Who Is Replacing Graham Platner: Maine Democrats Rally Behind Troy Jackson After Chaotic Primary Scramble

Troy Jackson has effectively secured the Democratic nomination for Maine’s Senate race after winning support from more than two thirds of the state’s delegates, with rivals Shenna Bellows and Nirav Shah dropping out.

Troy Jackson has all but sealed the Democratic nomination for Maine’s high stakes Senate race, after securing commitments from a majority of the delegates set to formally choose the party’s candidate next weekend. More than two thirds of the 601 delegates who will attend the statewide nominating convention have already pledged their support to Jackson, even though those pledges aren’t legally binding. Jackson posted dominant results at the county level meetings held this past weekend, where delegates were selected, leaving his rivals well behind in the count.

That momentum led two of his most organized challengers, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former state public health official Nirav Shah, to withdraw from the race entirely on Sunday.

That exit followed a Politico report in which a woman who previously dated Platner alleged that he had forced her to have sex with him. Platner has denied the allegations.

Collins has a long track record of fending off well funded Democratic challengers dating back to her first election in 1996. She currently holds roughly $11 million in campaign reserves, based on the most recent filings with the Federal Election Commission, Politico reported.

Jackson’s late start puts him at an even steeper disadvantage. Maine’s nominating convention falls just 101 days before Election Day in November, meaning Jackson will have even less time to campaign against Collins than Harris had in her unsuccessful 2024 run against Donald Trump.

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from US News and around the World.