Troy Jackson is scrambling to defeat Maine Sen. Susan Collins. Time is not on his side

SCARBOROUGH, Maine (AP) — It’s a Monday night, and Troy Jackson has drawn about 250 people into a converted church to hear him talk about healthcare and labor in Maine. The event is notably different from the rallies held earlier this year by Graham Platner, Jackson’s predecessor as Maine’s Democratic nominee for U.S. Platner sometimes drew more than 1,000 people to his events, and he wowed crowds with his booming voice and calls for working people to take on the nation’s billionaires.

Jackson sits with his legs folded, shares stories from his logging days and sometimes has to fight with the acoustics in the high-ceiling building. But the reaction from the crowd that fills the venue is similar. “They try and make us feel powerless.

But when we come together we do have power,” Jackson says as the audience cheers. Jackson’s run against longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins was always going to be an uphill fight because of the tiny window he has to sell himself to Maine voters.

He became the Democratic nominee with just over 100 days to go when the party held an emergency nominating convention after Platner dropped out of the race while facing an allegation of sexual assault. Sometimes, it looks like it’s working. After a speech at a different church, outside Portland, 70-year-old voter Debbe Kelley of Windham said she appreciated Jackson’s “direct and genuine” approach.

And she said many Maine voters are ready for Collins, first elected in 1996, to leave office. “She’s just not a fighter for Maine,” Kelley said. “Troy is.” Democrats have long viewed the race as crucial for determining control of the Senate, and Jackson, 58, will have to defeat a five-term incumbent who has strong support from the national Republican Party.

Collins, 73, also has a fundraising advantage of millions of dollars over Jackson, a former state lawmaker who Collins says is too liberal for Maine. On Tuesday, Jackson and Collins are scheduled to appear in the first of four debates this month. “This short campaign is the best thing Troy has going for him,” said Blake Kernen, a Collins spokesperson.