5 things to know about Graham Platner ally poised to take on Susan Collins

Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson is on a glide path to replace now ex-candidate Graham Platner as the Democratic Senate nominee in the high-stakes showdown to face off with longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Delegates aligned with Jackson won the vast majority of the 500 slots that were up for grabs on Saturday and Sunday as Maine’s 16 counties held two days of delegate selection for next weekend’s state Democratic Party nominating convention. And Jackson’s top rivals for the nomination backed him after dropping out of the race on Sunday.

While the delegates on Jackson’s slate are not required to support him at next weekend’s convention in Bangor, Maine, he is now considered all but certain to secure the nomination and face off in the midterm elections against Collins in what’s expected to be a combative and expensive ballot box battle. It will be among a dozen races nationwide that will determine if the Democrats can win back the Senate majority. The GOP currently holds the chamber 53-47.

Jackson ended up finishing third in the ranked-choice Democratic primary for governor.

Jackson and Platner appeared together on stage with Sanders at rallies last year and this spring.

And late in the gubernatorial campaign, Jackson was endorsed by Platner, who at the time was cruising toward the Senate nomination. And Jackson backed Platner.

Platner dropped out earlier this month, amid calls from top Democrats in Maine and across the country to immediately exit the race following an explosive report containing an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated. Platner denied the report but stepped aside.

While Jackson was among those who quickly called on Platner to end his bid in the wake of the rape allegation, he made the case that he was the best candidate to continue the fight for a progressive and populist agenda.

Jackson, similar to Platner, is running on a progressive and populist platform aimed at working-class voters. He backs raising taxes on billionaires, the universal healthcare system known as “Medicare-for-all,” abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and he opposes military aid to Israel at a time that Democrats are increasingly divided on support for America’s longtime Middle East ally.

“This movement has always been bigger than one person. It’s about taking on a system rigged against working people, fighting for ‘Medicare-for-all,’ strong unions, higher wages, reproductive freedom, and an economy where billionaires and corporations finally pay their fair share,” Jackson said last week during a virtual town hall, as he pointed to Platner supporters.

At last week’s debate among the Senate replacement candidates, Jackson pointed to Platner and said, “That’s the thing that I think Graham did the best: talked about fighting against the healthcare industry and the prescription drug industry to make sure that people in this state and this country have affordable, quality healthcare.”

Rep. Ro Khanna of California, a leading progressive in the House and a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, was a top Platner backer.

Khanna quickly moved his support to Jackson in this month’s sprint to succeed Platner.

Also backing Jackson is Our Revolution, the group born in 2016 out of Sanders’ first presidential campaign.

And Jackson enjoyed strong support from labor unions in Maine.

Support from Platner’s former allies helped Jackson capture the overwhelming majority of county-selected delegates over the weekend.