Maine Senate hopeful faces questions over second-cousin connection

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Troy Jackson is under scrutiny after reports that he and his longtime partner Lana Pelletier are second cousins and have two adult sons. The claims, initially published by independent journalist Steve Robinson and picked up by Fox News and others, rely on genealogical records but do not violate Maine law, which allows second-cousin marriages. Jackson’s campaign says the reports are a distraction, while Republicans have seized on them as election material ahead of the November race against Sen. Susan Collins.