Maine Democrats thought they had escaped one political mess when Graham Platner dropped out of the U.S. Senate race. Then their handpicked replacement, former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, landed in a family story that sounds too strange to be true.

Shawn Farash captured the immediate reaction as the report began racing across social media platforms: The claim is that Jackson and his longtime partner, Lana Pelletier, are second cousins and have two adult sons together. The political timing comes into focus through the Associated Press, which confirmed that Maine Democratic delegates selected Jackson at a hastily arranged convention after Platner withdrew from the race.

Platner had won the June primary before leaving amid a sexual assault allegation he denied. Jackson is a former president of the Maine Senate and a fifth-generation logger from northern Maine. He had campaigned alongside Platner during his own unsuccessful run for governor, and progressive activists quickly consolidated behind him once the replacement process began.

The strongest public record comes from the Bangor Daily News obituary for Louis Pelletier. It identifies Louis as a son of Thomas Pelletier and Edith Thibodeau Pelletier, then names Albertine O’Leary as his sister. The same obituary places Lana Pelletier and Troy Jackson together among Louis’ grandchildren. It also lists Chace and Camden Jackson among his great-grandchildren, tying the couple and their sons directly to the Pelletier branch of the family.

A separate Lajoie Funeral Home obituary for Albertine O’Leary completes Troy Jackson’s side of the chain. It identifies Albertine as another daughter of Tom and Edith Pelletier and lists Colleen McBreairty among Albertine’s four children. Colleen McBreairty is Jackson’s mother, a fact also reflected in biographical reporting and Maine campaign records. Albertine’s obituary names Troy among her grandchildren and Chace and Camden among her great-grandchildren.

Put the two family records together and the relationship is straightforward: Louis Pelletier and Albertine O’Leary were siblings, their children were first cousins, and their grandchildren, Lana Pelletier and Troy Jackson, are second cousins. The records also independently support the report that Jackson and Pelletier have two sons.

Maine law bars marriages involving parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles. It permits first-cousin marriage only with a physician’s genetic counseling certificate. Second cousins are not prohibited under Maine Revised Statutes, Title 19-A, Section 701.

For Democrats hoping Jackson would let them turn the page on Graham Platner, that honeymoon lasted less than a week.