Maine Democrats handed Troy Jackson their Senate nomination Saturday after primary winner Graham Platner dropped out this month following rape allegations — setting up a fiery battle against longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a race that could flip the chamber.
Jackson, a former state Senate president and fifth-generation logger from Maine’s remote northern tip, won the nomination by a landslide 566-5 margin at the state Democratic Party’s convention in Bangor. He was the only serious candidate left standing after rivals dropped out in recent days and backed him.
The Senate race in Maine is now rated a toss-up by Fox News Power Rankings. It’s one of roughly a dozen midterm showdowns that will determine whether Republicans hold their slim majority or Democrats take back the chamber. Collins is the only GOP incumbent running for re-election in a state Trump lost in 2024.
“Are you ready to defeat Susan Collins? Well, then let’s unite this party. Let’s build the largest working class movement Maine has ever seen. And let’s win this fight.”
Jackson, a one-time conservative Republican who became a Democrat over two decades ago, rallied delegates in a convention speech just before the vote. He quickly raised over $1 million after entering the race to replace Platner.
But warning signs are emerging. Reports this past week dug into Jackson’s alleged temper and workplace conduct, mortgage improprieties, and his past strict anti-abortion stance. Some Democrats worry the party landed another unvetted nominee after the Platner implosion.
“This is a bit of a rocket vetting process,” a Democratic strategist who works on Senate races told Fox News Digital. “Maine Democrats have seemingly made their choice, and they’re just going to have to ride with it.”
Another veteran Democratic consultant said flatly: “It’s very clear that Democrats should not be looking to Maine to flip the Senate.”
Asked by Fox News Digital about vetting concerns, Jackson pushed back.
“I think a lot of this obviously is Sen. Collins trying to make sure she can win the election on a really bad record,” Jackson said. “But, for me, I’ve been in the legislature for 20 years. I do believe I’ve been vetted, I’ve been tested. People know exactly what I’m fighting for. I have their back. And they know they can trust me.”
Platner’s spectacular collapse came after he steamrolled the Democratic establishment and crushed the competition in Maine’s June primary. He was backed by Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and had forced two-term Democratic Gov. Janet Mills to suspend her campaign this spring after trailing him in fundraising and polling.
But Platner dropped out earlier this month amid calls from top Democrats to immediately exit the race after an explosive report contained an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated. Platner denied the report but stepped aside.
Jackson campaigned alongside Platner during the primary and quickly made the case he was best equipped to grab the mantle of the progressive movement that had backed Platner.
Similar to Platner, Jackson is running on a platform aimed at working-class voters. He backs raising taxes on billionaires, the universal healthcare system known as “Medicare for all,” abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and he opposes military aid to Israel at a time Democrats are increasingly divided on support for America’s longtime Middle East ally.
Jackson has the backing of Our Revolution, the group born in 2016 out of Sanders’ first presidential campaign. Rep. Ro Khanna of California, a leading progressive in the House and a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, was a top Platner backer and quickly moved his support to Jackson.
Jackson enjoys strong support from labor unions in Maine. The labor backing, along with support from Platner’s former allies, helped Jackson capture the overwhelming majority of county-selected delegates last weekend.
Republicans argued Democrats stacked the deck to back Jackson as Platner’s replacement.
“This coronation is proof that Democrats are willing to shove socialism down the throats of Maine voters, even if it means spitting in the face of Democracy to do it,” Republican National Committee spokesperson Kristen Cianci charged. “Troy Jackson is a Platner apologist, a radical Bernie Bro, and a walking red flag displaying all the warning signs of the early days of the Platner campaign.”
Cianci called Collins “a proven leader with unimpeachable character.”
The Collins re-election campaign took aim at the process and at Jackson in a social media post.
“In a process concocted by the Maine Democratic Party establishment, a 24-year Augusta insider was appointed to run for the Senate by fewer than three-tenths of one percent of its primary voters,” the campaign argued. “Troy Jackson will attempt to sell Mainers a multi-trillion-dollar bill of goods based on rhetoric that will make everything sound free, but in reality, would be paid for by middle- and lower-income workers hurting our schools and making life less affordable for families across the state.”
Collins, running for a sixth six-year term, is facing a rough political climate for Republicans with Trump’s underwater approval ratings, persistent inflation, and what polls indicate is an unpopular war with Iran.
The senator, known as a moderate Republican who at times has voted against Trump, last month received bipartisan praise after reaching a milestone by casting her 10,000th consecutive Senate vote.
But Democrats are taking aim at Collins over her comments that she didn’t regret her 2018 vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh despite his crucial vote four years later to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling.
And following a fatal incident in Maine earlier this month involving federal immigration agents, Democrats heavily criticized the Senate Appropriations Committee chair for her support for ICE funding.
Collins has a history of defeating Democrats’ efforts to oust her. Six years ago, she trailed Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, then the Maine House speaker, but ended up winning re-election by nearly 9 points.
The Senate showdown in Maine is expected to be competitive, combustible, and expensive, with outside groups on both sides spending big bucks to run ads.
A Pine Tree Poll conducted in recent days by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center indicated Jackson with a slight three-point edge over Collins, right at the edge of the margin of error, among likely general election voters in Maine.
