Troy Jackson Secures Majority of County Delegates Ahead of Maine Democratic Senate Nomination
Former state Senate president Troy Jackson captured about 94% of available delegate slots in the first round of county elections, positioning him as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. Susan Collins.
Former Maine Senate president Troy Jackson won roughly 300 of the 319 delegate positions contested on Saturday in the first round of county-level selections for the July 25 convention that will choose the Democratic nominee to face Republican Sen. Susan Collins. If the delegates continue to support Jackson, the tally would give him the majority needed to secure the nomination at the convention, with an additional 181 delegates slated to be chosen on Sunday.
Jackson posted on X after the vote, thanking supporters and stating, "We’re well on our way to getting the government that we deserve." He previously urged former ally Graham Platner to withdraw from the race after Platner faced multiple scandals, including a rape allegation he denies.
The convention will convene in Bangor with 601 delegates, 500 of whom are selected through this weekend’s county elections and 101 appointed by the Democratic State Committee. Jackson’s slate captured about 94% of the slots in the eight counties that voted on Saturday, including every slot in the three largest counties. In Cumberland County, the state’s most populous area, the top 149 vote-getters who qualified for delegate slots were all on Jackson’s slate.
Jackson, who placed third in the June gubernatorial primary, joins epidemiologist Nirav Shah and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows as other candidates seeking the Senate nomination. He has the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders and advocates policies such as Medicare for All, higher taxes on billionaires, and the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while opposing military aid to Israel.