Maine Democrats Nominate Troy Jackson To Replace Graham Platner and Challenge Susan Collins in November
Troy Jackson, a former logger and president of the Maine Senate, was officially selected on Saturday to replace Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate from Maine after winning a majority of delegates at the state’s first-of-its-kind nominating convention.
In contrast to the chaos of Platner’s unexpected exit from the race, Jackson received near-unanimous support from Democrats in his bid to unseat Susan Collins. In the special convention held in Bangor, Maine, the former state legislator went essentially unchallenged, winning 566 of the 571 party delegates tasked with choosing their replacement candidate.
This should come as no surprise, as Jackson was categorically the best-positioned candidate to continue the working-class movement that Maine Democrats overwhelmingly supported in the June primary — this time without any of the controversy.
From supporting Medicare for All to calling for the dismantlement of ICE, Troy Jackson is leading an unashamedly progressive movement to transform American politics from the ground up.
“This campaign is powered by people who are sick of watching billionaires and corporations buy influence while working families get screwed,” Jackson said to premise his candidacy.
“We’re not from the left, we’re not from the right. We’re from the bottom, and we are rising.”
Meanwhile, Maine’s incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins is looking to win an unprecedented third decade in the U.S. Senate despite consistently giving a rubber stamp to the cruelest aspects of Trump’s agenda. Over the years, she has sold out working families at nearly every possible opportunity — including taking away Americans’ health insurance, confirming far-right Supreme Court Justices to repeal Roe v. Wade, and supporting endless war in the Middle East.
It’s time for Maine Democrats to get back to work and elect a true working-class champion who will finally prioritize the needs of voters over billionaires and lobbyists.
“When the people in power refuse to listen, you have to organize, you have to stand in solidarity, together,” Jackson said at Saturday’s convention. “And you have to make them listen.”
Continue reading to learn more about Troy Jackson and the importance of the Maine Senate race.
Troy Jackson Emerges as Maine's Best Chance of Unseating Susan Collins
Less than two weeks after serious and credible allegations of misconduct forced Graham Platner out of the Maine Senate race, Troy Jackson — a former state lawmaker and fifth-generation logger — has already emerged as the Democrats’ likely replacement to mount a challenge against incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins in November.
Maine Senate Candidate Troy Jackson Condemns ICE After Fatal Shooting
“Our immigrant communities are under attack by ICE, and today we lost a Mainer to that violence,” Jackson said. “For too long, ICE agents have been abducting our neighbors in brazen violation of the Constitution, and today, they have tragically escalated that even further.”
Republican senators have blood on their hands, having approved a horrific agenda that has resulted in the senseless deaths of our friends and neighbors.
Susan Collins in particular approved a $70 billion budget for ICE without reforms or oversight. It’s time to vote them out and abolish this rogue agency.
