BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Former state lawmaker and logger Troy Jackson secured the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Maine on Saturday.
He will face longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins in November in a race that could decide which party controls the Senate.
Jackson replaces Graham Platner, who won the Democratic primary in June but withdrew from the race earlier this month following an allegation of sexual assault that Platner has denied.
Platner’s exit
forced Democrats to quickly come up with a never-before-used process to choose a new nominee, which involved more than 600 delegates from across the state gathering in Bangor, about 130 miles (209.21 kilometers) north of Portland, to vote on a new nominee. Jackson won the support of a majority of delegates to clinch the nomination.
Jackson’s victory was largely expected after his campaign touted that more than 480 delegates selected to go to the convention had promised to vote for him, a progressive who supports Medicare for All and dismantling Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Jackson first ran for office as a Republican in 2000 when he sought a seat inside Maine’s House of Representatives. He lost, but won two years later when he ran as an independent. He switched to the Democratic Party in 2004, and eventually became the Maine Senate president before leaving the statehouse in 2024.
He came in third while running for governor in this year’s Democratic primary election, but had the backing of Platner, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Our Revolution, the political organization founded by Sanders.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Maine Democrats on Saturday will choose a new U.S. Senate nominee to face longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a contest that could decide control of the Senate, after Graham Platner dropped out of the race following an allegation of sexual assault.
Support has coalesced around former state Senate President Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger from rural northern Maine who campaigned alongside Platner during a failed bid for governor and was a favorite among progressives to replace him.
“When the people in power refuse to listen, you have to organize, you have to stand in solidarity, together. And you have to make them listen,” Jackson said during a speech at a last-minute nominating convention held Saturday.
The Maine Democratic Party has been scrambling to choose a new nominee after Platner, who sailed to victory in the Democratic primary in June, was accused by a former girlfriend of sexually assaulting her in 2021. Platner denies the allegation, but quit the race after key supporters called on him to withdraw.
Democrats have seen Maine as the party’s best opportunity to flip a Senate seat this year because it is a competitive Senate race in a state that President Donald Trump lost in 2024. But defeating Collins won't be easy. The five-term incumbent holds a fundraising advantage, while the new nominee will have less than four months to sell themselves to voters.
Maine law gave the state party authority to choose a replacement and required a new nominee to be named by Monday — 99 days before the Nov. 3 election.
Maine Democrats' never-before-used process of voting on a new nominee involved more than 600 Democratic delegates gathering in Bangor, about 130 miles (209.21 kilometers) north of Portland. The delegates were elected at county party meetings last weekend. The nominating convention began Saturday morning and was expected to wrap by afternoon.
Once Platner dropped out on July 10, a flood of former governor candidates — including Jackson — and others jumped to try to take Platner's place. But by July 19, most had abandoned their bids, with Jackson emerging as the clear favorite.
Jackson received early support from progressives who had backed Platner before he dropped out. Our Revolution, the political organization founded nearly a decade ago by Sen. Bernie Sanders, initially backed Jackson for governor and Platner for Senate. When Platner left the race, the group rallied behind Jackson.
Jackson previously ran Maine operations for Sanders' 2016 presidential bid. This election cycle, Sanders endorsed Jackson for governor and Platner for Senate, though the independent senator from Vermont withdrew his support for Platner after the sexual assault allegation. He said he didn't plan to weigh in on which Democrat should replace Platner.
Just one other candidate has remained in the race for the Senate nomination — women’s health company CEO Saundra Pelletier. She faces long odds against Jackson, who has been a fixture in Maine politics for more than a decade.
Jackson's campaign has said more than 480 of the 601 delegates who will be voting at Saturday's convention are committed to supporting him.
Jackson has supported progressive positions such as Medicare for All. He also has called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose presence in Maine has been hotly debated since an agent killed a driver in the state earlier this month.
Democrats have a narrow path to take back the Senate in November and it’s highly unlikely they can do it without a win in Maine. In addition, they need victories in competitive races in North Carolina, Alaska and Ohio, and they need to hang on to the seats they already have. That includes open Senate seats in Michigan and Minnesota, where Democratic incumbents are retiring.
Maine's Democratic primary was one of the early contests where progressives took on establishment-backed Democrats. While Platner faced several controversies during his campaign, he easily outlasted Gov. Janet Mills, who was backed by Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer but dropped out before the June 9 primary.
Platner had backing from Sanders as well as Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. That support disintegrated after the sexual assault allegation early this month.
If he becomes the nominee, Jackson will need to convince the state's large independent voting bloc that it's time to replace Collins. Republicans have called Jackson too extreme for Maine voters, and Collins said earlier this week that she knows Jackson well and that his positions are “clearly” in line with socialism.
She noted Jackson ran Sanders' first presidential campaign in Maine, adding “He's a Bernie Bro.”
Jackson would also need to scramble to make up a fundraising gulf against Collins, who has been raising money for months.
Federal filings show she has raised more than $16 million so far. Jackson's campaign this week said he raised more than $1 million since jumping into the Senate race.
Jackson said Saturday he believes his team is up to the task.
“We're not from the left, we're not from the right. We're from the bottom, and we are rising,” he said during a speech.
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AP journalist Nathan Ellgren in Washington contributed to this report.
