Wire flash
PoliticsMaine Democrat Shenna Bellows Drops Out of Senate Race, Clearing Path for Troy Jackson
Editorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Source reporting is collected, normalized, translated or condensed automatically when needed.
- Automatically published source-backed update
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows ended her U.S. Senate campaign on Sunday, July 19, 2026, further clearing the path for rival Troy Jackson as he consolidates support in a fast-moving Democratic nomination contest. The race was compressed into days after former candidate Graham Platner ended his campaign following a POLITICO report that a woman who used to date him accused him of sexual assault. Bellows, the most prominent woman in the contest, urged Democrats to unify to defeat Republican Senator Susan Collins in November. The nomination process is now heavily favoring Jackson.
Source report
She ended her Senate bid on Sunday as rival Troy Jackson consolidated support in the state’s delegation selection process.
By Andrew Howard 07/19/2026 11:56 AM EDT
SANFORD, Maine — Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows ended her Senate campaign on Sunday, further clearing the path for rival Troy Jackson as he consolidates support in a fast-moving Democratic nomination contest.
“This has been an unprecedented nominating process, compressed into days instead of months, and I’m grateful to every volunteer who worked around the clock for this movement,” Bellows said in a statement. “That energy is exactly what we need to beat Susan Collins in November — and Democrats don’t have a day to waste in unifying around that shared goal.”
Bellows was the most prominent woman to enter the breakneck contest, which has unfolded over the last week after Graham Platner ended his campaign following POLITICO’s report that a woman who used to date him accused him of sexual assault. He has denied the allegations.
Source
PoliticsWestern
Part of this Story
Maine Senate Candidate Graham Platner Faces Sexual Assault Allegation, Campaign Collapses