Susan Collins

BANGOR, Maine -- Former state lawmaker and logger Troy Jackson secured the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Maine on Saturday and will face longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins in November in a race that could decide which party controls the chamber.

Jackson replaces Graham Platner, who won the Democratic primary in June but withdrew from the race earlier this month following an accusation of sexual assault that Platner has denied. Maine Democrats met Saturday to choose a new Senate nominee to face Collins.

Support coalesced around Jackson, a former Maine Senate president and fifth-generation logger from rural northern Maine who campaigned alongside Platner during a failed bid for governor and was a favorite among progressives to replace him.

"When the people in power refuse to listen, you have to organize, you have to stand in solidarity, together. And you have to make them listen," Jackson said during a speech at the last-minute nominating convention.

Democrats view Maine as the party's best opportunity to flip a Senate seat this year because it's a competitive race in a state President Donald Trump lost in 2024. But defeating Collins won't be easy. The five-term incumbent holds a fundraising advantage, while Jackson will have less than four months to sell himself to voters.

Republicans immediately launched an ad campaign against Jackson, accusing him of having a volatile temper and linking him to Platner. The Senate Leadership Fund, Republicans' super PAC, said it is committed to spending over $42 million against Jackson.

Jackson, 58, will need to convince the state's large independent voting bloc that it's time to replace Collins, 73. Republicans have called Jackson too extreme for Maine voters, and Collins said last week that she knows Jackson well and that his positions are "clearly" in line with socialism.

"Troy Jackson will attempt to sell Mainers a multi-trillion dollar bill of goods based on rhetoric that will make everything sound free, but in reality would be paid for by middle and lower income workers," said Collins' campaign spokesperson, Shawn Roderick.

Both Jackson and Collins are from northern Maine, where traditional industries such as potato farming and timber harvesting are vital parts of the economy. Both will make the case over the next few months that they are the right leader to protect those industries, along with lobster fishing and tourism.

Collins noted that Jackson ran U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' first presidential campaign in Maine, adding "He's a Bernie Bro."

Asked by reporters about that description, Jackson said, "I don't really care. What I am is a guy from northern Maine that's a logger."

He said he would attack Collins on what he described as her record of supporting tax cuts for the wealthy and failing to protect healthcare.

Jackson needs to scramble to make up a fundraising gulf against the incumbent, who has been raising money for months. Federal filings show she has raised more than $16 million so far. Jackson's campaign last week said he raised more than $1 million since jumping into the Senate race.

Democrats have a narrow path to take back the Senate in November, and it's highly unlikely they can do it without a win in Maine. In addition, they need victories in competitive races in North Carolina, Alaska and Ohio, and they need to hang on to the seats they already have. That includes open Senate seats in Michigan and Minnesota, where Democratic incumbents are retiring.

Maine's Democratic primary was one of the early contests where progressives took on establishment-backed Democrats. While Platner faced several controversies during his campaign, he easily outlasted Gov. Janet Mills, who was backed by Democratic Senate leader Charles Schumer but dropped out before the June 9 primary.

Republicans began making the case Saturday that Jackson is too close to Platner. Jackson is "a Platner apologist, a radical Bernie Bro, and a walking red flag displaying all the warning signs of the early days of the Platner campaign," RNC spokesperson Kristen Cianci said in a statement.

Jackson told reporters Saturday that he has not been in touch with Platner and is building a new movement. He didn't mention Platner from the stage during his two addresses to Democratic delegates on Saturday, but said the campaign was "bigger than any one person."

Information for this article was contributed by Joey Cappelletti and Nathan Ellgren of The Associated Press.