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Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson looks all but certain to replace oyster farmer Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate after his major opponents dropped out over the weekend.
At the county nominating meetings on July 18 and 19, Jackson won at least 481 of 500 delegates who will cast their vote for a new nominee at the nominating convention on July 25, according to his campaign. The winning candidate must receive a majority of 600 delegate votes at the convention.
As he gathered delegates, his main competitors ended their campaigns.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows withdrew on Sunday morning, followed by former Maine CDC director Nirav Shah, former Congressional aide Jordan Wood and Maine Beer Company co-founder Dan Kleban Sunday evening.
Shah, Wood and Kleban endorsed Jackson as they exited.
“After nearly 30 years, Susan Collins has given Mainers more excuses than independence. That’s why I am suspending my campaign for the United States Senate today and endorsing Troy Jackson,” Shah said in a statement posted on social media July 19. “Maine Democrats are united, angry, and energized.”
Jackson thanked them all on social media.
“Now it’s time for all of us to come together, build the broadest possible coalition, and defeat Susan Collins,” Jackson said.
Jackson would be replacing Platner, who withdrew from the race July 10 following an allegation of sexual assault that he denies. Democrats are hoping to flip the seat currently held by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in their quest to take control of the U.S. Senate, which has a slim Republican majority.
While the delegates aren’t required to support Jackson at the convention, his dominate performance suggests that he will win the nomination, especially with his major competitors out of the race. Seven other candidates remain, but they are less known. All candidates must gather at least 500 signatures by 11:59 p.m. on July 20 to officially qualify.
Who is Troy Jackson?
Jackson is an Allagash native and a logger. When he entered the race, he was already seen as the odds-on favorite to replace Platner, according to local political commentators.
Jackson was president of the Maine Senate from 2018 to 2024. He lost gubernatorial races in 2014 and 2026, losing this year’s primary to Hannah Pingree.
Jackson and Platner endorsed each other earlier this year, and Jackson’s gubernatorial run racked up support from labor leaders and Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna. Jackson has been endorsed by Our Revolution, the grassroots political action organization born out of Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign.
"I think Troy Jackson would be the closest thing to Platner in terms of his populism, on being critical of corporations, emphasizing labor unions," Jim Melcher, a political science professor at the University of Maine at Farmington, told USA TODAY in an interview in early July. "I would think that Platner's base would be most happy with Jackson."
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Troy Jackson likely to replace Platner in Maine U.S. Senate race
