Troy Jackson jumps out to big lead in race to replace Graham Platner in Maine

WISCASSET, Maine — As the Maine Democrats embarked on the rapid and complex task of selecting a successor to Graham Platner, the former nominee entangled in scandal, it quickly became evident that progressive Troy Jackson was taking charge.

Across various locations, from rural Calais near the Canadian border to the urban, progressive area of Portland, Jackson, a blue-collar logger and former state Senate president, made significant strides on Saturday. His campaign took control during the first of two days dedicated to delegate selection, leveraging the organizational strength of his long-time union allies to eclipse his competitors and secure a substantial majority of delegates.

“I’m asking for your vote, but I’m also asking for more than that,” Jackson addressed over 100 supporters at a Friday evening rally in a park overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Portland, Maine.

“I’m asking you to organize,” he added. “I’m asking you to talk to your neighbors. I’m asking you to show up at your county meetings, make the calls, send the texts, and bring even more people into this movement.”

And organize they did.

On Saturday, Democrats in eight Maine counties filled 319 of the 500 delegate slots. Candidates aligned with Jackson overwhelmingly secured most of these positions, while supporters of Nirav Shah, former state Center for Disease Control director, and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, managed to secure only a few, according to a POLITICO analysis of the campaigns’ slates and delegate lists.

Jackson’s overwhelming success on Saturday, highlighted by a clean sweep in the state’s largest county, led him to plan a celebratory tailgate for Sunday’s delegate selection caucus in York County.

The winner of this rapid Democratic pseudo-primary will immediately step into the national limelight, presenting a significant opportunity for Senate Democrats this fall. Collins is the only Republican seeking reelection in a state that Donald Trump lost in 2024.

Addressing a small group of reporters in Augusta on Saturday, Jackson acknowledged the significance and the challenge ahead.

“It’s probably the biggest race in the whole country,” Jackson stated. “And Senator Collins is a whole different type of person to run against.”

Jackson’s campaign brought organized volunteer groups to the county conventions, many wearing “Jackson for Maine” t-shirts from his recent governor campaign. They distributed flyers with clear delegate slates, having made numerous calls statewide to secure supporters and ensure their presence for the upcoming convention.

Jackson, hailing from Allagash in northern Maine, rose in politics through organized labor and remains a strong ally of progressives. He received backing from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during his gubernatorial race. Initially, he campaigned alongside Platner in the primary but quickly urged him to withdraw after accusations of sexual assault surfaced. Platner denied the allegations but exited the race four days later.

Jackson has quickly positioned himself as the candidate most similar to the oysterman who previously led the Senate primary, due to his consistent support for comparable policies.

The robust organizational efforts by Jackson and his allies — occurring just eight days after Platner stepped down, bolstered by volunteers from over a dozen unions backing Jackson — mark a noteworthy achievement within a constrained timeframe.

These efforts have placed him as the prominent frontrunner among a crowded field of over ten candidates heading into the second day of county conventions. His nearest competitors, Shah and Bellows, left Saturday’s conventions with minimal prospects of winning. The remaining eight counties will select 181 more delegates on Sunday, alongside 101 already chosen Democratic state committee members whose votes remain uncertain as they are not part of any slate. All these delegates will decide the party’s nominee in the critical Senate race next weekend.

Some of Jackson’s supporters were initially undecided but were swayed by his campaign’s focused, local approach, which will be vital in the contest against Collins, a highly effective retail politician.

Liam Kent, a supporter who became a delegate on Jackson’s slate in Lincoln County, shared his experience of being undecided when applying to run as a delegate but ultimately supporting Jackson.

“I was in the middle of making a sandwich for lunch, and I was shocked to have him call me,” Kent said. “It was really nice because he’s as real on the phone as he is in person.” 

The quickly assembled county caucuses faced challenges. Voters, delegate nominees, and campaigns encountered minor issues during the process, which state and local Democrats initiated two weeks after Platner’s departure from the race.

Staff at in-person and virtual county meetings assisted voters with online ballot issues, while campaigns adapted to the process’s unique aspects.

Some delegate nominees appeared on multiple campaign slates listed, though Jackson’s campaign had fewer overlaps. Bellows’ slate included enough nominees in each county to account for alternates allowed by voters in each state. Shah’s and Jackson’s campaigns did not, leading to confusion among their supporters in Hancock County about assigning additional votes.

Nina Milliken, a state representative who coordinated Jackson’s delegate slate in Hancock County, was mistakenly listed as a Shah delegate when his campaign initially released their slate. Shah’s campaign subsequently removed her.

“It is nonsensical to me, frankly, that I’m on Shah’s list,” Milliken commented. “This has been a profoundly messy process.”

The major delegate win on Saturday occurred in Cumberland County, home to Portland, the state’s largest and most Democratic city. Jackson-aligned candidates achieved a complete sweep of the nominating spots in an online process that generated such high interest that voting times were extended. A tied vote for the final alternate delegate was decided by drawing names from a baseball cap by the county chair.

While Jackson holds a clear lead going into Sunday, delegates chosen, even if aligned with a specific candidate, are not formally pledged and may change their votes at the convention next week.

Despite rallying his supporters, some were unhappy with the process established by the Maine Democratic Party during the limited timeframe, with individuals who hoped to serve as delegates feeling excluded by campaigns that had pre-coordinated delegate slates. Others felt the party did the best it could under the legal constraints.

Richard Zandler, a 75-year-old Democrat from Southwest Harbor, Maine, ran as an uncommitted delegate on Saturday but was not elected. He expressed disappointment that his independence reduced his election chances.

“I think a lot of the slates were established by looking at donors and people who had worked on the campaigns, because all of these candidates have just freshly come off a primary campaign,” he observed.

Zandler is somewhat correct. A person supporting Shah said the campaign contacted him due to previous donations to Shah’s gubernatorial campaign.

Other delegate hopefuls lamented the volume of phone calls from aspiring senators. Approximately 3,700 Mainers signed up to be delegates, and many reported receiving 20 to 30 calls and texts from various campaigns. Shah told POLITICO he personally made about 500 calls to nominees before the weekend meetings.

Jackson’s closest rivals were undeterred by Saturday’s early results. Shah told POLITICO during an interview at Wiscasset Middle High School, before Jackson’s dominance was apparent, that his campaign would “keep their feet on the gas.”

“No one here is committed, and so there’s going to be a lot of persuasion that happens, without a doubt,” Shah said. “We’re going to continue.”

As the day concluded, Jackson shared a video on social media, expressing gratitude to his supporters. “All of you just smoked it,” he remarked. “Thank you so much. We’re well on our way to get the government we deserve.”