Troy Jackson Gets Maximum Donation From ProPublica Board Member As Outlet Investigates Susan Collins

Despite claiming to be a non-partisan news outlet, a ProPublica board member donated the maximum amount to Maine Democrat Senate candidate Troy Jackson with days to go before the election. As the newsroom publishes investigations into his opponent, Republican Susan Collins, readers are questioning the outlet’s agenda and party alignment.

Robert C.S. “Bobby” Monks is a Maine real estate developer and ProPublica director who has spent years fundraising for and donating to Democrat candidates. The recent Federal Election Commission (FEC) report shows Monks donated the maximum personal amount to Maine Democrat Senate candidate Troy Jackson.

Monks has worked as a political fundraiser in Maine, having spent years raising money for and donating to candidates including Barack Obama and several candidates seeking Collins’ Senate seat. Now, Monks is backing Collins’ Democrat opponent Jackson after supporting two other Democrat candidates before their exits from the race.

Monks’ biography on the ProPublica website notes he served on the Maine for Obama Steering and Finance Committee, while his wife, Bonnie Porta, was a co-chair of Obama’s Maine finance committee.

But Monks’ political involvement didn’t stop there. The latest FEC filings show Monks donated the maximum amount of $3,500 to Maine Senate Democrat candidate Troy Jackson’s campaign in the latest fundraising quarter.

Monks’ one-time $3,500 donation to Jackson’s campaign came on August 19, the same day Maine Public reported that Republican outside groups had spent over $30 million more than Democrat counterparts and held a 2-to-1 advantage in fall broadcast reservations.

Earlier this year, Monks supported two other Democrat Senate candidates before their campaigns ended. Monks maxed out donations to Janet Mills before she dropped out of the race in late April. He similarly donated the maximum amount to Graham Platner before Platner dropped out of the race in July following controversies about his Nazi symbol tattoo, and later accusations that he sexually assaulted and abused at least two former girlfriends.

In 2020, Monks gave $10,000 to Democrat Sara Gideon’s Senate campaign against Collins. Gideon lost the election 42.4 percent to Collins’ 51.0 percent.

During Obama’s run for reelection in 2012, Monks and his wife Bonnie Porta hosted a fundraiser attended by the candidate. At the time, Porta, a Democrat fundraiser, was reportedly responsible for raising between $200,000 and $500,000 for the campaign.

Monks has headed and grown 19 different businesses in finance, real estate, technology, and communications industries, according to his ProPublica biography. In 2011, he joined Maine-based trust company Spinnaker Trust, a company that managed more than $1 billion in assets.

ProPublica was founded by Herbert and Marion Sandler in 2007, and the Sandlers’ philanthropic organization, the Sandler Foundation, provided most of the initial funding for the publication.

The Sandler Foundation’s 2025 tax forms show it gave $6 million to ProPublica, as well as millions to other radical groups like the Sierra Club.

Herbert and Marion Sandler’s daughter, Susan Sandler, took over the organization after the death of both parents, and oversaw the group until her own death in 2022. Susan Sandler was a member of the progressive donor network Democracy Alliance, which was founded by George Soros. She was also a left-wing activist who called for “educational equity” and “racial justice.”

Another leading supporter of ProPublica is Stephen Silberstein, a left-wing activist dubbed a “key member” of Soros’ Democracy Alliance who donates to many left-wing causes.

Silberstein’s foundation, the Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation, spends hundreds of thousands backing “a panoply of leftist groups that fight for higher taxes on the rich, wealth redistribution schemes, single-payer socialized medicine, burdensome regulation of energy markets, judicial activism designed to advance a radically egalitarian agenda, and the replacement of the linchpin of federalism, the Electoral College, with a national popular vote.”

In September, ProPublica published an investigation into Collins, criticizing her relationship with a defense contractor and former campaign donor, and alleging federal investigators aimed to look into Collins’ dealings with former Navatek CEO Martin Kao as part of a broader corruption probe.

The outlet also followed up with another story accusing Collins and her aides of making “incorrect and misleading claims” while responding to the report.

“ProPublica’s newsroom operates with fierce independence. Our investigations aren’t driven by partisan or ideological agendas,” a ProPublica spokesperson told the Washington Reporter at the time. “No donors or board members are made aware of stories before they are published. They do not have a say as to which organizations we partner with or which stories we pursue. They see our stories when the public sees them.”

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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