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Between Saturday and Sunday. Troy Jackson’s campaign touted they
had secured hundreds of delegates who had promised to back him
at the convention, including all of their preferred delegates
for Maine's most populous county, Cumberland.
His strength caused an exodus.
Maine's Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows, withdrew Sunday
morning, saying Democrats didn't have “a day to waste in
unifying" around the goal of defeating Collins.
Nirav Shah, former director of Maine’s Center for Disease
Control and Prevention, dropped out and endorsed Jackson in the
early evening. He was quickly followed by Dan Kleban, the
co-founder of Maine Beer Company, and Jordan Wood, both of whom
also endorsed Jackson.
With all of his most formidable opponents out, Jackson looked
tough to beat at next weekend's convention.
The Democrats have been scrambling to pick a new candidate after
Platner, who won the Democratic primary, then withdrew from the
race this month. Platner had electrified some progressives, but
his campaign collapsed after several women complained about his
behavior, including one former girlfriend who accused him of
sexual assault. Platner denied the allegation.
Our Revolution, a progressive organization founded by Sen.
Bernie Sanders of Vermont that had originally backed Platner,
threw its support behind Jackson.
Jackson, 58, was a logger before he became a politician. He was
elected to the state legislature in 2002 and ultimately became
the president of Maine's senate. He left office in 2024 due to
term limits.
Jackson unsuccessfully ran to be the Democratic nominee for
governor earlier this year with Platner's backing, but wasn't
successful.
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