In just a little over an hour Oct. 27 in Rockland Public Library's community room, Jordan Wood laid out his politics and plan of action for becoming Maine's Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate next June, and then defeating current Senator Susan Collins in the November 2026 election. His path is clear, and Wood — no stranger to Washington, D.C., politics — envisions himself at the nation's capital at age 37, ready to make change in the Democratic Party, and Congress.

"The country is in a moment of crisis," he said, standing before approximately 40 residents from the region, including Camden, Rockport, Rockland and Thomaston. In one hand he held a Dunkin' Donuts coffee cup, a familiar enough fixture that one man queried, "Do you own stock in Dunkin Donuts?"

Wood laughed, and joked warmly with those who squeezed into the room, and hauled in extra chairs as more curious voters arrived. 

Yet, he was equally serious when addressing questions about his vision for national leadership. Those attending the event, labeled a Rockland Town Hall by the Wood Campaign, were savvy to politics, mainly seasoned democrats who wanted to hear what Wood had to say.

With measured thought, Wood talked about what he hopes to accomplish, should Maine voters elect him to represent them in D.C.

The country is in a moment of crisis, he said. Dark money and Citizens United, the 2010 landmark Supreme Court decision allowing corporations and unions to fund campaigns has damaged the democracy. 

Get the big money out of politics, he said. Rid corruption from Washington, D.C., take back Congress so that it will do its job.

Wood focuses his campaign on reform, not just with Congress, but within the Democratic Party. Eliminate the filibuster. Ensure that women have the right an abortion. Establish Medicare for All for those that want it, and those that want private insurance can get that, too. Limit the number of corporate-owned houses and accelorate home construction aided by newer technology and tax credits.

Wood and his campaign crew were in Rockland nearing the last of a series of town halls held throughout Maine's 16 counties. Waldo County was to be the last on the circuit, with a scheduled stop in Belfast later in the week. Then, it was back on the road with additional town halls in Lewiston and Bangor in early November, followed by Topsham, mid-month.

Campaign Political Director Dan Jenkins gathered written questions from attendees, mixing them up in a glass fish bowl and drawing them out one by one for Wood to respond. It was an hour-plus affair that moved efficiently, with frank conversations that ranged from power politics in D.C. to religion, and to food security and the eldery. The Wood Town Halls are formulized to give Maine voters across the state a chance to meet Wood in small groups. Video recordings were discouraged, campaign volunteers made clear, at the outset.

The Wood campaign is organized, and the slogan is, "Jordan Wood for Senate: Courage not Concern." That is a direct challenge to Senator Collins, whose Augusta office Wood said he and his husband visited in January 2025, during the confirmation hearings of Trump Administration staff.

Following a conversation with an aide there, Wood walked away disillusioned. He had, at that point in time, "maintained a little bit of hope for Collins to stand up," but was told the Senator, 'can’t speak out on everything.'

"What is the purpose of the U.S. Senate," Wood asked the Rockland room, if not to speak up. "We do not need a senator who gives him [President Donald Trump] the benefit of the doubt."

Maine's U.S. Senate Democratic Party campaign field is well populated: Like Wood, Maine Governor Janet Mills and Graham Platner are hoping to secure the party's endorsement during the June 2026 primaries. Daira Smith-Rodriguez and Dan Kleban withdrew from the Democratic Party primary after Mills announced her candidacy but Tucker Favreau, of Brunswick, and David Costello, of Brunswick, remain in the field.

Wood, who got into the race early in 2025, is passionate about democracy.

It is, he said: "tied to hope, a hope in a better future. I don’t want to hunker down. I want to fix democracy to change laws and make things better. I don’t believe in giving up. We must make an effort to do something differently."

Wood grew up in Lewiston and Gardiner, the son of an American Baptist church pastor. His father, David Wood, was at the Rockland Town Hall Oct. 27, and is currently the interim UCC minister at the First Congregational Church in Camden. Wood spoke of his faith, and said he appreciated conversations about its influence on his values. Those values are rooted in growing up in a family who, "lived mostly paycheck to paycheck and struggled to make ends meet."

That, in part, is what compelled him to take on corruption. He worked in Washington, D.C., as chief of staff for Congresswoman Katie Porter, D-California; was Vice President of End Citizens United, which works to get big money out of politics, and, his website said: "Despite strong opposition from party leaders, Jordan spearheaded the No Corporate PAC Pledge, a national effort to get members of Congress and candidates to disavow corporate PAC money as campaign contributions. Because of that work, today, 20% of Democrats in Congress refuse corporate PAC donations — up from just 1% when Jordan started."

Wood disavows political violence and abuse of power for self-enrichment.

He admires and respects Governor Janet Mills but believes in the primary election process. He wants it to predominate over any internal Democratic Party machinations. He dismisses, "political consultants who have not bothered to visit the state," and wants Maine voters to, "nominate candidates who align with our values."

"We are a party that has not addressed what is broken," he said, calling himself a progressive reformer.

Just a week prior, he was on his way to Ellsworth when he passed a church with much traffic entering and leaving.

Was the crowd convening for a church service, he asked himself? Could it be a Graham Platner campaign stop, he joked to himself. No, it was a food bank and the cars were filled with citizens in need of food.

"We are going to let children go hungry?" he said. "That’s a problem to fix. End hunger in this country. These are not people trying to take advantage of anything. These are people who are hungry."

"A lot of elderly people cannot even get out of their houses," said woman in the audience. "I think people in Washington should go out and deliver Meals on Wheels."

Wood graduated from St. Dominic Regional High School in Auburn, then from Calvin College, a Christian liberal arts university in Michigan, in 2012, with a bachelor's degree in philosophy and political science.

His college years included participating in an academic rogram at the University of Oxford in England, studying history, ethics and religion. He has worked as a community organizer and was Vice President of End Citizens United.

As for getting money out of politics: "It’s not going to happen if we do not try," he said. "I know where the American people are on this."

He spoke of the establishment democrats, and their move to expand the filibuster.

"No," said Wood. "Get rid of it."

He is less worried about the integrity and security of the midterm elections, but, "I do worry about our failure to take power back in Congress."

And, he is skeptical of the U.S. Supreme Court, with, "little faith or trust that they will protect existing rights or expand them." Wood is open to proposals to reform that court.

"What are you going to do to reform the Democratic Party?" said one individual.

"This is part of it," said Wood." Running [for office] and having a process, having a primary."

Adhering to that process is part of a reform.

"No incumbents should feel that they are safe," said Wood. "You need to earn the trusted support. The candidate's job is to campaign. The Democratic Party has thrived on stopping that."

"Maine had great state Legislature, with gender parity," he said, and that is attributed to public financing of campaigns. (Maine Clean Election Act, 1996) He described Maine's electorate as highly engaged, with "most voters in the middle."

In Wood's words, the country needs leaders to take on the D.C. bullies.

"As your Senator, Jordan will fight to cap childcare costs at $10/day, pass universal healthcare, and crack down on hedge funds buying up single-family homes so Maine families can actually afford to live here," his campaign site said. "He’ll support the Ultra-Millionaire Tax – making people with a net worth of $50 million+ pay their fair share – to fund these investments in working families. He will stand up to Trump’s attacks on the rule of law, ban congressional stock trading, protect abortion rights, and reject all corporate donations."

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657