Maine Democrats meet to select Senate nominee to replace Graham Platner

Maine Democrats Set to Choose Senate Nominee at Convention Replacing Graham Platner

Washington — Maine Democrats are gathering Saturday for the party's nominating convention to select a U.S. Senate nominee to replace Graham Platner on the ballot in November, with former state Senate President Troy Jackson positioned to receive the nomination.

Around a dozen Democrats planned to seek the nomination earlier this month after Platner withdrew from the race following a sexual assault allegation that he has denied. The field narrowed last weekend after Maine counties held nomination meetings to select delegates, and Jackson succeeded in securing most of his slates of delegates. The vast majority of the 500 delegates elected are backing Jackson.

Jackson effectively secured the nomination by obtaining a majority of the delegate slots that will determine the nominee. The outcome led the race's other prominent candidates, including Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Nirav Shah, to withdraw. They encouraged the party to unite to oppose Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Lesser-known candidates David Costello and Saundra Pelletier remain on the convention ballot Saturday. Maine Beer Company co-founder Dan Kleban also qualified for the ballot but said he is endorsing Jackson and submitted a request to withdraw.

"We look forward to hearing directly from these candidates and bringing Democrats from every corner of Maine together on Saturday to choose the strongest nominee to defeat Susan Collins," Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson said in a statement.

At the nominating convention, delegates from Maine's 16 counties will cast their votes. While the delegates on Jackson's slate are not legally bound to support him, they are widely expected to do so.

Troy Jackson, 58 and a fifth-generation logger, served as state Senate president from 2018 to 2024 and previously served as a state representative in Maine's northernmost region. He ran as a Republican in his first state House race, was first elected to the state House as an independent in 2002, and later became a Democrat. Before entering the U.S. Senate race, Jackson ran for governor and received support from Platner and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Jackson finished third in the gubernatorial primary in June. He has worked on Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign and supports progressive policies.

Platner's withdrawal from the Senate race triggered an abbreviated process to find a replacement. After winning the nomination in June, Maine election law required that a nominee withdraw by 5 p.m. on the second Monday in July to allow replacement on the ballot, after which the party has two weeks to select a new nominee. Maine Democrats chose the nominating convention format to select a candidate with input from party members and scheduled it just before the July 27 deadline.