Maine Senate Candidate's Boba Tea Ad Sparks Bipartisan Backlash
Troy Jackson's campaign ad, featuring him drinking boba tea, faces criticism for being out of touch with his working-class image.
Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson is facing criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for a recent campaign advertisement where he is seen drinking boba tea. The ad, which highlights Jackson's background as a fifth-generation logger and his efforts to connect with working-class voters, has been labeled as tone-deaf and pandering.
The ad features Jackson asking, "If Republicans spend $46 million on these tv ads, who’s gunna be convinced by that?" before sipping boba tea and stating, "the 1%ers." Photos of his opponent, Sen. Susan Collins, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are displayed during this segment.
The ad's post on X, formerly Twitter, has garnered over 2 million views and significant online mockery. Democratic strategist Steve Schale commented on X, "I know I’m not a DC strategist but I really, really don’t get it." Liberal influencer Harry Sisson urged Jackson to "change it up! No boba tea!" while left-wing podcaster Kyle Kulinski criticized the ad for being "goofy sh**."
Republican communicators also weighed in. Matt Whitlock posted on X, "It's a little bit funny to be desperately trying to position as working class masculine male and have gen-z women run your socials like they would run their own personals." Steve Guest commented, "Weird. Looks like the first time that Troy Jackson has ever had boba."
Jackson, a former state lawmaker, was selected as the Democratic nominee after the previous candidate, Graham Platner, withdrew. A recent poll by the New York Times/Siena, conducted from Sept. 15–22, indicated Collins leading Jackson by three points, within the poll's margin of error. The survey also showed that 55% of respondents prefer Democrats to control the Senate.
Collins, running for her sixth term, has also recently pushed back against a ProPublica report alleging an FBI investigation into her office, which she called a "partisan hit job." Jackson had previously claimed on social media that "Susan Collins is blatantly corrupt."