Progressive frontrunner and Maine logger poised to replace Graham Platner in chaotic primary

• 01Graham Platner withdrew his Senate campaign following sexual assault allegations from a former partner.
• 02Troy Jackson is the presumptive Democratic nominee for Maine’s US Senate race after the withdrawal of several challengers.
• 03Jordan Wood, Nirav Shah, Shenna Bellows, and Dan Kleban ended their campaigns to join the field for the July 25 special convention.
• 04Wood, Shah, and Kleban endorsed Jackson, citing the importance of flipping the seat held by Republican Susan Collins.
• 05Maine is one of four seats Democrats need to secure to regain control of the US Senate in the midterm elections.
• 06Jackson lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary in 2024, finishing third, and previously received an endorsement from Platner.
• 07A majority of the 601 delegates selected for the special convention have pledged to vote for Jackson, according to his campaign.
• 08State Democrats have until July 27 to formally select the nominee for the general election ballot.
• 09Jackson was first elected to the Maine legislature in 2002 and served as senate president from 2018 until term limits forced him out in 2024.

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Troy Jackson is poised to become the Democratic nominee for Maine’s US Senate seat after rival candidates withdrew from the special convention to consolidate support behind him. His emergence follows the abrupt withdrawal of previous nominee Graham Platner due to sexual assault allegations. Jackson now leads the effort to unseat incumbent Republican Susan Collins, a goal critical to Democrats' strategy to reclaim the Senate majority.