Troy Jackson poised to replace Graham Platner as Democratic nominee in Maine Senate race | Maine
Troy Jackson, a logger, longtime legislator and former president of the Maine senate, is now poised to become the Democratic nominee in Maine’s U.S. Senate race. His rise comes after the party’s previous candidate, Graham Platner, abruptly ended his campaign earlier this month following allegations of sexual assault by his former partner.
Platner’s withdrawal sparked wild uproar within the Maine Democratic Party. Several contestants submitted their papers for consideration at a special congress on July 25, attended by 601 delegates tasked with selecting a new candidate. But throughout the weekend, Jackson’s serious rivals retreated one after another, clearing a quick and unobstructed path for him. Jackson, who lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary earlier this year, is now considered the likely choice.
Among those who ended their bid was Jordan Wood, a former congressional staffer who ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for Maine’s second district. Two other unsuccessful candidates in this year’s gubernatorial primary — former Maine CDC director Nirav Shah and current secretary of state Shenna Bellows — likewise ended their campaigns. Maine Beer Company founder Dan Kleban, who briefly ran against Platner in the Senate primary before withdrawing months ago, also announced he would not remain in the race.
Wood, Shah and Kleban supported Jackson and emphasized the risks of flipping the seat held for nearly three decades by Republican Susan Collins, the only GOP senator running for re-election in the state Kamala Harris carried in 2024.
“This fight is bigger than any one person,” Wood said in the social media video. “There is a lot at stake in our country, in our democracy; our state depends on us.”
Maine is vital to Democrats’ efforts to capture the four seats needed to regain control of the Senate in the November midterm elections.
Over the weekend, all 16 counties elected 500 delegates who will vote in Bangor on Saturday; The remaining 101 delegates will come from the party’s state central committee.
Jackson, now the progressive leader, once campaigned with Platner and received his support during the governor’s race, where he finished third; This has raised concerns that Jackson could be tainted in the grueling process of replacing the disgraced former candidate. Questions also remain about Jackson’s public speaking style and whether he fits the dominant stance that helped Platner build a statewide following for his populist platform.
But Jackson consolidated support from major unions, numerous state Democrats, and national progressive groups; he also appears to have broad support from the newly elected delegates. Although his pledges are not legally binding, a majority of 601 delegates have now pledged to vote for him, according to Jackson’s campaign.
“These delegates were not handed over to us. We won them, you know, because hundreds and hundreds of people organized their neighbors, made phone calls, had conversations,” Jackson said in Sanford.
Sunday in Jackson he told Politico It was “incredible” to see that people were “genuinely concerned about making sure that this momentum, this movement, continues,” as it became clear that he would emerge as the likely candidate. Her campaign said Monday it was turning its “full focus” to defeating Collins after a surge in delegate support over the weekend.
State Democrats have until July 27 to formally elect Platner’s replacement on the general election ballot.
Jackson, 58, was first elected to the legislature in 2002 and became president of the senate in 2018. He left office in 2024 due to term limits.
