Troy Jackson, a former senior state lawmaker, is on track to secure the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in Maine, replacing Graham Platner, a progressive favorite who was pushed out of the race amid sexual assault allegations.

Of the roughly 430 delegates across 11 counties that reported as of Sunday afternoon, more than 90% were included on the slate of Jackson-aligned candidates released by his campaign. About 70 delegates will be selected from the remaining counties, joined by about 100 state party officials, at a convention on July 25 in Bangor.

If that support holds, Jackson would take on Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, in the general election in a race considered crucial to Democrats taking control of the U.S. Senate next year.

Platner, an oysterman and combat veteran, was wildly popular and seen as an emblem of the kind of candidate Democrats needed to reclaim working-class voters. While he overcame early concerns over a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol and offensive social media posts to win the Democratic primary last month, detailed allegations of sexual assault from an ex-girlfriend forced him out of the race.

Collins is considered one of the more vulnerable Republican incumbents in the U.S. Senate. President Donald Trump lost the state in the 2024 election and Democrats have hammered Collins for her votes in favor of Trump’s policies. In the wake of a deadly shooting of Colombian man by a federal agent in Maine last week, Democrats have criticized her vote for a $70 billion package to fund immigration enforcement through the end of the Trump administration.

A Republican-turned-progressive and fifth-generation logger from rural Maine, Jackson has cultivated a similar appeal as Platner. During an unsuccessful campaign for governor, he ran on a platform of better safeguards for worker rights, universal healthcare and higher taxes on the wealthy.

“The state is overwhelmingly for Troy,” state Representative Nina Milliken, a delegate who is Jackson’s point person for Hancock County, said. “People are really fed up.”

Our Revolution, which was founded by supporters of liberal Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, endorsed Jackson in the Senate primary.

“The message is unmistakable: Mainers voted for a movement to continue,” Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, said in a statement on Sunday.

Jackson’s two main competitors, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, and Nirav Shah, the former director of Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, dropped out of the race on Sunday. That leaves Jordan Wood, a former aide to ex-California Representative Katie Porter, and a handful of lesser-known candidates in the race.

“The most important thing we can do in this moment is unite to defeat Susan Collins,” Bellows wrote on social media while announcing the suspension of her bid. The trend shows “Maine’s desire to overcome the status quo and center working people,” according to the group.

While committee delegates have indicated their support for Jackson, they aren’t obligated to vote for him, so a contender can only become the nominee after next Saturday’s vote.

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(With assistance from Megan Scully.)

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