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11h ago

Troy Jackson Clinches Delegate Majority in Rapid Maine Democratic Replacement

His organized delegate sweep forces Democrats to unify quickly to mount a less-than-four-month campaign against Sen. Susan Collins.

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An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Troy Jackson, wearing a "Troy Jackson State Senate" shirt and a "Jackson Hell No to the Status Quo!" hat, speaks at a town hall, Image 2 shows U.S. senatorial candidate Graham Platner speaking at a town hall, Image 3 shows Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows speaks at a May Day rally, wearing a purple shirt with a yellow outline of Maine and the text "MSEA Local 1989 SEIU"
Troy Jackson, a Democrat from Maine, speaks during a Fighting Oligarchy event in Portland, Maine, on May 25. Photo: Sophie Park/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Overview

  • Jackson’s campaign won a majority of county-selected delegates over the weekend, leaving him the effective frontrunner for the party’s nominating convention set for Saturday, July 25.
  • Several leading rivals, including Shenna Bellows, Nirav Shah and Dan Kleban, dropped out and many publicly endorsed Jackson after county meetings produced overwhelming slates for him.
  • Under Maine party rules the 500 county-elected delegates plus about 101 state committee members will vote at the July 25 convention and delegates are formally unbound even if they pledged support.
  • Jackson’s gains came from deliberate, slate-based organizing backed by labor and progressive groups that had helped power Graham Platner’s insurgent campaign.
  • The quick consolidation resolves the immediate vacancy created by Platner’s withdrawal over sexual-assault allegations but leaves Jackson under four months to build a statewide campaign against Collins while national groups remain largely neutral.