Troy Jackson moves to replace Graham Platner in Maine Senate race
What's new: As assault allegations batter Platner's campaign, Maine Democrats and allied progressives are rallying behind Jackson as a possible replacement.
Former Maine state Senate President Troy Jackson has filed to potentially take Graham Platner's place in the U.S. Senate race as pressure mounts on the Democratic candidate to quit. One of Platner's former girlfriends accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2021, an allegation he denied in a statement to NPR as "troubling, serious, and false." The Maine Democratic Party and prominent Democrats, including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, have urged Platner to withdraw. Jackson, a former gubernatorial candidate and logger from northern Maine, said he believes Platner will step aside and argued Platner cannot defeat incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins if he stays in the race.