Susan Collins

Troy Jackson, viewed as a frontrunner to replace embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, should he withdraw from the race, told Newsweek he believes he is the stronger candidate to continue the progressive movement as a new poll showed him as the stronger Democrat against GOP Senator Susan Collins.

Maine’s Senate race was thrown into chaos this week after new allegations were made against Platner, a political newcomer who earned the backing of prominent progressives like Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Platner is facing growing pressure to withdraw from the race, viewed as a must-win for Democrats if they want to flip control of the Senate in November. The battle to replace Platner is already underway, with party factions divided over who would be the strongest candidate to take on Collins and how that candidate should be selected.

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Jackson, who was an ally of Platner but has since called for him to leave the race over the allegations, told Newsweek in a phone interview Wednesday that he is the strongest candidate to carry forward the energy Platner brought to the race.

“There’s a movement going on right now in Maine and across this country—people that are sick and tired of the government that we have in D.C., they don't want billionaires getting more tax breaks. They don't want people losing health insurance,” he said. “I don't want that to end. That's what I've been fighting for my entire life. And when Graham drops out, I feel strongly that it has to continue and I'm the best one to make it continue.”

Maine election law provides a mechanism for replacing a general-election nominee after the primary. Under Title 21-A, §374-A, a political party may name a new candidate if its nominee withdraws by 5 p.m. July 13.

This means that despite Platner’s primary win, Democrats can still have a different nominee in November.

Jackson has filed for a potential run if Platner ends up dropping out.

The latest allegation was first reported by Politico on Monday. According to the outlet, Maine resident Jenny Racicot alleged that Platner entered her home while intoxicated in late 2021 and forced her to have sex despite her repeated objections. She said the two had previously been involved in an on-and-off relationship and that the encounter was not consensual.

Platner rejected the sexual assault allegation in an email to Newsweek on Tuesday, saying: "These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue."

Troy Jackson’s Chances Against Susan Collins

A new poll from Public Policy Polling, commissioned by Platner’s campaign and first reported by Politico, found that Jackson would start with an advantage over Collins in a general election. He received support from 49 percent of respondents compared to Collins’ 44 percent support, while an additional 7 percent were undecided.

It surveyed 785 Maine voters on Tuesday, just one day after the latest allegation against Platner was made.

Jackson has also emerged as a favorite in prediction markets. He had a 44 percent chance of winning the nomination as of Wednesday afternoon on Kalshi, compared to Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ 24 percent chance and former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Nirav Shah’s 16 percent chance. On Polymarket, he had a 50 percent chance of winning the nomination.

Jackson Tells Newsweek Replacement Process Must Be ‘Transparent’

Jackson told Newsweek the process for replacing Platner, should he withdraw, must be “open and transparent.”

“I think it should be statewide, and I think that Democrats, registered Democrats, should get a chance to weigh in on this. That means probably the most people will get that opportunity,” he said.

A statewide, transparent process would be the “best opportunity to make sure that everyone feels like they were heard,” he said, noting that it would prevent the party from fracturing over the nomination process.

“Regardless of who the nominee is, I want to make that everyone across the state feels like it was a fair process,” he said.

He said he has not spoken to Platner in 10 days but that he is “pretty confident” he will end up withdrawing from the race.

Jackson Touts Progressive Credentials, Electoral Record

Jackson emphasized his support for progressive policies, but also his record of winning in Maine’s more conservative northern region. He said he would support Medicare for All in the Senate and criticized the Iran war, which he said has “no basis.”

“I believe I can win. I mean, I win in Aroostook County, where Collins is actually from,” he said. "I've won in Portland with lower-age voters. If you're talking about the issues and people believe that you have a shot to win, I think they'll come on board because in the end, it is about making sure that these things get fixed in D.C.”

He said the race will be a “real, real challenge for whoever gets into it,” but that his record of winning in rural Maine would set him up for success. He said Collins has “catered to Donald Trump” on issues like the Iran war and health care.

“Whenever I was a fifth-generation logger standing at the border trying to fight to make sure that we had opportunities here in Maine, Susan Collins and other elected officials left us high and dry,” he said. “So I know where it's like for government to not give a s*** and disregard you. That's not who I am. I'm going to be fighting for working-class people, elderly people, to get the government that they deserve, and I’ve got a 20-year record of doing that already.”

Who Else Could Replace Graham Platner?

Jackson is one of several Democrats who could end up vying for the party’s nomination to take on Collins in November.

Two other gubernatorial candidates, Shah and Bellows, have expressed interest in running.

Dan Kleban, the founder of the Maine Beer Company who originally ran for Senate but dropped out of the primary, also said he plans to run. Jordan Wood, another former Senate candidate who left the race to unsuccessfully run in Maine’s Second District, has also signaled he could run.

Paige Loud, a social worker who lost the Democratic primary for Maine’s Second District, also said she would seek the Senate nomination.

Meanwhile, state Representative Valli Geiger told Portland's WMTW that Platner told her he would support her bid.

"He said 'Valli you are a fighter, you have been with this movement since the beginning'," Geiger told the news station. She said she is “heartbroken” by the allegations. She represents Rockland, a coastal town, and has been among Platner’s most vocal supporters in the state.

The Platner campaign told WMTW that he had not decided on an endorsement, but that he had called Geiger to encourage her to run if he withdrew from the race.

Actor Patrick Dempsey wrote in a Portland Press Herald opinion article that he does not plan to seek the nomination.

“As I reflected on all of this, I kept coming back to one question: Do I truly want to serve in Congress?” he wrote. “After a lot of thought, I realized the answer is no. Not because public service isn’t honorable — it absolutely is. But because I believe I can contribute more effectively through the life I’ve already built.”

Platner, Maine Democrats at Odds Over Replacement

The Platner campaign and Maine Democratic Party exchanged attacks on Wednesday amid debate over how the new party nominee should be selected, an increasingly chaotic situation that hangs over one of the most competitive races of the midterms.

More than two days had passed since the allegations were made against Platner, and he had not yet announced whether he would withdraw from the race against a looming deadline. Support for Platner dwindled as his most ardent backers, including Sanders, pulled their endorsements.

Devon Murphy-Anderson, the executive director of the Maine Democratic Party, said in a video released Tuesday night that party leaders were developing an "open, inclusive, transparent and fair" process to choose a replacement nominee. She also alleged that Platner's team had repeatedly tried to "put their thumb on the scale" as the party considered its options.

On Wednesday, Platner’s campaign wrote in a message to backers that “every Mainer” who has contributed time, talent or support “deserves for their voices to be heard” and announced a process to collect feedback from supporters .His campaign alleged that the Maine Democrats allowed the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) to send in staffers to plan a “closed-door” nominating process.

Maine Democrats have pushed back on that, saying they want an open process that would allow Maine voters to have a say.

Shortly after, Murphy-Anderson hit out at Platner’s team in a post on X on Wednesday afternoon. She criticized the campaign for “distracting from the job of defeating Susan Collins in November with false accusations against us,” pledging a “transparent and inclusive process to select a new nominee when he chooses to withdraw from the race.”

“While we may be frustrated with Graham Platner’s continued efforts to manipulate this process, we are so thankful for his supporters and all of their efforts to defeat Susan Collins – they are a vital part of our Party and deserve to participate in an open process to select Platner’s replacement,” she wrote.

The Maine Democratic Party was also planning an emergency meeting for Wednesday, reported the Portland Press Herald.

James Melcher, professor of political science at the University of Maine at Farmington, told Newsweek there is an opportunity for Mainers to have a say in the process, though no plans have been announced as to how Platner would be replaced.

“There could be some sort of caucus or other sorts of meetings. This is an unknown territory for them. There is no real precedent for this other than state legislative candidates here,” Melcher said, adding that the party’s message seems to be that this is “going to be something where there's going to be an opportunity for a lot of input.”

He warned that not having such a process “would alienate a lot of Platner supporters who have felt like the party establishment or the political establishment is out to get them, doesn't want them.”

“I think they have to be very careful not to look like that,” he said.