now. They Are Likely To Get Worse (video and written analysis)

• On The Necessity Of Dems Getting A Clear Mandate From Voters This November - Revisiting My Conversation With Hardy Merriman

• The Importance Of Character And Virtue In The 2026 Elections

• It’s Time To Move On From The “Democrats Suck” Narrative - It’s Wrong, And We Have An Election To Win

• In Defense Of Vetting

Please use the paid subscriber chat to self-report the good trouble you make each day.

Keep working hard everyone. We have a country to save, and elections to win, together! - Simon