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, more than 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 his rivals falling far behind — and his two most organized competitors, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former state public health official Nirav Shah, dropped out of the race on 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.
A progressive 5th generation logger from the far-northern corner of Allagash, Maine, Jackson has had a long career in organizing progressive activists and ties to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who had endorsed him in his gubernatorial race earlier this year.
The candidate 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 learned of his victory while speaking with Democrats at the Sagadahoc County meeting at a high school in Topsham, Maine, when an aide whispered in his ear the results of York County’s caucus. Jackson reacted with a small head nod before continuing his conversations with voters.
News of his win ignited audible excitement from Jackson volunteers at the meeting. One organizer sprinted across the school’s gym to show Jackson the news on their phone.
“It’s incredible,” Jackson told POLITICO moments after he secured a majority of delegates. “I’m excited, but very tempered, very measured about my emotions other than the fact that a lot of really great people made this happen.”
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.”
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.”