Troy Jackson won enough support to clinch the Democratic nomination in Maine's closely watched U.S. Senate race over the weekend as he sought to replace fellow progressive and populist Graham Platner on the November ballot.
The nomination process won't be complete until next Saturday's special convention. But long before Democrats had completed their second day of meetings across the state on Sunday, Jackson appeared to have amassed enough supportive delegates to secure the nomination. If successful, the logger and former Maine Senate president would then face Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins this fall in a race that is a top priority for both national parties.
The delegates selected during Saturday and Sunday's caucus-style county meetings are not bound to Jackson or any other candidate. But Jackson's campaign claims to have won the vast majority of the 500 convention delegates elected across the state following an unprecedented process in Maine. By Sunday evening, all of Jackson's top rivals for the nomination — including Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Maine CDC director Nirav Shah and former congressional candidate Jordan Wood — had withdrawn or suspended their campaigns.
Jackson has portrayed himself as the best Democrat to carry forward the momentum that Platner generated because the two share many of the same populist, progressive views. During a rally Sunday in Sanford before York County's delegate-selection meeting, Jackson talked about fighting for Medicare for All, protecting workers' rights, fighting corporate greed and taking on the political establishment in D.C.
"I get a little bit sheepish when people talk about me because it was never about me. It is about every person who works hard and still can't get ahead," Jackson said.
"It's about every Mainer deciding between groceries, rent, medicine and heating oil. And it's about every worker who has ever been told to accept less while the people at the top take more," Jackson said. "It's about every rural community that has watched its jobs disappear and then been told by someone in Washington that everything is going just fine, don't worry about it. I know those people because I am one of them."
Shah endorsed Jackson.
"Susan Collins will not be defeated without a united Democratic Party. And we cannot unite without treating one another with respect," he said in a statement. "No matter whom you supported in this race, I urge us all to remember that in the weeks ahead."
Bellows took note of the nomination process that was pulled together hastily after Graham Platner dropped out of the race just days before the replacement deadline.
"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," Bellows 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, Bellows and Shah all competed in last month's gubernatorial primary but joined the Senate race after Platner dropped out. Platner, a Marine Corps veteran and oysterman from Sullivan, lost the support of state and national Democratic leaders after a woman he formerly dated accused him of raping her five years ago. Platner strongly denied the allegations.
Platner had won roughly 72% of the vote in the June 9 primary over David Costello and Gov. Janet Mills, who had already suspended her campaign. But his withdrawal gave the Maine Democratic Party less than three weeks to find a replacement under state law.
Despite the tight timeline, more than 19,000 Democrats registered to participate in Saturday and Sunday's delegate-selection process. Nearly 4,000 people ran for one of the 500 delegate spots to participate in next weekend's nominating convention.
Those 500 delegates will then join 101 state party committee members in Bangor on July 25 to choose the nominee. Unlike during Saturday and Sunday's county-level process where Democrats voted electronically, voting during the nominating convention will be done on paper ballots over multiple rounds until one candidate wins a majority.
The nominees will then inherit a top spot in a race with potential national implications because both parties regard Collins' seat as key to control of the Senate.
Democrats have long viewed Collins — a 30-year Senate veteran — as uniquely vulnerable because she is the only Republican senator seeking reelection this cycle in a state that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris rather than President Donald Trump during the 2024 elections. Trump remains deeply unpopular among Democrats and many independents, so Democrats have sought to tie Collins to the Trump agenda — or have accused her of failing to use her influence in Washington to stop it.
But the national Republican Party and its allies are already spending big to support Collins and are expected to heavily target Jackson or whoever wins the Democratic nomination, as they did Platner before his withdrawal.
