Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson called it “unfortunate” that Jewish residents of Maine reject the labeling of the war in Gaza as a genocide in an interview with Portland’s NBC News affiliate released Tuesday.

“It’s unfortunate that there are people here in Maine that don’t like to use that term only because they’re Jewish and what that means to them, with the Holocaust,” Jackson said. “[Israel’s war in Gaza] fits that description and it is. It’s [an] unbelievable thing that’s happened there that people that are innocent are being murdered, and it is a genocide.”

Pressed on Hamas’ role in starting the war and killing innocent Israeli civilians, Jackson acknowledged, “You could argue the same thing for Hamas too.” He added: “There’s people that are wrong on both sides of this issue. But in the end, senseless murders, horrific murders are happening to both sides, and that has to stop.”

In a statement to Jewish Insider on Wednesday, Jackson said that he had misspoken and apologized for the comments, while maintaining his view that the war in Gaza is a genocide.

“I believe what’s happening in Gaza is genocide, and I also understand that word carries particular weight for many Jewish families given the Holocaust — the genocide of six million Jews. In trying to acknowledge that, I misspoke and made a generalization about Jewish Mainers’ views that doesn’t reflect what I meant to say,” Jackson said in the statement. “I apologize for the pain that caused.”

He continued, “Mainers hold a range of deeply considered views, and I promise I will always listen and work to approach these conversations with the care and respect they deserve. In the U.S. Senate, I’ll fight antisemitism and work for lasting peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis.”

Jackson said that the war in Gaza is the foreign policy issue he hears about the most from voters and is the most significant foreign policy challenge for the United States, beyond even the war in Iran.

During the interview, he repeatedly affirmed his view that the U.S. should not continue to send “blank checks” to the Israeli government, describing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “war criminal.” At one point, he said he did not want to continue sending “money” to Israel.

Jackson is facing Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in one of the most competitive Senate races of the cycle. A New York Times/Siena College poll released last week showed Collins narrowly ahead — one of the few battleground contests where the Republican nominee is leading.

Jackson, a former state Senate president, was the Democrats’ choice to replace Graham Platner on the ballot after the party’s original nominee withdrew from the race after facing allegations of rape and sexual abuse. Platner campaigned as a virulently anti-Israel candidate and faced controversy over a Nazi Totenkopf tattoo that he had for nearly two decades.