Politics
Troy Jackson has effectively secured the Maine Senate Democratic nomination
SANFORD, Maine — Troy Jackson has effectively secured the Democratic nomination in the crucial Maine Senate race, winning the support of a majority of the state delegates who will officially nominate a candidate next weekend.
While they are not legally bound to support him, nearly two-thirds of the 601 delegates have committed to voting for Jackson at that statewide convention. Jackson dominated the county-level meetings this weekend that selected those delegates, with two rivals falling far behind — and one of them, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, dropping out of the race partway through the process Sunday.
The party’s statewide convention in Bangor, Maine, next weekend will cap a tumultuous scramble to replace Graham Platner, who won the primary but dropped out this month after POLITICO reported that a woman he previously dated said he forced her to have sex with him. Platner denied the allegations.
Jackson will have less than four months to spin up a major battleground Senate campaign against GOP Sen. Susan Collins, the only Senate Republican running for reelection in a state carried by former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.
Jackson turned his attention to the general election at a Sunday morning rally ahead of the delegate meeting in York County, where he secured the support of enough delegates to cross the 50 percent threshold.
“Whether you supported me from the beginning, or are still deciding, or support another candidate, there is a place for you in this movement,” he told a few dozen supporters in a school parking lot in Sanford, Maine, echoing what has been a familiar line in his speeches since entering the Senate race. “Because we’re not going to defeat Susan Collins by making this movement smaller. There’s no way that that’s ever going to work.”
Bellows dropped out of the race just minutes before voting began on Sunday and encouraged Democrats to coalesce behind Jackson.
“This has been an unprecedented nominating process, compressed into days instead of months, and I’m grateful to every volunteer who worked around the clock for this movement,” she said in a statement. “That energy is exactly what we need to beat Susan Collins in November — and Democrats don’t have a day to waste in unifying around that shared goal.”
Jackson’s whirlwind path to the nomination is the prologue to an even tougher test. Collins has defeated well-funded Democrats of all stripes since she was first elected in 1996, and currently has an $11 million war chest in reserves, according to the latest filings from the Federal Election Commission.
And Jackson’s last-minute ascension puts him at an even greater disadvantage: Maine’s nominating convention on Saturday is just 101 days before Election Day in November, giving Jackson less time to run against Collins than Harris had in her losing campaign against Donald Trump in 2024.
“We’re going to have to put our ground game even more into maximum overdrive,” Jackson told reporters after his Sanford rally, referencing Platner’s large number of town halls and his short timeline. “What did Graham have, 70 town halls? If we did one every other day we wouldn’t be able to do 70 from here on out.”
Jackson also said he will have to quickly introduce himself to the southern part of the state, given he hails from the far-north and represented the area in the state Senate.
“I’m not as well known down here,” he said. “I’m six hours away from my home. And as we know, the state legislature means nothing. Nobody’s following it. It’s a lot of work to make sure people know what I’m about.”
Jackson’s ascent to the Senate nomination marks the pinnacle of a long career in organizing progressive activists in Maine. His failed gubernatorial campaign was backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and he campaigned alongside Platner ahead of the June primary. Jackson ultimately called for Platner to drop out of the race after the sexual assault allegation. A 5th generation logger from the far-northern tip of Allagash, Jackson hails from the same county as Collins as he prepares to take her on in November.
Many former Platner supporters were part of the team of volunteers, organizers and delegate nominees that whipped votes for Jackson’s delegate slate in counties across Maine over the weekend. The strength of his organizing operation helped Jackson jump out to a commanding lead after Saturday’s meetings, including a sweep of all 149 delegates in Cumberland County, the largest county in the state.
Travis Jones, a former Platner supporter from Seal Harbor, Maine, who was elected as a delegate alternate in Hancock County, where Platner lives, said he’s backing Jackson because of the similarities between Platner’s progressive agenda and the Jackson campaign.
“I was a big supporter of the previous candidate, Graham Platner. I really liked his policies. Troy mirrors a lot of those,” Jones said ahead of the delegate meeting in Ellsworth, Maine, on Saturday. “The previous campaign really energized me, and here I am today.”
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Maine’s former CDC Director Nirav Shah dropped out of the Democratic primary for Senate on Sunday, a day after pleading his case to delegates in Augusta.
“A few weeks ago, I entered this race because I could not accept the idea of Susan Collins gliding to a sixth term at the very moment Maine families are being forced to pay the price for her votes,” Shah wrote in a statement on X.
“Today, I am stepping aside, and I am doing it for exactly the same reason that led me to get in: we must defeat Susan Collins, and the Democratic Party must be unified to do it,” he added.
His statement follows Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ decision to suspend her campaign.
Both Shah and Bellows were vying for the spot vacated by oyster farmer Graham Platner, whose platform gained traction but was overcome by allegations of rape, abuse and racism.
Democrats in the Pine Tree State are now scrambling to find a replacement for Platner, who pulled in millions from PACs such as Act Blue and Majority Forward.
More than 10 candidates threw their hat in the ring to earn the party nomination, but former state Sen. Troy Jackson (D) is leading the pack.
Shah endorsed Jackson on Sunday, arguing he was the best candidate to defeat incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in November.
However, less than 24 hours ago, Shah claimed to be the most electable out of the crowded field of candidates to replace Graham.
“Senator Collins has been able to be elected and re-elected is that every cycle she peels off a small percentage of Democrats who cross over and vote for her. The key to defeating Senator Collins is achieving party unity,” Shah said on Saturday at the Maine Democratic Special Nominating Meeting.
“The candidate who can keep Democrats unified is going to be the candidate who is most able to defeat her. The reason why that matters is that I am the candidate that has the strongest case for electability,” the former Maine CDC director added.
Early in his campaign, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) said Maine deserved a “better” candidate than Shah, criticizing the way he handled a deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreak while leading Illinois’ public health department.
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