Democrats poised to nominate Troy Jackson in must-win Maine Senate race - NBC News

What the report says

NBC News reports that Maine Democrats selected former state Senate President Troy Jackson as their U.S. Senate nominee at a party convention in Bangor on Saturday, setting up a compressed 101-day general election campaign against Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Jackson won nearly unanimous support from delegates, with party chair Charlie Dingman saying he received all but five of 571 convention ballots.

The unusual convention process followed the end of primary winner Graham Platner’s campaign earlier in July after a sexual assault allegation, which Platner denied. NBC reported that Jackson had been expected to prevail after his supporters performed strongly at county meetings and other major contenders withdrew. Jackson, a longtime lawmaker and former logger from Allagash in northern Maine, used the convention to frame Collins as too closely aligned with President Donald Trump and argued that Maine needs a more forceful advocate in Washington.

Collins, who is seeking a sixth term, remains a formidable incumbent. Her campaign criticized Jackson’s nomination as the result of a closed party process and described him as a longtime Augusta insider, while saying Collins would run on a bipartisan record of delivering for the state. NBC noted that Collins is the only Republican senator representing a state Trump lost in 2024, making the race central to Democratic hopes of gaining the four seats needed to win Senate control.

Jackson now faces immediate organizational and financial hurdles. NBC reported his campaign said it raised more than $600,000 in about 72 hours and over $1 million since launching July 8, while Collins had $11 million available as of June 30. Democrats see potential for Jackson to compete in rural Maine, but strategists also pointed to the need to improve Democratic performance in Portland-area suburbs and among independents and moderates who have backed Collins before.