BANGOR, Maine -- When Graham Platner burst onto the Maine political scene, former state Senate President Troy Jackson emerged as one of his biggest champions, lauding the oyster farmer's progressive policies and direct appeal to working-class voters.

Now, Platner is the last person Jackson wants to talk about -- he quickly severed ties with Platner after the oysterman withdrew as Maine's Democratic U.S. Senate nominee earlier this month in the midst of allegations of sexual assault.

Widely expected to take Platner's place on the ballot, Jackson faces a delicate high-wire act.

On the one hand, he aims to capture the groundswell of populist energy that generated more than 150,000 votes for Platner in the June primary -- a record turnout for Maine Democrats. On the other hand, Jackson must distance himself from his former ally's personal scandals to win over the independents and moderate women required to unseat the Republican incumbent, Susan Collins.

Republicans intend to lash Jackson directly to Platner's troubled brand. A GOP super PAC is planning a seven-figure ad campaign beginning this coming week highlighting their ties, according to a person familiar with the plans. Jackson backed Platner throughout the primary campaign, even as Platner faced mounting scrutiny over sexually explicit text messages, offensive online posts and a chest tattoo resembling a Nazi paramilitary symbol before the sexual-assault allegations led to his exit.

Jackson, a logger, is expected to secure the party's nomination Saturday during a special state party convention assembled in the aftermath of the collapse of Platner and ahead of a Monday deadline to replace him on the ballot.

Initial polling shows a tight contest. A survey released by the University of New Hampshire on Tuesday found Jackson with a slight edge over Collins. It also showed Jackson with a small lead among independent voters and more than half of voters holding an unfavorable view of Collins. The poll showed Collins holding a larger share of Republicans than Jackson was holding of Democrats.

Polling in past Senate elections have often underestimated Collins's appeal, including surveys released during her 2020 re-election campaign that showed her trailing Sara Gideon, her Democratic opponent. Collins won that race by nearly 9 percentage points.

Kamala Harris won Maine by roughly 7 percentage points in 2024, making Collins the sole Senate Republican representing a state carried by the Democratic presidential ticket. Democrats view the seat as essential to their hopes of reclaiming a Senate majority.

Jackson's central message, like Platner's, is that the existing political system supported by both parties has enriched the wealthy and corporations at the expense of average workers. During his unsuccessful 2026 gubernatorial primary run, Jackson was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and appeared alongside Platner at "Fighting Oligarchy" rallies. Jackson's platform includes support for "Medicare for All" and labor unions and the elimination of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"This race is really about the message that Graham Platner carried, but that Troy Jackson has also carried -- and that's a populist economic message," said Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, a progressive group founded by Sanders.

Collins has pointed to Jackson's long political career, and backing of liberal policies, signaling that Jackson will face obstacles in attempting to run an outsider, insurgent campaign. "He has been in Augusta for more than 20 years," Collins told reporters in Washington this past week, referring to the state capital. "He clearly embraces the platform of the Democratic socialists and has views that are pretty far out there," she said. Jackson doesn't identify as a Democratic socialist.

Throughout her career, Collins has sought to forge a bipartisan image and has used her perch on the Senate Appropriations Committee, of which she is chair, to fund local and state initiatives, such as police and fire stations, child-care centers and programs within the state's university system. But she faces her own headwinds.

The election will mark the first time she has faced voters since the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the constitutional right to an abortion under Roe v. Wade. Collins, who supports abortion rights, said in an interview with the Portland Press Herald published in June that she didn't regret her vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh but did disagree with Kavanaugh's vote to overturn the law. Collins added that she had supported two of the justices who voted against the majority ruling, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

"For 30 years, Susan Collins has told us that she's concerned.... But when the stakes are the absolute highest, too often she's stood with Donald Trump," Jackson said at a recent rally in Portland, Maine.

During county conventions across Maine, pro-Jackson delegates dominated the proceedings, prompting several challengers to drop out of the Senate race, including his former Democratic gubernatorial rivals Nirav Shah and Shenna Bellows.

While Jackson has successfully won elections in the northern parts of the state that have backed President Trump, Democrats said the former legislator will need to move quickly in a general-election campaign that will only span about 100 days.

"He still has to introduce himself to the Maine voters, but a lot of people do know him. I think coming from northern Maine with a background as a logger will endear him to a lot of people," said U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D., Maine). "When he talks about the struggles of being working class or the challenges of making ends meet, he's coming from a real place."

Ahead of the convention, Jackson has faced increased scrutiny over his shifting political stances on such issues as abortion rights and same-sex marriage and for displaying a hot temper in the State Legislature. Jackson entered politics as a Republican and was opposed to abortion rights and same-sex marriage. He has evolved into a staunch defender of reproductive rights and gay rights, receiving a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood's Maine chapter and EqualityMaine, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group.

Some Democrats aren't sold on Jackson -- even if they are eager to oust Collins. Lynn Bromley, a former Maine state senator and a Democrat, said that she isn't sure whether she will vote for Jackson and that some in her group of Democratic female friends in southern Maine feel the same way.

"Right now, it feels like the burden is particularly on Democratic women to basically lower our standards because we have to beat Susan Collins," Bromley said. "And I'm not going to lower my standards."

Bromley said she felt that Platner's supporters were too quick to throw their support behind Jackson without considering the other candidates' qualifications and electability -- or the "baggage swirling around him that was known before." She also said she was skeptical of Jackson's political evolution on such issues as abortion and LGBTQ rights, saying, "It looks like a strategy to get elected."

Republicans noted that Jackson was a third-place finisher in the gubernatorial primary and accused Democrats of engineering Platner's replacement.

"Democrats have yet again shut out voters to coronate their handpicked candidate behind closed doors," said Samantha Cantrell, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "Troy Jackson is just another socialist Democrat who already lost his bid for governor and will lose his Senate bid as well."

Write to Ken Thomas at ken.thomas@wsj.com and Sabrina Rodriguez at sabrina.rodriguez@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 24, 2026 22:00 ET (02:00 GMT)

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