Former Maine state Senate President Troy Jackson secured the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate on Saturday, stepping in to replace Graham Platner. Jackson will face five-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November in a nationally watched contest that could determine control of the upper chamber.
Maine Democrats hit reset on their Senate race on Saturday, gathering for a convention at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor to pick a new standard-bearer. Delegates chose Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger and veteran state lawmaker from Allagash, by a vote of 566-5. The hurried convention followed the abrupt exit of Graham Platner, who won the June primary but suspended his campaign after a woman accused him of sexual assault—an allegation Platner has denied, as reported by AP News. Platner dropped out days after Politico reported that a woman he dated five years ago said he forced her to have sex despite repeated objections.
The sudden nomination scramble upends a marquee midterm contest. Democrats view Maine as their best opportunity to flip a Senate seat this year, given that it is a competitive battleground in a state President Donald Trump lost in 2024. With control of the Senate hanging in the balance, Jackson now faces a 101-day sprint to Election Day against Sen. Susan Collins, the only Republican representing a state President Trump lost in 2024, who is seeking a sixth term.
Convention Consolidation and the Fallout from the Platner Exit
Platner’s departure triggered a breakneck scramble inside the Maine Democratic party to devise a process for selecting a new nominee before the deadline. Platner, an oysterman and marine veteran, had built a grassroots campaign movement in Maine that weathered scandals, eventually pushing him to secure the Democratic primary in June.
That momentum fractured when details emerged regarding Platner’s personal history, which included making inflammatory statements online about women and other topics, and exchanging sexual messages with women outside his marriage. Reflecting on the turmoil, Maine Democratic Party Chair Charlie Dingman told the packed convention hall in a ballroom, I officially call this convention to order — with a sigh of relief.
Dingman announced later Saturday morning that Jackson had captured all but five of the 571 ballots cast at the convention, prompting roars from the crowd and chants of Troy! Troy! Troy!
Hundreds of Democrats gathered in Bangor on Saturday morning for a state convention to pick their Senate nominee after delegate candidates supporting him dominated at county meetings last weekend and all of his major opponents dropped out. Jackson’s win amounted to a coronation for the progressive fifth-generation logger and former state senate president, who faced no real opposition at the special convention after every major rival stepped aside. Their exits cleared the path for Jackson to replace Graham Platner.
Populist Messaging Versus Collins’s Incumbency
Jackson takes up the mantle in a race that could decide which party controls the chamber. Support coalesced around Jackson, who campaigned alongside Platner during a failed bid for governor and was a favorite among progressives to replace him. Taking the stage at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor to rapturous applause, a standing ovation and Noah Kahan’s Northern Attitude blaring over the speakers, Jackson stated, This is the absolute honor of my life.
He added, If you’ve ever been ignored, underestimated, pushed around or told that you have to wait your turn while the rich cut the line, I’m asking you to stand with us in this campaign.
“They will say that a grassroots campaign, powered by working people, cannot defeat Susan Collins and every powerful interest standing behind her. They are wrong again. Because we can, we can together. Shoulder to shoulder, we can defeat Susan Collins, and we can take back that Senate seat, and we can build a government that finally works for working Mainers, not the power brokers who write the biggest checks anymore.”
Troy Jackson, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee
Jackson also said during a speech at the last-minute nominating convention, 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.
Defeating Collins won’t be easy as the five-term incumbent holds a fundraising advantage, while Jackson will have less than four months to sell himself to voters.