Graham Platner withdraws from Senate race over sexual assault allegations
Democrat Graham Platner has suspended his campaign against Sen. Susan Collins for a Senate seat in Maine following accusations of sexual assault.
Troy Jackson, a former Maine Senate president and logger from Allagash, has officially been sworn in as the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, replacing oyster farmer Graham Platner, after winning a majority of delegates at the state’s nominating convention on July 25. Jackson received 566 votes and Sandra Pelletier, the only remaining candidate in the race, received five votes.
This is the end of a turbulent few weeks in Maine after Mr. Platner, who has denied sexual assault accusations, withdrew from the race. Mr. Jackson must win the support of more than 150,000 people who voted for Platner in the primary to fulfill Democrats’ hopes of flipping the Senate, which is currently controlled 53-47 by Republicans.
Going into the weekend, Mr. Jackson had already become the de facto candidate after his main rival withdrew from the race following his strong performance at the county nominating meeting on July 19th. On July 25, he secured victory at the Maine Democratic Party’s special nominating convention.
Jackson will face incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in a race that could determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. A recent poll from the University of New Hampshire Research Center shows Mr. Jackson leading Mr. Collins by a narrow margin of 49% to 46%.
Jackson served as president of the Maine Senate from 2018 to 2024, but lost gubernatorial races in 2014 and 2026, and lost to Hannah Pingree in this year’s primary.
Mr. Jackson and Mr. Platner announced their mutual support earlier this year, and Mr. Jackson’s gubernatorial bid has attracted support from labor leaders, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna, among others. Mr. Jackson recently received an endorsement from Our Revolution, a grassroots political action group that grew out of Mr. Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign.
